09 Jan PM – Jamaican Me Crazy!

Today is our 6th day in Jamaica! We have done so much work since our arrival that it feels as if we have already been here for several weeks; meanwhile we haven’t even spent 1 full week in Jamaica.

Picture 1
Fish swimming by its home, the coral reef!

Today will be a little different because we will be taking our exams for the course, which includes a written exam and a species-identification test. Thus far, we have learned about various marine vertebrates (different fish), invertebrates (sponges, sea stars, urchins, and coral) and plants (turtle grass). The information was interesting, but memorizing the scientific names of all of the organisms we encountered was a difficult task. Learning a course-load of material in a matter of days was very difficult for myself, as I am not a marine biology major. However, it was great to learn about something unfamiliar for a change.

So far, my snorkeling partner Trever and I have collected 2 balloon fish (a personal favorite), a scorpion fish, a boxfish, and several other small organisms. I kind of have to admit… Trever did most of the work in terms of catching fish as well as picking up spider-looking brittle sea stars off the ocean floor (a personal least favorite). I finally faced my fears and, while on the verge of screaming, held one of the creepy-crawly brittle sea stars in my hand, but I can guarantee that that certainly won’t be happening often! 

Picture 2
Trever catching a balloon fish (round fish to right of fish net). Swatting at him so many times caused him to “balloon up.”

From now on, most of our time is going to be spent doing our own research projects. I find this very exciting because now that we have a little bit more freedom we have more time to really experience the marine life here in Jamaica and focus on what catches our interest (I know what I will be researching, but I’m not telling just yet =] ). We will be leaving the facility as a group today after our exam to see a little bit more of Jamaica. I’m very excited and hope that it won’t be our last trip off campus; marine biology is great but I also want to experience the Jamaican culture!

Until next time,

Brooke Learned

8 thoughts on “09 Jan PM – Jamaican Me Crazy!

  1. Good luck on your exam, Brooke! I know all of the students have had to learn a lot in a very short period of time. Hope everyone enjoys their break from the water and marine life & gets to see what life is like on land in Jamaica!

  2. How many names did you have to. memorize? Looks really exciting! What is your major?

  3. Be careful with the scorpion fish! That could really ouch!
    Hope you have fun today at the town and waterfall, just a short break from the underwater beauty!

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