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.

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.

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 →

Flats, Research Programs, Visiting Scientists

Stress and the Incredible Checkered Puffer

July 15, 2013 ceiblogger 1 Comment

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

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 →

Outreach, Sharks, Visiting Scientists

Shark team update- lots of guests visiting CEI!

July 11, 2013 ceiblogger

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.

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 →

Educational Programs, Flats, Outreach, Student Research

Deep Creek Kids Discover the Life in the Creeks

July 9, 2013 ceiblogger

Last week our Educational team led a three day natural history camp for nine kids from Deep Creek and the surrounding settlements. In addition to camp songs, rounds of the game ‘screaming toes’ and scavenger hunts, our educators introduced students to the terrestrial and marine life on the shores of Red Bays, Deep Creek and Paige Creek.

Adventure Log

Day 1: After intros and icebreakers we went to the beach to do a scavenger hunt, and build our own mangroves on the beach. In the afternoon, the group learned how to identify the red, white and black mangrove trees of Deep Creek and explored the slippery, slimy mud found here.

Day 2: A field trip to the Island School! The kids learned how to work together to move kayaks, both in the water and on land! After all that hard work in the morning, we hiked up Paige Creek and lazily floated out with the tide, identifying fish and invertebrates along the way.

Day 3: On our final day of camp, we went seining in the creeks with two of our interns, Stephen and Liam. After a couple of attempts, we successfully caught several species of fish and learned how climate change is affecting fish in these creeks – research our Flats team is currently conducting at CEI. After a picnic lunch in Deep Creek, the group showcased what they’d learned about life in the mangrove ecosystem by creating posters depicting the life found there.

Lionfish, SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

OSU Research Update- Lillian Tuttle

July 8, 2013 ceiblogger

Lillian Tuttle is a PhD. student from Mark Hixon’s lab at Oregon State University, who is working at CEI for 90 days this summer studying the lionfish invasion. Broadly, Lillian is interested in the interactions among invasive lionfish, native parasite communities, and native cleaning symbioses. Her past research demonstrates that invasive lionfish have escaped the threat of parasitic infection here in the Atlantic, especially when compared to native fishes that are chocked full of parasitic worms and crustaceans. Without the need to fight infection, lionfish might be able to put more energy into growth and reproduction, perhaps explaining some of their success as an invasive species. But if lionfish don’t have parasites, might they still change the way that native fish get parasites?

Lillian's hand getting cleaned at an underwater fish cleaning station! — Lillian’s hand getting cleaned at an underwater fish cleaning station!

This brings us to Lillian’s project this summer. Thus far, Lillian has logged many hours of observation and deployed many GoPro cameras to detect what lionfish are doing at cleaning stations, locations on the reef where small “cleaner” gobies and shrimp pick the parasites off the skin of larger fish “clients” (think, car washes in the sea!). Are lionfish eating cleaners? Are lionfish eating clients? Or might the slow, stalking, hunting behavior of lionfish interrupt cleaning somehow? These are all questions Lillian hopes to answer this summer at CEI.

Continue reading →

Educational Programs, Outreach

Eleutheran Explorers have adventures at CEI

July 4, 2013 ceiblogger

The Eleutheran Explorers Camp is quickly approaching day 4. It’s true what they say about how time flies when you’re having fun! The last few days have been filled with day and night snorkels, learning about the sustainable systems, exploring the mangroves and visiting the aquaculture cage! They also took recycled materials from resources and turned it into art! The kids have a busy and fun filled next couple of days ahead of them.

Students getting a tour of the farm with Joseph

SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

SFU Researcher is studying yellow stingrays at CEI

July 3, 2013 ceiblogger

SFU undergraduate researcher Sev counts yellow stingrays on a patch reef.

In order to better understand the ecological role of the Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis, team SFU has been performing some baseline stingray surveys each Saturday. What happens on Stingray Saturdays? There are sixteen survey sites (patch reefs) total. At these sites two SCUBA divers record the number of individual rays, sex, total length, substrate, refuge, and where they were found on the patch. In addition to this they also take their picture!

This data will reveal more about the habitat use and site fidelity of the rays. If time permits, the team may even test whether or not the rays can be reliably identified based on their spot patterns. If photo ID were a feasible option it would mean no tags necessary – a noninvasive and cost effective way of identifying individuals!

Conch, Educational Programs, Flats, Sustainable Systems

Pacific Ridge School experiences the Atlantic 2013

July 1, 2013 ceiblogger

The past 12 days have been a whirlwind for a group of 15 students from Carlsbad, Northern San Diego, California. The first week of the program, the students embarked in discovering all the different research areas that CEI is currently involved in. These are just a few of the plethora of activities that we delved into: snorkelling the cage, cutting glass with Sam for the new resource building, jumping off high rock, playing in the pink sand on Harbour Island, observing echinoderms and their tubed feet frenzy over on the sand bar, night wading around the boathouse, followed by many more.

On day one we were out with the flats team seining in some adverse conditions. The rain held us indoors for a couple days, where the student’s day varied from discussing sustainability to dissecting a sponge and learning all about the critters that inhabit the watery pores of a lovely smelling stinker sponge!

Continue reading →

Lionfish, Research Programs, SCUBA

Lionfish Researcher Invasion

June 26, 2013 ceiblogger

Currently CEI is overrun with lionfish researchers; it’s an invasion!

The Oregon State University has a team of 6 here. The renowned lionfish researcher Dr. Mark Hixon was also on site for 2 weeks. We also have a group of 3 researchers from Simon Fraser University, as well as 3 researchers from the University of the West Indies. And, of course, the CEI team is always here.

Let’s hope for lots of data and no stings!

SCUBA, Student Research

Senior Students (Re) Visit CEI!

June 25, 2013 ceiblogger

The week of May 20^th we had four senior students Ian, Kyle, Annie & Cyrus, join us at CEI to work on their senior projects. Three of the four students were Island School alumni and returned to this place where they had learned so much about the marine environment and ‘living well in a place’. Cyrus said that he came to “expand [his] horizons, experience a breadth of marine research and see the world through a different lens.”

The students spent time learning about and helping with three of our research projects – shark research, lionfish research and beach plastic pollution. They had opportunities to work with local students at the Deep Creek Middle School, capture lionfish, scuba dive (Cyrus completed his Open Water Certification here!) and relax at local beaches and restaurants. Continue reading →