It was a Long, Long Day!! But it was a very good day! We made some dolphin observations this morning – seeing much socio-sexual play. Breakfast was really good! And it fortified us for the snorkel boat trip, which was the first time for most of us on a boat and to jump off the boat into water! We saw an eagle ray, squirrelfish, parrot fish, lots and lots of starfish, many fan corals and lots of tiny fish. Yesterday’s coral ID talk was very helpful and informative to our snorkel session today! We recognized many of the coral and were informed about the situation coral is facing.
After our first boat trip, we collected water samples from around Anthony’s Key via kayak. Actually, we struggled a bit with collecting water samples from a kayak! Some of us were in the water while others were on the kayak measuring the pH and temperature. It was hard to keep the kayaks near the people without running them or the coral areas over … coordination took a bit of effort! A few other students were taking photos of sea grass and corals for their projects. Lunch was very good! And, we had a really good chat with our three female professors – a very empowering discussion!
Our afternoon then included soil sampling (which was great because it was in the shade!) and more dolphin observations (which were mostly in the sun!). A short bit of free time (an hour) allowed us to rest up or get ready for dinner (Delicious! We are eating very well!), which was followed by more video viewing as well as a discussion of dominance behaviors.
It was a very sunny day and we got sunburns on body parts that have barely seen the sun ever! (e.g., tops of feet, ears and knee caps!)
Until tomorrow,
Kathleen & StMU’s “Rattlers in Roatan”