Greetings, loyal fans! So I actually just worked up a sweat hanging my clothes out on the line to dry (it's been quite humid lately - great for my afro!) and now I'm just enjoying a lazy Sunday in Bonaire, sitting outside under the awning of our porch. Per the request of my lovely mother, here's another blog update! I've been pretty busy these last couple of days, which is why there hasn't been one for a while. Now, where to begin???
I shall start with the events of the week. We went on several dives this week, some were rather less exciting compared to our DEEP WRECK DIVE TO THE HILMA HOOKER we did on Thursday! That was so amazing!!! So there's this boat that sunk in the '80s off the south-western coast of Bonaire kinda on purpose (so it could be used as a dive site), and it's about 100 feet deep! When we descended, we crossed over a pretty reef, and then I looked down a ways (at around 50 feet) and there I saw it! It was dark and kinda looming in the distance. I got a little creeped out, but was excited to continue the descent. When we got to the sandy bottom next to the ship, we kneeled on the bottom, monitored our (and our buddy's) air consumption and depth, and looked at a color chart that we saw on the surface. The red on the chart had turned brown while the blue, yellow, and green were slightly darker. Our professor also brought down a plastic bottle filled 1/3 with water - that, and a tennis ball, had imploded from the pressure at depth! She had also brought down an egg to see if it would keep its shape under pressure, but it didn't, even though it should have. A yellowtailed snapper came up and ate the egg, actually! Just munched it right up!
After our little demonstration, we swam around the ship, looking into the hull from the top of it. The ship was on its side so we got to glance in fairly easily. It was so cool, you have no idea! Corals, sponges, and algae were growing on the ship, giving it an eerie presence. I was using up a lot of air at depth, mainly because I just breathe a lot when under water, but also because air consumption increases at increased depth. We were just swimming along, exploring the ship and the corals around it. I loved seeing the steering wheel thingy (whatever you call it on ships) and that was really neat! I pretended to drive the ship, wondering what it was like in the oldendays.
When we had surfaced, we had to actually perform another rescue scenario - now that was exhausting after a very deep and exciting dive, let me tell you. My professor was saying, "We have another scenario that will begin in no time..." and in the meantime, I look over and one of the students is face down in the water. So I jump into Rescue Mode and everyone else joins in. She was such a good sport - we kinda splashed water into her face, and were tugging her about in the ocean, but we eventually got her to shore and she was saved! We have another rescue scenario or two to do before being fully certified!
Anyway, enough of that stuff. As for the academics, this week we came up with our Independent Research Project topics. After some stressful meetings with our advisors and interns and lots of brainstorming, we presented our ideas to the entire group (professors, students, interns) on Friday afternoon. I am hoping to study the impact of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, on the benthic environment at our usual dive spot. I want to look at percent algae cover, live coral cover, and coral diseases in areas where I see the sea urchin. There might be a slight problem in that not many have been seen around the Yellow Sub dive site, so I may have to ammend my idea, but I'll address that when the time comes. I'm looking forward to the research because these urchins suffered a mass mortality in the Caribbean in the '80s and may be recovering. Their mortality resulted in a lot of algae growth, which prevents coral growth and recruitment - bad news. Because they feed on algae, I'm going to see if their presence actually keeps down algae growth and has an impact on increased live coral cover. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I'm excited to start it up!
This weekend has consisted of another trip to the grocery store, chillin on the dock and snorkeling, and being lazy - so it's been a nice reprieve from the past week. On Friday night, we all went to the local bar/club, Havanas, like last week and had a grand old time.
The more time I spend with everyone, the more I realize that this is the perfect pairing of students, ever. We haven't had any drama (let's keep it that way), and with our rescue training, everyone really looks out for each other. We respect eachother's desire for independence, but at the same time try to include everyone when we go on excursions (like snorkeling and whatnot). We're basically a bunch of marine and environmental science nerds from different backgrounds, but with the passion and interest in conservation, which I love.
Anyway, I have to get going, because some people want to go swim to Klein Bonaire, and I kinda want to go, but at the same time I don't want to drown. This will be interesting. Maybe I can bring a floaty?
Love from the Caribbean,
Catalina
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