Category Archives: Visiting Scientists

Outreach, Research Programs, Sustainable Systems, Visiting Scientists

CEI Director visits field station on Little Cayman Island

pic1Dr. Bill Louda (PI) and Aaron Schultz, a co-PI and director of the Cape Eleuthera Institute, visited 3 marine laboratory facilities between August 13-18, 2013. The major part of this trip was a visit (Aug. 13-16) to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) on the Island of Little Cayman just south of Cuba. Following their return to Miami Florida, they then visited two labs in the Florida Keys (post to follow).

CCMI (LCRC) is built very close to the shore line on the northern side of Little Cayman. The outer reef (~ 150 – 175 yards offshore) rising out of hundreds of fathoms of water was effective in decreasing hurricane storm surge several times and it is predicted that future storms, without the influence of sea-level rise, will only push saltwater up under these structures and not into the first floor level.

Dorms over work/dive shop with the NSF-FSML funded lab building being built in the background.
Dorms over work/dive shop with the NSF-FSML funded lab building being built in the background.

The lab area occupies about one-third of the first floor of the yellow building. The rectangular 1/3 of that floor is itself divided into 3 separate labs, each about 10 x 20 feet (this is from memory, not measurements). In this way, wall and bench linear footage (space) is maximized and lab functions are segregated. This concept should roll into the plans for laboratory upgrades / building at CEI.

Thanks to Dr. Carrie Manfrino, CCMI President and Director of Research for coordinating the visit. Continue reading →

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Flats, Outreach, Visiting Scientists

Rapid Ecological Assessment in Abaco, aided by CEI staff

Bonefish measurements recorded in Cross Harbor.
Bonefish measurements recorded in Cross Harbor.

Last weekend, Bahamas National Trust (BNT) made headway in their Rapid Ecological Assessment of Cross Harbour, Abaco. This REA will gather important ecological data to help establish a baseline for long-term monitoring activities and the creation of the proposed Cross Harbour Protected Area. A group of volunteers headed out on Friday, August 20th, to tag and recapture previously tagged bonefish. Tiffany Gray, lead outdoor educator for Cape Eleuthera Institute, helped in the tagging of 199 bonefish on Friday. The rest of the tagging crew continued through Sunday with at total number of 578 bonefish tagged!

Catching bonefish with nets to tag and measure.
Catching bonefish with nets to tag and measure.
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Educational Programs, Flats, Outreach, Research Programs, Student Research, Visiting Scientists

Abaco Flats Program – a joint effort between CEI and Friends of the Environment

Last week Justin Lewis, from Grand Bahama, Zack Jud, from Florida International University and Tiffany Gray, from Cape Eleuthera Institute, worked with Cassandra Abraham at Friends of the Environment in Marsh Harbour, Abaco on a flats program with local students from Abaco. This flats program was like a shorter version (just 3 days) of our 7 day sleepover Flats Week summer program at Cape Eleuthera Institute. It gives students a chance to not only learn the basics of flyfishing, but also immerse themselves into the ecology and conservation of the flats ecosystem. We had 5 students, all Bahamians, participating in the course.IMG_1273The program started out on Tuesday, August 13th, with an informational presentation on bonefish and flats ecology. Zack and Justin also spent a bit of time that first day teaching students the basics on flyfishing where they had the chance to practice casting, some of them for the first time! That afternoon we headed over to Great Cistern to do an introduction on methodology and how to use the seine net. We saw lots of turtles, a shark, and caught some shad (mojarra), crabs, shrimp, and other fun stuff in the seine net.

Measuring a bonefish.
Measuring a bonefish.

The second day we tagged 20 bonefish around Crossing Rocks, about 12 miles south of the Marls. Clint Kemp from Black Fly Lodge in Schooner Bay took us out with two of their flats boats for a beautiful day on the water. After tagging and doing a little fishing, he took us over to the Black Fly Lodge to check out their facilities. It was very quaint and personal lodge, right on the newly developed Schooner Bay. Clint provided a wealth of information on not only what it’s like to be a top notch fly fishing guide, but also some of the background on the development of the unique “Live, work, and play” community of Schooner Bay.
Check out their website:
Black Fly Lodge - http://www.blackflylodge.com/

Schooner Bay - http://www.schoonerbaybahamas.com/

For the last day, we headed out flyfishing to get more practice using the fly rods and to catch a few bonefish. We went out in Cherokee Sound with local guide Buddy Pinder and found LOTS of bonefish. Those spooky Cherokee bones are known to be tough to catch, but we did have two students get the chance to catch two bonefish that morning! Once the tide got a little high for fishing, we had lunch at the Pinder’s house in Casuarina. Students then learned to make their own flys to take home and use next time they are out fishing!
Check out Buddy Pinder at:
www.worldwidefishing.com  
skeeterone@coralwave.com
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Lionfish, Research Programs, SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

OSU Research Update – Tye Kindinger

The lionfish are ready for their GoPro camera close-ups!
The lionfish are ready for their GoPro camera close-ups!

As the crew from Mark Hixon’s lab at Oregon State University round the halfway point of their summer field season here at CEI, the team has already logged almost 200 dives while conducting their underwater research.  Ph.D. student Tye Kindinger has started a brand new project this summer investigating the interactive effect of invasive lionfish predation on competition between two native species of basslets.  Fairy and blackcap basslets are popular fish in the aquarium trade due to their bright and beautiful color.

Brightly colored blackcap and fairy basslets may be small and cute, but their aggression towards each other could lead to increased vulnerability to lionfish predation.
Brightly colored blackcap and fairy basslets may be small and cute, but their aggression towards each other could lead to increased vulnerability to lionfish predation.

Off of Eleuthera, these basslets can be found on coral reefs, where they live under the same ledges and potentially compete for plankton (food) that is passing by.  Invasive lionfish could affect these populations of basslets depending on whether lionfish prefer to eat one species of basslet over the other.  In addition, aggressive behavior between the basslet species due to competition could cause one basslet species to be more vulnerable to lionfish predation, depending on where lionfish prefer to hunt under ledges.  Continue reading →

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Research Programs, Sharks, Visiting Scientists

CEI represented at the American Elasmobranch Society Conference

The 2013 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists was held July 10 -15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The American Elasmobranch Society participated by hosting 5 days of shark and ray research presentations, and was attended by CEI Research Manager Annabelle Brooks. Topics covered the latest research on the movements, biology, physiology, reproduction and ecology of a variety of species, in the deep sea to shallow coastal habitats. The impressive list of presenters came from all over the United States and Europe, including many graduate students.

Three presentations focused on studies conducted at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. Dr. Jeff Stein, University of Illinois, presented the results of the shark population surveys conducted at ‘the bridge’ over the last 2 years, which show an increase in the abundance of Caribbean reef sharks in the area over the last 30 years. Dr. John Mandelman, New England Aquarium, presented the ongoing study investigating the impact of longline capture on the physiology of sharks, and Ian Hamilton, Memorial University, presented the data he collected during his Masters project conducted last year at CEI.  Finally, two past Shark Research and Conservation Program interns attended to present their Masters research projects – congratulations Alexandra Pickard and Jimmy Kilfoil.

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Lionfish, Research Programs, SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

Lionfish team completes July patch reef surveys

Jocelyn and Kate recording fish along their transects.
Jocelyn and Kate recording fish along their transects.

The lionfish team has recently finished their fish abundance surveys, which are undertaken every three months. They visited sixteen reef patches in the Exuma Sound over three days. There are generally two or three recorders (who need to have top notch fish identification skills!). Two team members jump in onto the patch and do roving surveys and record all the fish they can see. Since the patches are part of a lionfish removal versus non-removal comparison study, they also record the number and size of both lionfish and competitors for lionfish, such as groupers.

A speared lionfish
A speared lionfish

Next, they lay three random transects over the reef and record the species and size of all the fish within one meter of the transect tape.  The third recorder lays two transects on the sand on either side of the reef – there’s much fewer fish out there! Finally, if the site is a lionfish removal site, they spear all the lionfish on the patch and take them back to the lab for dissection.

A Caribbean two-spot octopus
A Caribbean two-spot octopus

The team was out on the boat the couple of days before tropical storm Chantal was supposed to hit Eleuthera and the weather was crazy! It could change from bright sunshine to lashing rain and waves crashing over the bow in minutes. Despite those moments, the team had a fun time and saw some pretty cool stuff; there was an octopus on one transect, as well as a Dwarf seahorse and a pipefish near different patches. Continue reading →

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Flats, Visiting Scientists

CEI’s Flats Program releases The Bahamas’ second largest bonefish tagged to date

Although no bonefish were captured near Lucayan National Park, a nurse shark spawning aggregation was spotted on a wind-blown flat. Not only bonefish rely on shallow water habitats; juvenile fish, spiny lobster, turtles, stingrays, and nurse, lemon, and bonnethead sharks are all important species that rely on healthy flats and mangroves for feeding, protection, and reproduction.
A nurse shark spawning aggregation was spotted on a wind-blown flat.

This June, The Flats Ecology Program (FECP) continued its bonefish tagging efforts as part of The Bahamas Initiative, an ongoing project between CEI, the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, and the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, to assess population size, movements, and growth of The Bahamas’ bonefish population. The latest tagging efforts on Grand Bahama Island, funded in part by The Moore Foundation, brought a close to the six week research expedition across The Bahamas by CEI and Stony Brook University researchers (see “Shark Expedition” updates below).

A researcher observes bonefish that have been corralled in the seine net, waiting to be tagged and released.
A researcher observes bonefish that have been corralled in the seine net, waiting to be tagged and released.

CEI researcher Zach Zuckerman and FECP collaborator Justin Lewis first targeted bonefish near Lucayan National Park along the southern shore of Grand Bahama. Due to high winds and pounding surf, the researchers trailered their boat to the southeastern tip of the Island, near Deep Water Cay, and almost immediately spotted schools of fish.  To capture bonefish, the researchers quickly and stealthily unravel a 150 ft. net a distance in front of the school, then rush to encircle the fish. The fish are allowed a few minutes to settle down before individuals are hand netted from the school, length measurements recorded, sex determined based on the presence of milt (sperm) or eggs,  and an external tag embedded in the dorsal muscle of the fish. The tag has both a unique number and contact information printed on it so that fishermen and guides can report when and where fish are recaptured, thus providing The Bahamas Initiative tagging program with invaluable data on growth and movement.

The 26.5 inch fish tagged and released by Flats researchers. Note the white tag near the fishes’ dorsal fin, containing an individual number and contact information for reporting when, where, and who recaptures this fish.
The 26.5 inch fish tagged and released by Flats researchers. Note the white tag near the fishes’ dorsal fin, containing an individual number and contact information for reporting when, where, and who recaptures this fish.

A total of 102 fish were captured, three of which had been previously tagged. Included in the 99 newly tagged individuals was a whopping 67.2 cm (26.5 in) fish estimated at 11 pounds – the second largest bonefish tagged to date in The Bahamas! In addition to bonefish, several juvenile and adult lemon sharks and bonnethead sharks were also tagged along the northern shore of the island with the assistance of guides from H2O Bonefishing, Freeport. Continue reading →

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Flats, Research Programs, Visiting Scientists

Stress and the Incredible Checkered Puffer

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Master's student Naomi handling a puffed up pufferfish!
Master’s student Naomi handling a puffed up pufferfish!

How do fish handle stress? With the rise of human and climate related stressors, researchers are actively exploring how fish react to these conditions. Naomi Pleizier, a MSc. student from the Cooke Lab at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, ventured to CEI to discover how short-term stress affects the long-term fitness of one of the mangrove ecosystem’s most charming residents, the checkered puffer fish (Sphoeroides testudineus).

A pufferfish receiving a cortisol treatment
A pufferfish receiving a cortisol treatment

Adapted to the dynamic mangrove habitat, checkered puffers are well equipped to handle the fluctuating environment and the threat of predators. This species has an amazing tolerance of a range of salinities and temperatures. Predators must beware of these harmless looking little fish; not only do they puff to an incredible size in response to threats; they are also rendered toxic by the plankton living in their tissues. Not only that, but they have a mean bite, as study volunteers can attest to!

The puffers’ active responses to predators make them an excellent candidate for the study of stress. The research team collected puffers from Paige Creek and transported them to the CEI lab for treatment. Continue reading →

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Outreach, Sharks, Visiting Scientists

Shark team update- lots of guests visiting CEI!

This week has been a busy one for the Shark Team. We are fortunate to have three wonderful guests on the boat:

Dr. Michael Scholl of the Save Our Seas Foundation arrived Saturday morning followed by Jason Heaton and Gishani Heaton who are here doing a piece for Gear Patrol focusing on the Shark Research and Conservation Program.

We spent Monday out on the boat searching for reef sharks with our physiology project and had some luck! We hooked a Caribbean reef shark quite early and had the chance to get some great photos underwater before bringing the small male to the boat and doing a complete workup. Gishani got some wonderful photos from the boat while Dr. Scholl and Jason were in the water taking video and snapping some photos as well. It was a very successful day and everyone was excited to be a part of such an exciting project. More than anything, we were happy to see the shark swim off unharmed and have a complete data set.

A Caribbean reef shark encountererd during a snorkel.
A Caribbean reef shark encountererd during a snorkel.

Tuesday was full of more shark sets and diving opportunities for Jason and Gishani. We had no luck on the lines, but did have the chance to see a free swimming Caribbean reef shark at the offshore aquaculture cage. Continue reading →

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