Wittenberg University Marine Science - Bahamas

Bahama Farewell

kreinsel — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:42:44 +0000

We started the day as usual, eating our daily serving of eggs and a muffin. After breakfast, we boarded the truck for our last snorkel at Snapshot Reef.

It was a bittersweet morning knowing it would be our last swim together as a group. In just 48 hours we would be at the airport getting ready to start our journey home. Despite the mixed emotions, we observed all of the corals, fish and organisms we have studied for the past three weeks. From blue tangs, to Christmas tree worms, we saw it all at Snapshot (Everything, but the Shark that is!). After reviewing for the final tomorrow, we played a game of tag and enjoyed our last swim in the water here at San Sal.

Buying souvenirs in town

On the way back to the GRC, we stopped in town to pick up a refreshing Bahamas Goombay Punch and some gifts for everyone at home from the town’s basket weaver. Lunch today was chicken sandwiches. YUM! After lunch, it was an afternoon of studying, napping, bracelet making, and finishing any other projects due before we leave. After dinner, tonight’s class was focused on reviewing for our final. We watched slide shows of all the organisms we will need to identify and reviewed all the last minute information. As the night is coming to an end, we can’t believe there is only one day left. Wish us luck tomorrow! And we will be home in no time!

Bahamas out!

Our last swim together!

-written by Moira Beebe ’13 & Sarah Reilly ‘13

The End is Near

kreinsel — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:36:12 +0000

Since yesterday only half of the class could fit on the boat, today the other half took the trip out to Gaulin Reef. Unfortunately, one person got a little sea sick…but luckily recovered later in the day. The group saw a tiger grouper, a six foot wide southern sting ray, a two foot long Caribbean Spiny lobster, and its molt because it had recently molted.

Caribbean Spiny Lobster Molt

After the snorkel trip, Edbert, the boat captain, took the group to Catto Cay to see nesting brown boobies, noddy turns, sooty turns, and sally lightfoot crabs. While this part of the class was gone, others stayed at the station and worked on miscellaneous tasks to finish up research or ventured out to North Point to collect more data.

On the Boat to Gaulin Reef

The class reunited at lunch over burgers, fries, pasta salad, and jello. For the afternoon, we all worked on gathering more data and finishing up our research. Groups headed to Sand Dollar, Bonefish Bay, Singer’s Point, and North Point, while a few students stayed at the GRC. After returning to the station, everyone showered and enjoyed some down time until our exciting evening activity.

After dinner at the Short Stop

Tonight there was no class…but typical Bahamian food. Instead of more lectures, the professors took us to the local bar, the Short Stop, to enjoy a meal cooked by a couple of local ladies. We had fish, conch fritters, peas and rice, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and guava duff. This was a much appreciated change of pace.

After dinner, some headed back to the GRC while others stayed for a while to mingle and play card games. All in all today was another sandy, hot, and sweaty day here on San Sal. Everyone is starting to get mixed feelings about leaving our home away from home for our real homes. 3 DAYS. Bahama <3.

-written by Rachael Nuzzo ’13 & Jonny Price ’13

We’re on a boat!

kreinsel — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:27:35 +0000

Today was just another Monday here at the GRC…well, kind of. We devoured our breakfast of French toast and sausage that energized us for an exciting snorkel and dive trip out to Gaulin Reef. However, instead of the typical snorkel entrance from the shore, we boarded a boat and headed North towards Gaulin Cay, where we jumped right in off of the boat to explore a new reef. Only half of our group was lucky enough to experience this trip today, while the rest stayed back and worked on group projects (the other half will venture out on the boat tomorrow). Some of the exciting creatures we saw were eels, Hawksbill turtles, barracudas, a variety of parrotfish, and a HUGE southern stingray that could have swallowed us whole! On the way back to the island, we stopped at a nearby Cay that was home to thousands of nesting birds that flew just inches from our heads.

boat ride to Gaulin reef

on Catto Cay

When we arrived back to the GRC, we ate one of our favorite lunches of pizza, pasta salad, and peaches. In the afternoon, we continued back to our daily routine of research in the field while some of us headed to Monument, Snapshot, Bonefish Bay, and North Point. Our research is coming along quite well, and most of us will be finishing our last day of data collecting tomorrow afternoon.

A group collecting data

After showering up, we went to dinner and back to the lab to finish the last of the group presentations on coral. The night concluded with some studying, a visit to the snack shop, and heading to bed to rest up for the next big day out in the field.
Only 4 more days until you get to see our shining, tan faces! Bahamas <3

-written by Lauren Cassel ’12 & Megan Gordon ’12

A Day in San Sal

kreinsel — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:40:26 +0000

After a beautiful, bug-free, and breezy night, our day started off as a peaceful Sunday morning with some much needed unscheduled time. Most people caught up on sleep, played cards, or did some extra work on presentations or research projects.

Our daring divers

This left many groups scattered in local areas such as Dump Reef, North Point, the GRC or huddled in the air conditioned lab room assigned to Witt. However, our lucky divers got to experience two deep-water dives to The Wall and Runway 10. The Wall dive was to 70 feet and Runway 10 was around 50 feet. During their dive they got to see huge barrel sponges, a large Caribbean spiny lobster eating a snail, and a 10 foot reef shark. As our morning came to a close, we all gathered back at the GRC for some delicious lunch. Even though it was great, some of us couldn’t help but dream about the fresh, local conch fritters we ate the night before.

As we gathered to load on the bus after our lunch break, it was clear how the different research projects had progressed by the various equipment, destination, and sampling techniques being used. The truck was loaded with quadrats, collection buckets, tape measures, super suckers and the usual snorkel gear.

Teamwork- Sarah and Will at Watling's Castle yesterday

Today many groups headed to either Sand Dollar or Bonefish Bay to continue collecting data. Other groups ventured to nearby sites such as North Point to continue transect work and data collection. As the focus shifts away from class trips, research has been the dominant activity during the last week. However with close attention being paid to the reefs in research projects there are still many exciting creatures being spotted. Today the list included medusa worms, a common octopus, a hawksbill turtle, and a yellow-spotted eel.

Snorkel Smiles

In the evening we continued group phylum presentations, learning about plants and arthropods. It is odd to think that we will be leaving this place so soon. At least for us, San Salvador and the GRC have become a hot and sandy, yet gorgeous, home away from home.

-written by Lauren Bien ’11 & Emily Dick ’13

OMG there’s an octopus!

kreinsel — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:02:24 +0000

Our day began with a long drive through the wilderness we call San Salvador, entertained by a rendition of “Single Ladies,” performed by our very own Dr. Phillips. Needless to say, he was well caffeinated this morning. We finally arrived at Watling’s Castle which was built in the 1780s for a British Loyalist fleeing the United States. San Salvador was known as Watling’s Island until the Bahamas gained its independence in 1973. Now the bare walls make for awesome group picture opportunities. Some of us took this time to perfect our rock climbing skills.

Group picture at Watling's Castle

Rock climbing expertise

Bloggers in front of the Red Mangroves

After another hot truck ride, we swam and floated in the Pigeon Creek estuary, hoping to see a juvenile lionfish and other baby fish that hide among the prop roots of the red mangrove trees. As we continued to fight the current to stand by the beach, Hannah picked up a shell from which a tiny octopus erupted! We then ate lunch in an abandoned vacation home called Ocean House.

Once again we loaded up on the truck and headed out to explore the rocky intertidal zone of Blackwood Bay. Here we flipped over large rocks and found many new, exciting organisms, including a medusa worm, peanut worms, coral crab, sea hare (a sea slug released a cloud of ink after being harassed by Sarah), and snapping shrimp.

JW posing a Coral Crab

After a fantastic day, we headed into Cockburn Town (pronounced “co-burn”) where we were treated to candy bars, cold drinks, and snacks by our professors. Upon arriving back to the GRC in time for dinner, a few of us were lucky enough to witness J-dub’s phenomenal parallel parking skills.

Class tonight consisted of student presentations that taught us more about the fish and echinoderms of San Salvador.

6 days and counting until you see our lovely tanned selves!

Bahama <3

Stephanie, Hannah, and Amanda

PS. Papa Allbee- Please post World Cup Scores in the blog!

-Written by Amanda Allbee ’11, Hannah Clark ’12, and Stephanie Zmina ’12

Bahamas Love 2: The Honeymoon is Over. A Coco Thunder and Jonny Bravo Production

kreinsel — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:57:28 +0000

Today began in much the same way that any other day at the GRC begins. We awoke from our restless sleep after having woken up multiple times in the night due to the thick, moist (ewwwwwwwww) heat and our lovely neighbors reminding us to “don’t stop believing” in A minor at two in the morning. The Wittenberg Crew stumbled in to the 5-star cafeteria where we were greeted to a lovely layout of the “extra deliciousness” we have become accustomed to. For those who believe that the Bahamas trip was nothing but fun and games… YOU WERE WRONG!!!

data collection on the reef

We started today by collecting data for our research projects which we will complete upon returning to Witt in the fall. The majority of the groups conducted their research at sand dollar reef while a smaller group continued on to collect data at bonefish bay. During our data collection we were able to yet again experience the beautiful tropical reefs of San Salvador which keep us so enthusiastic about learning day after day. As our data collecting came to an end we returned to the GRC briefly for lunch before heading back out to the south east tip of San Salvador where we were to swim miles and miles across the thunderous waves of the sea (ok maybe a couple meters or two through calm and shallow waters) from Snow Bay to High Cay. High Cay is the largest of a small chain of cays which consist of High Cay, Middle Cay, and yup you guessed it… Low Cay. High Cay is supposedly where Christopher Columbus first caught a glimpse of the “new world” before making landfall on the main island of San Salvador the next day.

looking at the osprey nest and the ocean

The water along the beaches of Snow Bay reminded us of a warm and welcoming Jacuzzi, which was not as appreciated as you may think, especially on this cool 910 day. As we began the long swim across the bay Coco Thunder and Poseidon became proud fathers of the ocean along the way their sons names were Jeffery and Bumper who were two pompano fish which decided they would accompany the group for the entire swim across the bay. Arriving at High Cay did not come without its casualties; several individuals of the Witt Crew suffered from minor stings from the hydroids hiding in the turtle grass along the way and unhappily found that we had forgotten to bring the vinegar with us on the trip. We then proceeded to hike around the base of the cay to the backside where we hiked up a steep brush covered slope. Upon reaching the summit we observed an osprey nest and the Atlantic Ocean for as far as the eye can see; we could even observe the curvature of the earth from this viewpoint. Looking out across this vast expanse of water knowing the next body of land you would be able to see is Africa made us all feel a little small. After a group photo at the summit we began our decent to the beach where we had left all of our gear after the swim.

group photo on High Cay

However we didn’t leave until resting for a little while in the small tiki hut that had previously been built on the beach. After the long hot swim back to the truck we were running a little late so as soon as we were packed JW showed us his true skills as a NASCAR driver working the truck through its gears as if he were racing in the Daytona 500. We made it back to the GRC only slightly late for dinner but in plenty of time for the first of the group phylum presentations. Bahamas <3.

inside the tiki hut

-written by Coco Thunder (Will McKelvey ’10) and Jonny Bravo (Lewis Hebert ’12)

Once upon a time…

kreinsel — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:06:13 +0000

Once upon a time, on an island far, far away a group of Wittenberg students woke up to cloudy skies. Our group split up once again to continue gathering data. One group, studying land crabs, remained at the field station while another group doing intertidal work was dropped off at Bonefish Bay. The remaining people who needed to snorkel the reefs to collect information traveled on to Monument.

Emily, Moira, and Bien with their homemade data collection devices

The water today was churning and making waves bigger than we had seen on this trip so far. This made for low visibility on the reefs but we did the best we could. After a little over an hour, the skies darkened and thunder began to rumble causing the Monument gang to get out early for safety reasons.

Stormy Weather Makes for Great Pictures Not Truck Rides

We wrapped up our project work and jumped on the truck to get our people at Bonefish. Miraculously, the rain waited until we arrived back at the GRC to start pouring down. As people began to line up for lunch, the skies opened up completely and drenched everyone who was waiting.

After lunch the bugs came out in droves and all the students took on various task of studying, working on research projects, or working on presentation projects. Other people took time out to nap, play cards, or just generally stare off into space contemplating our next bug bite After all the rain today we are all glad to be indoors.

Stephanie getting a much needed nap

Research projects seem to be coming along, maybe not with the results that we all wanted, but it is field work after all After dinner we stood in line, again, for some email time. After being disappointed that our families didn’t email us back (hint hint) we were off to take our next exam! It seems to be mixed feelings on how well we all did but I am sure we did fine. Now we are sitting here writing this blog, scratching bug bites (sorry KR), and dreaming of braving the bugs for some much needed ice cream…

Till next time,

Kathi and Jen signing off

P.S. We didn’t have a lot of good photos from today so we picked one of us from our wall snorkel yesterday

Kathi and Jen at the Wall yesterday

-written by Kathi McQueen ’11 & Jennifer Rowland ’11

UNLEASH THE KRAKEN!

kreinsel — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:53:54 +0000

The day began with high hopes as we boarded the truck to THE WALL. THE WALL for those of you who don’t know is the abrupt drop off that occurs about 500 meters away from our typical snorkeling location, Snapshot Reef. As we snorkeled out, we were interested in the differing habitats of the spur and groove coral reefs and garden eels. And then we reached THE WALL- AMAZING. Intertwined among the various barrel sponges, a spotted eagle ray emerged from the abyss accompanied by a band of southern stingrays. Little did we know, the sea creatures informed Poseidon of the terrestrial visitor. The sacrificial “Awkward Cousin” had pleased Poseidon greatly as he was then able to summon a scalloped hammerhead shark – modern day Kraken, for our viewing pleasure. After the presentation of sheer awesomeness, we had to make it back to the GRC in time for lunch while dodging the insistent curiosity of the barracudas.

The Kraken

Then we ventured to the lighthouse that sits atop San Salvador. The lighthouse dated back to the late 1800’s. We broke up into groups of six people and headed to the top of the lighthouse, which consisted of the ever present pink walls and a small winding staircase. Once at the top, we crawled through a small hole in the wall to the outside balcony in order to soak in the great view and see the kerosene powered light. It was a nice change of pace to be able to see some of history of San Salvador.

Having light, we put it in a house...

After being atop the highest point of San Salvador, we then took the path less traveled which led us into a hillside cavern. Grabbing a hold of a rusty ol’ ladder, we descended into the vast chasm. Once inside, we were continually barraged by kamikaze bats. In full retreat, we headed deeper into the void which was filled with “fresh” water from the rising tide. Wading, swimming, and crawling, we observed endemic and rare white sponges in the water. It was soon realized that the water was not so fresh… With sporadic warm spots and the ever present bat population, the water we were wading through was not Ice Mountain pure. After reaching the final chamber, we then split into two groups, one would venture back the way we came and the other was more extreme. Army crawling through tight squeezes and guano we had our work cut out for us. To get out of the tight passage, we had to dive underwater and through a tunnel following the saving song of JDubs’ voice. There was some speculation and one eye witness account of a zombie sighting in the cave. It was once we reached salvation that we realized the zombie we had seen was in fact our one and only, “Awkward zombie Cousin.” Just another day in the Bahamas….
Bahama <3

-written by Christen Brown ’11 & JB Easley ’13

There are ZOMBIES in the water!

Today’s Tuition: $200… Large Can of Bug Spray: $8.50… JDub going Free Willy style off Coco Thunder: Priceless

kreinsel — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:32:41 +0000

If a doctor could diagnose today, it would be “multiple personality disorder!” Looming over the island for the entire day was a grumpy storm cloud that had a nasty habit of ruining the otherwise delightful day.

Even More Quadrats

The morning started as usual: hot, sunny, and sweaty. We spent our time working on our research projects. Some of us stayed at GRC while others went to Bonefish Bay or Monument Reef.
After rigorous data collection from all groups, we hopped onto the truck and headed back to the GRC. A little ways into our drive, we were suddenly pelted with a barrage of stinging rain. JB’s “Rite in the Rain” notebook was soaked beyond repair. A few people held up towels to block their faces from the merciless “sandpaper rain” while others yelled in agony.

Rain Drops Falling on Our Heads

After arriving back at the GRC, we attempted to dry off. On our afternoon trip we headed to the “Grotto.” Grotto Beach is secluded from almost all Bahamian life. The water was the clearest we have seen all trip! Today’s purpose was to relax before the storm of “Quizzes” (do not let the name fool you they are actually midterms), Final Exam, Research Projects and Phylum Presentations begin to remind us that we are still in school !!

Grotto Beach Fun

To relax, we created synchronized swimming teams. The girls made an artsy show, while the guys created an acrobatic one. In our humble opinion and the consensus of the guys, the team of “Coco Thunder,” “Jonny Bravo,” “Boo Boo,” “Spanky,” “Poseidon and “Boop!” won the Gold. After all the fun, videos and pictures that we had at Grotto Beach, we were dragged out by “Mommy,” “Daddy” and “the Awkward Cousin.” As a common occurrence the last few days our truck ride consisted of blistering rain. We made a quick stop in town for supplies for our research projects. To end our day we are sitting here listening to a lecture on corals…as you can tell it is very exciting since we wrote this during it!! Joking; class was fun!!!

Peace Out
Ben and Kevin

P.S. To Parents…your tuition money is well spent do not worry!!

-written by Ben Rausch ’13 & Kevin To ’13

Let’s get it started!

kreinsel — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:04:19 +0000

Today was the first day we had a chance to work on research projects. However, it was mostly just trial and error to test different methods for data collection. This helped each group get a better idea of what their specific question would be for the project. To do this, half of the group went to Bonefish Bay, half to Snapshot, and one group stayed at the GRC. Overall, it was a good first step towards the research projects that will continue through the fall semester.

Our Divers preparing for another adventure. (Dr.Phil isn't in this shot but he dove also)

In the afternoon we revisited French Bay on the south end of the island. We saw a Spanish Lobster which is nocturnal so it was a great find to see it during the day; a Yellow Spotted Eel was seen by some snorkelers, as well as a cleaner shrimp on an anemone. Once again, our divers donned their dive suits and tanks for another adventure. The underwater pictures are limited at this time since most of the cameras are currently in rehab.

The truck ride home was quite interesting, to say the least. It involved spotty pelting rain, some serious loss of equipment which led to a few turnarounds and one wardrobe casualty by an unnamed person aka ‘awkward hand.’ But, like most things it ended well with a game and the singing of “Billy Jean” by Michael Jackson just for Dr. Phil.

Some of the group on the truck after the rain.

Wishing you warm weather and some of our bug bites.

P.S. The internet has been quite bad which led to the late posting of the June 6 blog…this may also be the reason for lack of e-mail communication from your student.

-written by Tasha Boerst ’13 & Josh Fridley ’13