Warwick Academy Explores Threats to Our Ocean
Last week an enthusiastic
group of 15 Warwick Academy students visited BIOS to learn more about marine
science issues facing Bermuda. The
students are in their final year of the International Baccalaureate Program, an
internationally recognized college preparatory program that challenges students
to become critical thinkers and thoughtful members of an increasingly global
society. Jessica Young of Warwick
Academy instructs the students in Environmental
Systems and Societies, an interdisciplinary course examining the interactions
of culture and the environment. JP
Skinner, Director of BIOS’s Ocean Academy, eagerly welcomed the group and led
them on a tour of BIOS. The students had
the opportunity to see some of BIOS’s research labs such as the Coral Reef
Ecology and Resilience lab and the Reef Ecology and Evolution lab. The students were very impressed by the
science going on at BIOS, one commented, “there is so much more science and
research going on here than I thought.”
Students also visited
scientist Ruth Curry of the Mid-Atlantic Glider Initiative and Collaboration(MAGIC) lab. Here the students were
given the opportunity to meet “Anna”, BIOS’s first Autonomous Underwater
Vehicle (AUV) glider. Anna is a remotely
controlled glider that makes dives in the ocean, taking measurements of a
variety of oceanic parameters. Via physical
and biochemical sensors, Anna is capable of measuring aspects of the ocean such
as pressure, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved organic
matter at a variety of depths. She then
transmits this data via satellite back to the team at BIOS, and is programmed
for her next assignment.
Ruth Curry was proud to show
off Anna’s new sticker, a badge celebrating her achievements during Hurricane
Gonzalo in October 2014. As HurricaneGonzalo approached Bermuda, Anna was sent directly into its’ path in order to
help scientists better understand the oceanic conditions during a
hurricane. The data that she collected
was the first of its kind, and forever earned Anna a place in the history of
AUV’s.
The second part of the
morning for the Warwick Academy team focused on marine debris in the Sargasso
Sea. Behind a table brimming with hundreds of different types of plastic
objects, JP explained how plastics get into the marine environment and the harmful
effects of such pollution on the marine ecosystem. Some of the items he pointed out included large,
black cylinders used for catching octopus off the coast of Africa, shot gun
shells, and lobster pot tags from North America. However, as JP explained, the most
deadly type of plastics floating in the world’s oceans and rivers are not these
large pieces of plastic debris. Instead,
what we need to focus on are the small, ‘micro’ sized plastic pieces known as
microplastics. These tiny plastic pieces
come from items like cosmetic body scrubs, or result from the degradation of
larger plastic objects. Because they can
be accidently ingested by living organisms, these small pieces of plastic can
harm wildlife. Chemicals associated with plastics, like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), also enter the food chain
and can be detrimental to health as they become more concentrated at higher
levels of the food chain, a process known as biomagnification.
The last stop on the tour for
the Warwick Academy group was to visit Lais Lima, an intern working with BIOS’s
Dr. de Putron. Lais explained her research in understanding the effects of
temperature variation on the starlet coral. Lais explained how corals are very sensitive
to changes in water temperature, and can undergo coral bleaching if exposed to extreme
temperature variation. In this bleached state,
the coral is weak and vulnerable to disease and possible death if normal
conditions do not return. As the climate
changes as a result of increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, coral
bleaching episodes are expected to increase. This research seeks to better understand how
corals deal with extreme conditions.
(c) National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Warwick Academy’s visit
ended with a snorkel trip to observe some examples of coral bleaching. Our
boat, Polaris, headed out towards
North Rock where there was word of a coral bleaching event. Kyla, BIOS’s Ocean
Academy Program Assistant, led the group in search of examples of coral
bleaching. The students were able to
observe some corals that were stressed, and also explore the reef with their
buddy team. Kyla managed to find a West
Indian sea egg and sea cucumber, and taught the students about the two species. After a fascinating snorkel, the group headed
back to BIOS, with a greater appreciation of the challenges that face our ocean
and coral reefs.
