Good Times (Ocean 2017)
May 29, 2017
Good Times is the name of our boat and the type of times we’re having all day every day on Ocean! We have been seaurchin (Rowsey, 2017) for new knowledge and we found the right place to find it! We have been expanding our understanding of marine science daily with lessons on the chemical and physical properties of water, herbivory, and invertebrates. We recently conducted a few experiments including a preliminary survey of coral cover at Cistern, which we conducted in order to practice our transect and quadrat laying skills. Our other experiment was a herbivory lab in which we observed the consumption of turtle grass and manatee grass in a bright and dark location off of Cooper Island.
We had some chill vibes yesterday morning as we ate some delish ice cream and listened to Mr. Ray sing about the zones of the ocean. We have also been improving our sailing skills with a small crew, which one would think is a disadvantage, but this crew is tight and we’ve been having some legit mooring ball pick ups in the past few days as well as listening to some jams while underway.
We have been seeing an astounding number of species on our dives and snorkels including spotted eagle rays, southern sting rays, green sea turtles, a black tip shark, barracudas, tarpon, and a variety of reef fish. We’re learning a great deal of knowledge from Lindley and Rowsey, our Program Director and Captain. Dinnertime is also super cool on this boat because this crew and staff have had some incredible experiences and they are so interesting to hear about.
It has been all GT’s (…Good…Times) here but the only BT has been the sunburn, we’re all in need of a skosh more sunscreen, hats, and some long sleeve shirts. This afternoon, we will be dissecting a sea urchin for our lesson on invertebrates! Stay tuned to read about some more GTs and marine science on Ocean!
Meredith Davies, Ocean student, age 19, Plainsboro, NJ
Photos: from Herbivory Lab (setting up on the boat and underwater)
