The Island School student Christian Dennis prepares a stone crab trap to be set in the Bahamas Banks.
Stone crabs have been a popular and principal commercial fishery in Florida for many years, and have comprised a portion of the local fishing take here in The Bahamas for just as long. Recently, there have been reductions in Floridian catch, as well as an increase in fishing pressure for the crabs in the Bahamas, where they now represent the fourth largest fishery. With growing commercial demand and the arrival of new commercial export pressure in North Eleuthera, stone crab trapping in South Eleuthera may soon increase. Though the fishery is presumed to be sustainable – harvest restricted to legal-sized regenerative claws suggests less than 100% mortality – little is known about stone crab populations in The Bahamas and specifically around the Cape.
This semester Claire Thomas, manager of the Sustainable Fisheries Program at CEI, and Alicia Hendrix, CEI research assistant, are leading a research class for students at The Island School hoping to address the lack of information on South Eleuthera’s stone crab population. Using commercial fishing traps, students are collecting data on crab abundance, carapace width, propodus length, and sex that can provide insight into the local fishery. A better understanding of the current population will allow for comparisons in the future, and help identify any actions that may be needed to insure the longevity of this growing fishery. Students are also collecting data regarding water temperature, depth, and bottom type in surveyed areas to better understand the habitats stone crabs like to frequent here in The Bahamas. Continue reading →
Mackey Violich shows students from The Island School how to monitor The Medusa’s depth as she descends.
This fall, CEI’s Deepwater Project is continuing use of The Medusa, a specialized deepwater camera that can provide footage from up to 2000 meters underneath the ocean’s surface. The unit is on loan from Dr. Edie Widder of Ocean Research Conservation Association (ORCA). Footage collected from the camera will shed light on the diversity, distribution, and species assemblages of deep-water fauna present within the Exuma Sound trench community. A working understanding of healthy deep-water communities has become increasingly important in recent years as shallow-water overfishing pushes to expand the deep-sea fishing industry.
This past summer was a busy time for the sustainable fisheries team, with numerous conch and lionfish lab trials.
Students and interns observing lionfish in the lab
On the lionfish side of things, Helen, one of the visiting Newcastle students, is looking at prey density as well as whether or not it benefits lionfish to hunt in groups. She does this by adding 1 (or more) lionfish to a tank containing varying densities of prey fish (grunts) and observing the rate at which the grunts are eaten. Emily (another student from Newcastle University) is exploring prey preference in lionfish. She ran a series of trials to determine whether lionfish are more likely to attack a grunt or a damselfish if given the choice. She is now determining if lionfish rely more on visual or olfactory signals when hunting.
Oli, a third student from Newcastle, was running behavioral trials on conch. A fisherman’s tale suggests that the declining numbers of conch available is due to the fact that the animals run away from knocked shells that have been thrown back into the water by other fishermen (as opposed to overfishing). Oli is testing this explanation by dropping empty conch shells (as well as rocks as a control) in a tank with a live conch and monitoring its movement for 4 hours. We will keep you updated on the results of these trials as they progress!
Earlier this month was the return of Camden Hills Regional High School for their sixth visit to CEI, and Oceanside High School’s second trip alongside Camden. It was another stellar year of exploration, science, research and reflection.
Students focused on research during their time at CEI. They were not only getting out there and assisting our resident scientists with their data collection, but also coming back to the lab, sifting through video footage, % cover of seagrass and trying to work out where all the conch have gone. For these students science came alive. They were able to see what goes into real research, where time, weather, tide, and sharing resources play factors into every minute of every day.
Two students IDing some seagrass out in the field
The students final presentations were outstanding. With only three – four field days and approximately 10 hours of data analysis and thought time, they provided the community with well-rounded projects. Not only did they analyze data, they were able to offer thoughtful insights into why their research matters. Continue reading →
The Island school summer term went out with the deep-water research group, led by Mackellar Violich to pull up traps from 1200 meters deep. The baited traps are set off the wall, and traps are pulled in the following day. Researchers then identify, measure, and record all of the organisms from the traps.
IS students out with deepwater research team,
This research project is focusing on finding the biodiversity and abundance of benthic scavenging species that live between 500-1400 meters deep in the Northeast Exuma sound.
The team recently pulled up Bathynomus giganteus, a large isopod and some Simenchelys parasitica, or pugnose eels.
Students working up organisms collected in deep water traps.
Students on the lionfish team discuss their project with Dr. Stephanie Green.
Congratulations to all of the Spring 2014 Island School students who gave oral and poster presentations at the Research Symposium. This event is a culmination a semester-long research class, where students become involved in all aspects of research. It is a chance for them to showcase the data that they collected, along with real world implications of the work.
We had many special guests in attendance this semester:
David Knowles, Director of Parks, Dr. Ethan Freid, Chief Botanist, and Camilla Adair Deputy Preserve Manager at Leony Levy Preserve, the Bahamas National Trust
Dr. Andy Danylchuk, past Director of the Cape Eleuthera Institute and currently Assistant Professor of Fish Conservation at UMass Amherst, collaborator with Flats Ecology program at CEI
Dr. John Mandelman, Director of Research and Senior Scientist at the New England Aquarium, collaborator with Shark Research program at CEI
Dr. Brian Silliman, Associate Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke Marine Lab
The Island School’s youngest students have been able to get up close and personal with some deep sea creatures over the past couple of weeks without even setting foot in the water. Thanks to the Shark Research and Conservation Program’s deep water team at CEI and special guest researcher, 10 year-old Forrest Schmitt, the children have been getting lessons in deep water isopods. They learned facts about the super-giant isopod, Bathynomus giganteus, including that they live at depths exceeding 900m and that the largest one ever recorded had a total length of ~500mm.
The children were intrigued and inquisitive, asking many questions about the “bugs” and studying their morphology closely. They did observational drawings of the creatures that were displayed at the Parent’s Weekend Art Show. The only thing that the 3-6 year olds could not decide is whether the creatures 14 legs would cause it to “run very fast” or move “slow, slow, slow because they have to move so many legs”. They may just have to wait for footage from the team’s infamous deep-sea camera unit, the ‘MEDUSA,’ to find out.
Last week, the Island School campus was inundated with the parents of the Spring 2014 students. Aside from campus tours and a breathtaking art gallery, parents also got to witness the students give scientific research presentations pertaining to the research projects they have been involved with all semester.
The Deep Water research group giving their presentation.
Each presentation was ten minutes long, and followed the format of a professional scientific presentation, explaining background on the topics, the current problem, the methods used to collect data, data analysis, and interpretation of results, ending with why the project matters and what can be done in the future. Parents were thrilled to see the young scientists give their first real talk in front of a large audience. Each student group also fielded questions from the parents.
Things are heating up here at CEI! Students are on campus, summer is on the way, and the adventures are everywhere. The Educational Programs team wrapped up the month of February with a returning group from Muncton High School in Canada. The blog for this group was written by student Jana Giles.
On our first day we all safely arrived at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. The view of the islands and ocean from the plane was absolutely incredible–the water was completely turquoise! Before even unpacking, we were already on the beach, and we finally enjoyed an amazing supper after a long day!
The first of 8 teams for 2014 were at CEI last week assisting with sea turtle research. 9 volunteers, from across America and Canada, spent 9 days collecting data from boats, on foot and by snorkeling in 11 sites across South Eleuthera. They collected vast amounts of data that would otherwise have taken much longer without their support. Using baited remote underwater video surveys for predators, they surveyed 9 sites and ‘captured’ 7 individuals from 3 different species: nurse, lemon and tiger sharks! They also caught and tagged 9 turtles, setting the record for catching 6 using the rodeo method in one day!
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