Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Life of a Mermaid


9th May 2013 
  • ·      Breakfast
  • ·      Snorkel gear pick up
  • ·      Coral reef and fish identity in the field
  • ·      Lunch
  • ·      Swim with nurse sharks and stingrays
  • ·      Measure conchs
  • ·      Dinner


Today was just so marvelous. Caye Caulker reminds me so much of Florida, it is rather comforting. The main difference though, is the diversity of the fish as well as the coral reefs. Our group went out to identify those coral reefs and fish using a transect. Just as in the forest, field methods here are subject to error. So before we were able to go out in the water, we had to first test our estimating abilities of various objects. Lina and I teamed up together, estimated the objects very close to size. We were only 2cm short on every object.

Ali explaining to us the SMP methods

Heather and Lindsay

Everyone getting into the water

Our methods in the ocean were based on SMP (Synoptic Monitoring Program). In using SMP, we were able to measure the coral cover, key stone species (fish and coral), and sea urchins. Sea urchins and herbivorous fish have a very important symbiotic relationship with the corals. They eat the algae growing, most of the time invasively, on the reef. Approximately 32% of the coral reefs are covered with algae. We laid down transects 30m long and every 25cm we identified the coral, sand, and the overall environment. For proper fish identity, we did the same process, but instead of every 25cm it was every 2m. You had to first measure the adult fish (10cm to 20cm long), for they swim away first, then we count the juvenile fish (under 5cm) as well as sea urchins.

Ali and Miss Cecy then went on to explain that there are three zones within the marine area. Five percent of the marine reserve is the preservation zone. In this area no one is allowed to fish or bring tourists. It is protected so fish stocks can replenish safety without any hazards. Conservation zone only makes up twenty percent of the area. Tourists are allowed to snorkel, but cannot fish or touch any marine life. The last seventy percent is made up of the general use zone. Commercial fishing is allowed, but there are restrictions. No one can use spear guns, long line hooks, or nets that are detrimental to the area. In 5 years, the marine biologists have recorded a dramatic increase in fish stock.

For many people in the group they have seen coral reefs before. This was my first time. I cannot describe appropriately how beautiful it was. Looking down, my eyes were met with colors of the rainbow. Cheesy, I know, but I am not a well writer. Purple sea fans swayed back and forth, striped parrotfish munched on the algae, and corals of different formations and colors covered the ocean floor. Everyone resembled mermaids amongst the corals. Examples of coral saw were:  staghorn coral, fire coral, fan coral, lettuce leaf coral, brain coral, and etc.

















Following lunch, we swam with nurse sharks and stingrays! The stingrays are definitely used to human activity. They swam beneath us, over us, and even let the tour guide hold a few so us tourists could pet them. The nurse sharks were shyer and preferred to be far away from humans. In the conservation areas, I can tell that wildlife is becoming more domesticated. Although these excursions are essential for the economy here, I believe the effects could be more detrimental than we think. As Boris said in the Chiquibul Forest, there needs to be a balance between the social, ecological, economic, and political institutions. I hope Caye Caulker practices that balance.

Queen conchs are currently in season, in practicing field methods we placed down two transects and picked up every conch a meter away from the transect line. After that, our groups measured the conchs. A queen conch larger than 17cm with a lip is considered an adult. We measured the length, and the thickness of the lip. If it was a juvenile, we only measured the length though. The biologists were explaining, that as conchs grow, they reach a maximum length, and then begin to grow taller rather than longer.





To quickly recap the day, coral reefs in Caye Caulker are affected mainly by human affluence, activity, as well as natural hazards (hurricanes), natural caused diseases, and algae. It is interesting; in the States all of our sewage is treated, here though, only 20% of the human affluence is treated. That means that 80% is released into the ocean, harming the surrounding areas. Although I do not know the science, I feel that if this problem is not addressed, the marine life will be adversely impacted (example: black band disease on coral is caused by sewage).  I am curious if the Belize government will take action to implement a sewage treatment plant if scientific evidences finds untreated sewage as major threat to coral reefs. 

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