This past weekend, the CEI and Island School campus had many visitors eager to hear about CEI research- Island School parents! Parents attended presentations given by IS students on current research projects that the students have been working on since they arrived in March. Research presentations discussed during the event included:
The abundance and distribution of sea turtles in Half Sound
Effects of longline capture on shark physiology
Competitive interactions between lobsters and lionfish
Identifying ideal nursery habitat for juvenile queen conch
Effects of climate change on bonefish and other mangrove species
The relationship between herbivore abundance on patch reefs and proximity to mangroves
Assessing settlement of post-larval lionfish
SP’13 IS students posing for a group picture after research presentations.
Each presentation was followed by a question and answer session, where students demonstrated their extensive knowledge on the background and applications of their study. Parents also got the opportunity to learn about all of the research happening at CEI, and to meet with research advisors.
On May 19th we made the crossing home to Eleuthera after a two week journey to Cat Island. We successfully deployed over 20 satellite tags from Microwave Telemetry on oceanic whitetips, with a number of confirmed pregnancies and confirmed non-pregnant females caught and tested with an ultrasound from UNF’s Brenda Anderson. Hopefully with this new data we can pinpoint critical habitats for oceanic whitetip reproduction.
With the first leg of the expedition complete, we are all very excited to move on to the next phase of the research cruise. The first stop is Nassau, where an outreach event with our partners at BREEF and Stony Brook University are hosting marine biology students around the city for shark education lectures and even a trip to see Caribbean reef sharks. Hopefully we can generate awareness in the Bahamas and let people know how incredibly valuable the new shark sanctuary can be for the region. Continue reading →
A new project focused on the rehabilitation of tidal mangrove creeks in South Eleuthera has been put into action by the Flats Ecology and Conservation Program. A part of this project is the establishment of a red mangrove nursery in the creek on campus. Armored cultivator pots have been built to house the young mangrove propagules which will be transplanted to areas that would benefit from the reestablishment of a mangrove forest once prop roots start to grow.
The initial plan for the armored cultivator pots was derived from a design used by the Mangrove Solutions Division of the Reef Ball Division. The cultivator pot acts as a growing medium for the propagule as it becomes established, and further acts as a protective shield once the young mangrove is transplanted to a predetermined area that would benefit from mangrove rehabilitation that may experience wave, wind, and tide action. We strive to use the highest percentage possible of locally sourced materials in the mixture and to include organic materials that provide nutrients to the plant as it grows. The mixture we have employed includes mud collected from the mangrove creek, sand, compost, shredded coconut husk, and Portland cement. Continue reading →
As a continuation of two years of research on the elusive, critically endangered oceanic whitetip, we made the crossing to the southern tip of Cat Island on Tuesday, May 7th with the goal of learning more about this understudied, and historically abundant, pelagic shark. We have been at Cat Island for less than a week and have been extremely successful. With 17 satellite tags on oceanic whitetips and countless in-water experiences, the first leg of the trip has gone smoothly. We have over a week left here and less than ten tags to deploy, making our main purpose to put out sat tags on males and recaptures, as well as conduct ultrasounds on all females to determine reproductive state. We have also caught, tagged, and taken biometrics on a blue shark and a small but curious tiger shark while out in the blue water. To learn more, check out the link to our collaborator’s blog at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Science :http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu/research/highlights/Chapman/index.html
The bonefish tagging project continues to study the movements, population size and structure, and the possible impacts of angling on these important fish. By capturing and tagging large numbers of bonefish at multiple sites throughout The Bahamas, we hope to better understand bonefish movements, as well as determine how many spawning aggregations exist and where they are located. This information can help identify coastal areas that should be protected.
A view from a beach on Hummingbird Cay, ExumaProper handling of a bonefish before tagging.
A team of scientists visited Exuma early this spring with hopes to expand the bonefish tagging program to this island. The team, consisting of Aaron and Brian Shultz (The Cape Eleuthera Institute), Dave Philipp, Julie Claussen, and Chris Haak (Fisheries Conservation Foundation), met up with the staff at Hummingbird Cay and were later joined by the family that owns the small island located to the west of Great Exuma. Brian Shultz conducted a sustainability audit for Hummingbird Cay, while the rest of the team surveyed the creek systems and tidal flats. The scientists also connected with several bonefish guides on Great Exuma to discuss the importance of the bonefish tagging program and the recent tagging efforts on other islands such as Abaco, Grand Bahama, and Eleuthera. Stevie Ferguson, Reno Rolle, Drexel Rolle and several other bonefish guides agreed to help capture and tag 500+ bonefish later this year. Overall, this was a very successful trip that would not have been possible without the support of the Hummingbird Cay Foundation and Exuma Foundation.
Attention! Deadline for registration for CEI’s Eleutheran Explorer’s Camp, Shark Week, Flats Week, and the new Turtle Week has been extended to JUNE 15. Please see the links below for informational flyers about the camps!
Last October, Hurricane Sandy caused a dilemma by shifting the off-shore aquaculture cage. Last week the aquaculture team, along with the help of a number of CEI and IS faculty members, successfully moved the off-shore cage back into its pre-Hurricane Sandy position. The move went off without a hitch and has been a long time in the making after months of prep work.
After a few dives, with a large team of helpers, new anchor lines have been installed and we are now in the process of re-positioning the anchors in order to prevent a repeat of last year’s unfortunate events. With the cage back in its original position, preparation can now begin for a new batch of Cobia fingerlings in the coming months. Continue reading →
Lyford Cay grade 8 had a busy 3 days here at CEI diving into the plastics curriculum as well as some of the fun yet educational activities typical of our Island School programs: Sandbar geology, Lionfish lesson/dissection, and reef ecology lesson & snorkel.
Weather was a tad windy for snorkeling at 4th hole but they did have a chance to check out the reef balls. Successful plastics research was conducted on 4th hole beach with Miss Kristal Ocean herself and the results will be used in their science class back at Lyford.
Here are two short bios from two visiting scientists from Simon Fraser University:
PhD student from SFU Luis ready to dive for lionfish.
Luis- I am a marine ecologist with background in oceanography and fisheries ecology; my
research interests are the study of food web interactions and energy transfer in the marine ecosystem. For my PhD at The Marine Ecology Lab in Simon Fraser University, I will focus on evaluating how food webs are affected under different stressors, one very important one being the lionfish invasion on the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean. During the following three months I will be collecting samples of different fish species using non-invasive techniques to study the structure of food webs in reefs off Eleuthera. This is an existing project and having the opportunity of doing it with the help and support of the CEI and Island School staff makes it even better!
SFU Student Sev checking a trap.
Severin- I am a third year biology student from Simon Fraser University. For my cooperative education placement and NSERC – Undergratuate Student Research Award, I have the good fortune of assisting Luis Malpica with his food-web research in the field (under the supervision of Dr. Côté) as well as conducting my own studies on site fidelity and habitat use of yellow stingrays (Urobatis jamaicensis). Although I’ve been diving for several years, my interest for marine ecology was ignited after participating in Dr. Côté’s graduate level, underwater research methods course at SFU.
Lead educator Tiff Gray with students from St. Andrews
Last week, Educational Programs at CEI had their hands full with two classes hailing from St. Andrew’s School in Nassau, home of the Hurricanes. The first class, a group of 17 students, had a blast helping the plastics, lionfish, and bonefish research teams. Students arrived from Nassau and executed their first day nicely with lots of energy and enthusiasm! The first item on the agenda was a sustainable systems scavenger hunt, exploring the grounds and learning important facts about sustainability initiatives around campus. That afternoon, they spoke with Kristal Ambrose, Patch Reef Researcher & plastic enthusiast, on her plastics research project at CEI. Although the rain put a damper on data collection, they were able to conduct beach plastic surveys the next afternoon and utilize this data for their Math class back at
St. Andrews’ students enjoying a beach bonfire on their last night.
St. Andrew’s. The second day they headed down island to explore the caves of Rock Sound, journal at the Banyon Tree, and swim in Ocean Hole. That afternoon they took a stroll down the beach at Paige Creek to learn about the Flats ecosystem and chat with Liane Nowell about her exciting master’s project on Bonefish. The day ended with a bonfire and s’mores on the beach! Their last day started with a joyful school reunion when the second class from St. Andrew’s arrived. Continue reading →
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