Our morning began as usual with a boat ride to Bailey’s Key for data collection and observations. We had our first space use data collection sessions. It was a relatively quiet morning from the surface and Kathleen indicated that the underwater activity was in spurts.
After breakfast, we had a discussion about dolphin maternal styles in pectoral fin contact before boarding the bus to Maya Key. Maya Key is part of AKR and has a lively reef just offshore as well as rescued local animals. There is also a replica of a Mayan ruin on the island. Lunch was a buffet and we enjoyed the sunshine and the sea. After returning to AKR, we practiced Space Use data collection with Manon and Kathleen. We have a better understanding of the scan sampling protocol for tomorrow morning.
Here are our individual impressions:
Sarah – On the snorkel today, I got really freaked out when I heard there was a lionfish nearby.
Emily – Saw so many cool fish today and got to paddleboard with my beautiful friends, which was awesome.
Corey – Looked up from my book just in time to see Sarah fall off her paddleboard.
Gill – Got to hold a baby sea turtle today, which was so cool and fun.
Ava – My favorite part of the day was holding the baby sea turtle.
John – Had a conversation with a parrot. He said hi back. Hit my head at the Mayan ruins and really enjoyed the snorkeling.
Claire – Got to help feed a sea lion that looked like an old man.
Brooklyn – my favorite fish of the day were the porcupine fish and the trunk fish.
Sam – Fed a silly sea lion today. That was cool!
Michael – Snorkeling off Maya Key was awesome. Spider monkeys are just hairier, more nimble toddlers.
Kayla – Saw lots of cool fish while snorkeling. Got to see three agouti, which are obviously my favorite. Good day overall.
Laura P. – I got peed on by a Jaguar today.
Laura M. – Learned how to make observations during space use and cannot wait to put it to use tomorrow.
Justin – I enjoyed seeing everyone get a handle on scan sampling and was very impressed by the restraint displayed by Laura P., Sam, and Gill this morning for ignoring several dolphins who playfully brought them seaweed during AM observations.
Manon – Nice snorkel today. I’m glad everyone enjoyed it and good job for all staying together.
We will be night snorkeling and having more paper discussions and lectures on Tuesday! And we came up with our group name based on the small rodent-like mammals that reside around the resort.
Until tomorrow,
URI’s Agouti Gang