Tag Archives: CEI

Outreach, Research Programs, Sea turtles

CEI Participates in Deep Creek Middle School’s “School Without Walls”

CEI Researchers Annabelle Brooks and Meagan Gary took a class of Grade 7 students from Deep Creek Middle School to get hands-on learning experience, capturing and tagging sea turtles in Half Sound, Eleuthera.  The class was part of the middle school’s “School Without Walls” program which aims to tackle unique and pertinent issues confronting the surrounding community.  Students waded out into the mangroves and captured 5 turtles and multiple bonefish.  All were measured and tagged and released back into the wild.  For many of the students, this was their first time exploring the mangroves ecosystems of Eleuthera.  Two of the turtles were captured for the first time, which the kids named “Franklin” and “Slash”.

Students form a “scare line” that spans the creek, chasing turtles and fish into the net near the mouth
The seine net is carefully rolled up, removing any debris.
Vital statistics were recorded.
DCMS Grade 7 and CEI Turtle Research Team

 

 

 

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Aquaculture

New Shark Resistant Netting on CEI’s Aquaculture Cage

This fall the Cape Eleuthera Institute installed a new shark-resistant netting called PREDATOR-X on CEI’s off-shore aquaculture cage. The netting was developed in partnership with NET Systems, Inc., and DSM Dyneema. This video provides an inside look at the research and development process, as well as the installation.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bPe5LIiqVV0]

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Uncategorized

“Conference Caffeine”

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For those of us in the professional workplace, we know all too well that our day-to-day can get overwhelming, disheartening and sometimes banal. Even scientists, as exciting as our research can be, feel this too. At CEI, there is so much going that on that it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture and take for granted this amazing place where we live and the truly interesting work we do. Long hours of fieldwork, scrubbing tanks, struggling through statistical analysis can sometimes can leave asking, “what is this all for?” To alleviate this, we look for “pick me ups”, which for many comes in the form of coffee, or, for the Brits among us, a cupp’a PG Tips. I find that taking a plunge into the ocean or a run around the loop also gets the job done. But these practices are…well, just not sustainable! The trick, I’ve discovered, to really get energized and motivated – I mean really excited about what you’re doing, your job, your day to day – is to attend a conference! Conferences bring like-minded people together to discuss similar topics of interest. They inform, spark dialogue, entice collaboration and get people enthusiastic about their work. I like to call this getting your “conference caffeine.” Continue reading →

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Student Research, Uncategorized

F’11 First Lionfish Research Update

By Maddy Philipp and Katie Harpin

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Greetings from the Lionfish Research team! We are now three weeks into the program and have already learned so much. The purpose of our study is to look at how grouper and currents affect the distribution of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) found around Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas. So far we have gone on two mock dives. Unfortunately our second one got cut short due to an unexpected thunderstorm. We have also learned how to identify grouper and take the total length of fish from a distance underwater. For one of our classes, we took a trip to CEI and learned how to dissect a lionfish. From the dissection we could see what the lionfish had eaten. We also learned that lionfish can expand their stomachs up to 30 times its normal size. For another class we became scientist for a day and learned the correct structure for scientific papers. We have 3 research classes a week and two of those usually involve fieldwork. Although the readings may be strenuous, the lionfish team is excited to have the opportunity to work alongside biologists and helping to further the worlds knowledge on lionfish.

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Student Research, Uncategorized

Need Support for November Shark Expedition!

Attention alumni! Edd Brooks, shark project manager, is in need of some support on his upcoming shark expedition and is looking to The Island School alumni network for help. November 6-18, Edd and his team will be in Little San Salvador to recreate shark surveys that were conducted in the late 1970s. Their goal is to identify any shifts in the diversity and abundance of sharks in the last 30 years. If you are interested in applying to join this expedition or have any other questions, please contact Edd at eddbrooks@islandschool.org by October 14th. Continue reading →

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