On Monday, the interns
searched through Sargassum seaweed to find and identify as many different
organisms living within the seaweed as they could. The interns found various worms, crabs, Sargassum shrimp – Leander
tenuicornis, Sargassum fish – Histrio
histrio, and a baby nudibrach or
Sargassum Slug – Scyllaea pelagica. Check out the video below of some of
the little critters the interns observed through their microscopes:
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Sargassum Fish Sargassum Shrimp
Additionally, on Monday
afternoon the interns traveled to the ship scar of the Mari Boeing to practice
measuring coral recruits. The
interns laid down 30-meter transect tapes, placed quadrats next to the tape at
randomly predetermined intervals, then measured the size of the coral recruits
using vernier calipers.
During the day on Tuesday,
the interns participated in a DAN course that taught them how to provide oxygen to people suffering from decompression illness. Then, the interns snorkeled in the
mangroves near BIOS and identified the different fish species living
there. Tuesday night, the interns
participated in a special night dive at the wreck of the Dredger. The interns saw many examples of
nocturnal activity and had lots to say about it:
In their own words:
Jeral - While
diving at the dredger I spotted a soapfish. This was my first time seeing one in the wild.
Rawleigh - Le Night Dive at
the Dredger wreck held a feeling of excitement for me. The real revelation to me was the
multitude of new wildlife that I had never seen before that emerged that night
in the dim and murky water around the stricken ship. Among the new creatures to
me was the Arrow crab, a Fire worm and a pair of Octopodes.
James
- Last night’s dive was amazing. The wreck was bigger than I expected, with
masses of coral growing off it. We
saw many different fish, from coneys to some octopi.
Kori - We traveled far into
the depths of the Dredger searcher for all sorts of creatures lurking through
the night. The creatures that approached me had different figures; Hogfish,
Octopi, Doctorfish, Ocean Surgeon, Honeycombed Trunkfish, Arrow Crabs,
Fireworms, Snappers, Goatfish, Breams, and LOADS of coral.
Joshua - Many of us didn’t
know what was going to be down there. It was amazing how many types of fish inhabited this massive
ship. We saw a few coneys, triggerfish, groupers, and even some octopi mating.
It was an exciting experience.
Megan - Its huge
frame loomed in the darkness, and seemed even more eerie as we began our dive
while the sun was going down. 60ft being the deepest I had ever dived, I was
slightly nervous, however, within minutes I had forgotten my fear and was
totally immersed (haha << get it .. immersed..) in my surroundings.
Eric - The valiant MSI team took a plunge into the dark depths
where dwells The Dredger. As the
interns descended, colonies of Montastrea
cavernosa battled for their existence. A lone grunt erupted from a cloud of detritus. Many floating creatures were ensnared
by the traps of painted tunicates, which coated the surfaces of the
wreck. Anemones became
active, stretching their tentacles ever farther to consume nearby
creatures. The team was
taken by surprise when oddly misshapen hogfish swam through the skeleton of the
ship. Like the slaves of
Circe, these fish are twisted to look like swine. Had we stayed until
more monsters of the night awoke, who knows that would have been the fate of
the MSI team?
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