The Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Island School have recently begun their deepwater exploration of The Exuma Sound with almost 100 hours of footage from the deep ocean. This study is being run as an Island School research project in collaboration with Dr. Edith Widder of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA: http://www.teamorca.org) and has seen the successful completion of six drops in depths ranging from 661 – 912 meters. This has been made possible through the loan and use of Medusa – a deep ocean camera system that was responsible for the first ever live images of the giant squid.

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Preliminary data collection and preparation are underway for the yellow stingray immunology study. Following experimental wounding to illicit an immune response, stingrays will be subjected to low-pH conditions, acidified with CO₂. However, prior to conducting these trials, it is imperative to understand how yellow stingrays react to low-pH conditions. To do so, 10 stingrays (six males and four females) were observed under increasingly acidic conditions to determine their tolerance for low pH. Water pH was lowered by approximately 0.1 units every minute until stingrays ceased spiracle contraction (i.e., stingrays became too stressed to ventilate). Under our experimental conditions cessation of spiracle contractions occurred at a mean pH of 5.35.

This methodology was adapted from Aaron Shultz’s doctoral research, which is observing how extreme environmental conditions in mangrove creeks affect several fishes. In preparation for the immunological study, however, researchers are learning more about the seasonal (lack of) abundance of yellow stingrays. A first replicate of 20 stingrays should be completed by December.

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