Educational Programs, Outreach, Research Programs, Sea turtles, Student Research

Earthwatch Expeditions starting soon!

January 23, 2014 ceiblogger

The Sea Turtle Research Program at CEI was recently awarded funding through the Earthwatch Institute! Starting in February, 8 expeditions are planned throughout 2014 where people of all ages and all nationalities can join the research team and assist with this important study.

Earthwatch expeditions allow individuals to spend a meaningful vacation working with scientists in the field, getting a unique experience, learning new skills and assisting in tackling environmental issues. Participants on the sea turtle expedition will live on the CEI campus and be immersed in all it has to offer, be trained in the skills necessary for field work, collect and enter data and participate in evening activities such as guest lectures and island exploration.

Over the course of the next few years, Earthwatch volunteers will assist in the collection of data that will lead to several peer-reviewed scientific publications. The topics focus on the

selection of and fine scale movements in foraging grounds, by green and hawksbill turtles, so that these areas can be conserved. To better understand this volunteers will be surveying for turtles on nearshore reefs and in tidal mangrove creeks, capturing and tagging turtles, surveying the habitats they are found in, and assessing predator abundance and diversity (sharks!) in these habitats.

Stay tuned for updates from the field and click here for more information:

http://earthwatch.org/expeditions/swimming-with-sea-turtles-in-the-bahamas

Educational Programs, Flats, Lionfish, Outreach, Plastics, Research Programs, Sea turtles, Sharks

CEI attends Abaco Science Alliance Conference 2014

January 22, 2014 ceiblogger

asac 1 — Stephen, Owen, Tiff, Meaghan, and Joce at the conference.

FRIENDS of the Environment hosted the 6th Biennial Abaco Science Alliance Conference (ASAC). The conference goals were to provide a forum for networking and information sharing for Abaco and Bahamas-based research projects, to encourage the use of research for local education and environmental management purposes and to stimulate further research in The Bahamas.

The research and educational programs team traveled from South Eleuthera to Marsh Harbour, Abaco to represent the Cape Eleuthera Institute. The team presented on various research topics currently conducted at the Institute. From mangrove restoration to deep water sharks, here is list of ASAC attendees representing CEI:

Stephen B Cone Jr, an outstanding 2013 summer flats intern, gave a talk titled “The mangrove action plan: an adaptive outreach and ecosystem rehabilitation initiative.”

Dr Owen OʼShea, research associate for CEI’s shark research and conservation program, gave a fantastic talk on deep water elasmobranch surveys. His deep sea videos caused much excitement!

Dr Jocelyn Curtis-Quick encouraged all to eat lionfish and talked about her study on the interactions between the Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, and Invasive Lionﬁsh, Pterois volitans.

Kristal Ambrose gave a passionate talk on the spatial and temporal patterns in the abundance and diversity of plastic marine debris on beaches in South Eleuthera.

Megean Gary presented on her turtle research examining the spatial dynamics of immature Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) within a foraging ground on the Atlantic coast of Eleuthera.

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Plastics, Research Programs, Sharks

Interesting research on weather balloons by CEI researcher Dr. Owen O’Shea

January 22, 2014 ceiblogger

Dr. Owen O’Shea, research associate for the Shark Program at CEI, recently had research published looking at the negative effects of weather balloons, after thousands were recorded from community beach cleanups.

Check out this press release describing the research!

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/calls-to-stop-weather-balloons-after-remains-found-on-great-barrier-reef/story-fnjpusyw-1226804587144

Conch, Educational Programs, Flats, Research Programs, Student Research, Sustainable Fisheries, Visiting Scientists

Monmouth University students continue ongoing research projects at CEI

January 21, 2014 ceiblogger 1 Comment

January at the Cape Eleuthera Institute is an exciting time: a new year, new interns, and a heap of new students visiting during their university’s January term!

Monmouth University joined CEI for the 9^th consecutive January, with two weeks packed full of research. Among other tenets of tropical marine ecology, students continued their investigations of the carbon cycling potential of mangroves, the benthic macroinvertebrate distribution within mangrove flats, and the age and life stage distribution of various conch middens. During their time in the flats, students experienced the full range of Bahamian winter biodiversity, including sharks, turtles, bonefish, and more!

Research of various middens in the Cape Eleuthera area found that newer middens include a high concentration of juvenile shells, affirming the fact that immature conch are being harvested at an increased rate. This is often an indication of a struggling fishery, and students will continue to analyze potential protective measures for queen conch in years to come.

Samples of mangrove roots, leaves, and stems returned to NJ with the students for further analyses in hopes of better understanding the carbon sequestration occurring within mangrove flats. A strong correlation between certain types of mangrove environments and high carbon sequestration may lead to increased protection of such areas.

Professor John Tiedemann talking to students out in the mangroves

Led by Dr. John Tiedemann and Dr. Pedram Daneshgar, and supported by Ph.D. candidates Elizabeth Wallace and Christopher Haak, the students logged countless hours of field time investigating various elements of flats ecology.

Dr. Tiedemann was also instrumental in coordinating a visit from Todd Pover and Stephanie Egger, conservation biologists from New Jersey’s Conserve Wildlife Foundation (http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/). The two scientists gave a campus-wide presentation on the international work they’ve been doing with the piping plover, a shorebird who breeds along the New Jersey shoreline and winters in the Bahamas. CEI is excited about the possibility of partnering in CWF’s educational initiatives in years to come!

Educational Programs, Outreach, Research Programs, Student Research

Outreach in Spanish Wells

January 17, 2014 ceiblogger

In November, Kristal Ambrose, working for the Center for Sustainable Development, and CEI’s outdoor educator Tiffany Gray, made the trip down island to visit Ms. Thompson’s grade 12 geography class at Spanish Wells All Age School. Students were completing a comparative reef study for their BGCSE course work, a national exam required for graduation. The students surveyed two reefs and made comparisons based on the diversity of indicator fish species, algae and coral competition, surrounding habitat, and coral disease.

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Conch, Educational Programs, Research Programs, Student Research

Visiting program from Exeter University visits Schooner Cays for juvenile conch surveys

January 16, 2014 ceiblogger

This weekend saw visiting Exeter students and professors heading to the Schooner Cays with the CEI Queen Conch team. A 30-minute ride and short swim allowed us to conduct shallow water surveys around the relatively remote and seldom-visited islands. Since they were last surveyed in 1993, little data has been collected on population densities around the island. Recent questions regarding changing larval supplies and reduced reproduction as a result of fishing pressures meant that collecting new data was particularly important.

The group split into two teams of undergrads to complete surveys in two different areas of the shore. Calipers, measuring tapes, and snorkel gear were distributed and lines of observers began advancing through the surf. Forty minutes later, one group had found only 2 live juvenile conch. Just down the beach, the second group found almost 350.

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Research Programs, Sharks

Update on RA semester project: Mackey Violich

January 13, 2014 ceiblogger

The Shark team is starting a project assessing the abundance of juvenile tiger sharks in the Cape Eleuthera shallow banks. By using BRUVS (Baited Remote Underwater Video Survey), we can get a rough estimate of the abundance of juvenile tiger sharks. We conducted a preliminary study for 14 consecutive days, with 6 hours of footage per day.

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Outreach, Plastics

CEI’s Kristal Ambrose teaches the kids at the Early Learning Center about plastic pollution

January 8, 2014 ceiblogger

Last month,CEI Research Associate Kristal Ambrose had the opportunity to work with the “mini scientists” at the Early Learning Center (ELC) on campus, giving a presentation on plastic pollution. Kristal said, “To my surprise, these guys knew a lot about the issue, and even taught me a thing or two!”They acted out the North Pacific Gyre current, sang and danced to a song about how plastics break down, went to the beach to collect plastic, and then made art from it. It was such a great experience for everyone involved!

Flats, Outreach, Research Programs, Sustainable Systems, Visiting Scientists

Watch this incredible bonefish spawning aggregation video!

January 3, 2014 ceiblogger

Check out this awesome video of a bonefish spawning aggregation, and then read on to learn more about bonefish research being done by CEI’s collaborator, the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuTN0Wj8J_A&feature=youtu.be

A message from the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust:

One of BTT’s top priorities is to learn enough about the biology of bonefish, tarpon, and permit so that we can focus conservation efforts on the most important aspects of these important gamefish. Which habitats and life stages are most critical? As you know from our monthly updates, identifying juvenile habitats, migrations, and adult habitat use are constantly in our crosshairs. Only with this information in hand can we propose effective conservation strategies like habitat protections, which we have long been pursuing in the Bahamas with collaborators Cape Eleuthera Institute, Fisheries Conservation Foundation and Bahamas National Trust.

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Research Programs, Sharks, Student Research

The Shark Research team posts footage of their deepwater research with the Medusa!

December 30, 2013 ceiblogger

The Island School Deepwater Sharks Research Team with the Medusa

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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