Duck dives and lionfish and sharks, oh my!

 Hi everyone,

Today we woke up excited to bike back out through the loop to jump off high rock! Many of us were very nervous for this jump seeing as it was quite a high cliff. However, we all were able to push aside our fears as we pushed ourselves off the rock. We learned that the rock at high rock had been eroded by the acid rain and we could actually see the indentations that the drops made as they fell. Certain parts were so eroded that you could see the sand and other sediments that were turned into the rock through lithification. 

Des jumping off of 'high rock'!

The scene at 'high rock!'

After several jumps, we headed back to the dorms to do our daily chores and set up for breakfast. We filled our stomachs with both stuffed quiche and potatoes as we prepared ourselves for a boat ride to “Something to See” – a reef full of a variety of fish that we had just seen and learned about in the classroom. While in the classroom, we talked about the different fins and characteristics that set the unique families of fish apart from one another.

Once at the reef, we found we would finally be snorkeling in some deeper water – 20 feet! We all slipped on our fins and snorkels and plunged into the crystal blue waters to discover some of the fish we had identified in the classroom. Some popular fish we saw included the Sergeant Major, Nassau Grouper, as well as the Squirrel Fish. The current was strong, but that did not keep us from duck diving down to see the fish and corals up close. Some of us even saw a huge sea cucumber and were given the choice to kiss it for two years of good luck! Finally, after an hour of snorkeling, we headed back to the boat house and washed up for lunch.

The boys practicing their duck diving

A scene from the reef!

We were pleasantly surprised to find that burgers were on the menu for lunch today. However, we wanted to finish quickly as we were extremely eager to dissect and learn about lionfish! We were first given an in-depth presentation informing us all about an invasive species – the lionfish. We learned a variety of things spanning from what the colors of the Bahamian flag represent to the few predators that the lionfish have, such as the frog fish.

Frog Fish Eating a Lionfish Video

As soon as we learned all the terminology and facts, we jumped right into the dissection of the lionfish that had just been killed earlier today. One was so fresh that its heart was beating when we took it out of its body! While some of us found the dissection a bit gross and smelly, we all learned many cool facts about this unique fish. For example, lionfish have a body part called an otolith, which is located on the inside of the fish up the spine in between where the eyes are. The otolith can be used to determine the approximate age of the specific lionfish, a little bit like rings on a tree trunk. Directly after we finished our dissection, we biked over to the marina to throw our lionfish parts into the water for the nurse and bull sharks! At one point there were almost 20 sharks!

Stan helping the team dissect their specimen

Two nurse sharks and a bull shark at the marina!

After we enjoyed our delicious chicken fajitas, we made our way over to the presentation room to learn about N.A.M.O – nocturnal adaptations of marine organisms. This lesson was our preview into our night activity for tomorrow, which is the night snorkel! We learned many things such as why certain fish have bigger eyes, reflective lenses (tapetum locidum), or counter-shading. We also learned about bioluminescence and were able to tie this into a scene from Finding Nemo. We then ended the night by heading over to the boat house to test out our night vision like pirates. We walked inside the storage room of the boat house and covered one eye while the other stared at the ceiling light. After a few minutes, we shut off the lights and had night vision in the one eye that was covered!

Clearly, today was a very jam-packed day with lots to learn and see. We are anxious to go out tomorrow on a kayak adventure and experience night snorkeling for the first time!

Dana & Rachel 

P.S. We love and miss you all xoxox