A dusky damselfish protecting its turf.

We got our first chance to get in the water yesterday and do some exploring of the lagoon and the back reef. We did a quick snorkel before lunch just to get adjusted to the area and get settled. Of course my snorkel broke on day one. The clip that holds my snorkel to my mask cracked and I had to actually hold my snorkel above water with my hand to keep it above water. I’m sure you can imagine how silly that looked. After some quick repairs and the wonders of gorilla tape, I was able to fix it and was anxious to get out for the snorkel after lunch. The afternoon snorkel we headed straight out towards the reef crest and spent most of our time on the back reef and the reef flat leading up to the reef crest that protects the lagoon. On the way out across the lagoon we crossed over several areas where ground water comes up through the bottom and mixes with the salt water causing many areas of shimmering water- kind of like the blur you see above the pavement on a road when driving on a really really hot day. Very cool looking. We passed over some sea grass beds on the way out and started exploring the patches of reef at the far side of the lagoon. Many cool fish here that I haven’t seen before. I’m looking forward to doing some SCUBA so I can get some more photos of fish, but it is hard to get good fish shots when snorkeling sometimes. It is surprisingly hard to take pictures of fish. Sometimes I swear they know and are camera shy- they seem to swim quickly away just at the last second when you snap the shot. The notable exception being the Dusky damselfish (Stegastes adustus) which are very territorial and try to bully you away from their space (see above). The other very cool find of the day for me was a small group of squid that were near a tethered buoy out in the middle of the lagoon. No one else was around for me to point these guys out, so this was my own special find- Caribbean Reef Squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea) (see below). It was cool to watch them changing color and trying to match the algae growing on the buoy to camouflage themselves from me. Unfortunately, we were already running late and headed back in for our next lecture so I didn’t get much time to observe them. The weather has been nice, though cloudier and a little colder than I expected, but certainly far better than the 14 degree weather we left behind in New York! The food has been great also. Looking forward to the next two weeks to come. Bye for now.

Caribbean reef squid just hanging out in the bay.

-Laura Picairello

1-5-12

We had a 7:00am start, which began with a cold shower and it sure woke me up!

Porcupine fish.

Our day consisted of over four hours of lecture, which seems like a lot because it is, but we learn so much! We also went out snorkeling for the first time and it was amazing I had a bit of difficulty trying to figure out how to kick correctly, because I normally dive and when you dive you swim parallel to the bottom with straight legs, but while snorkeling you have to bend your legs at the knee. I got it now though =] A few of us got to go all the way out to the reef crest which was amazing I’ve never seen anything like it. Each patch of coral is like an entirely new ecosystem, there is always something different and new to look at, so don’t skip over any. I was able to see a Porcupine fish (Diodon hystrix) and it was definitely one of the largest we have seen so far. I also got to a Spotted Scorpionfish (Scorpaena plumieri) which blended right in I think I swam by it at least twice before I noticed it. We were in the water for an hour and a half, but I could have stayed out there all day. We didn’t stop all day. We were finally dismissed at around 7:00pm, when we all decided to panic about how much we have to memorize and study. We have to know the common name and the scientific name of everything we have seen, which I think is going to be the most challenging. Either way it’s not that bad, but I’ll let you know how I do.

1-6-12

Day two begins with…yes another cold shower hehehe

Today the professors have over five hours of lecture planned for us. When did I get the time to write this blog I don’t really know, between our ten and fifteen minute breaks maybe? We went out for another snorkeling trip this morning but the wind was intense and made the visibility very poor and the water extremely choppy; I was being thrown all over the place. My group and I thought it was hopeless, but we did manage to collect a few things for our collection tank. We brought back various types of algae and we were able to find a sea star, so I say job well done for the conditions.

Can you see the spotted Scorpionfish ?

So all I can say is I am learning so much and at times it feels like information overload, but so far it has been an amazing experience and I’m so glad I decided to study in Jamaica!

Well off to lunch…

Celeste Stout  

The students in the course always forget to take pictures of themselves when they're in the water, so here's a chance for friends and family to see if they can identify folks who may be disguised in neoprene, large fins, masks, and snorkels.

Gearing up.

Which one is right and which one is left ?

Ready to go.

A school of baitfish by the dock.

I think this works better if we're lower in the water.

Searching the backreef for algae and invertebrates.

 Nearing the reefcrest. It was a little windy so nobody went over the crest today, but we will soon.

Do not inflate your floatation vest until you are outside the airplane.

– Prof. Warren

A lionfish swimming past a coral mound.

Waking up in Jamaica to the sounds of the ocean was a beautiful thing.  The temperature was mild, close to 75 degrees at 6am.  Mike and I walked to the water to see the shoreline and it was a great sight.  After taking our first snorkeling adventure, I instantly adored it.  Though, at first I'll admit I was a bit nervous.  Many of us are excited to get out there and continue exploring.   On our first trip we explored many different types of marine life, such as Diadema antillarum (Long spine sea urchin) and various types of small fish and algae.  On our second trip out toward the reef, we spotted an eel sliding through the coral.  The diversity of the lagoon here in Discovery Bay, Jamaica is amazing.  I'm eager to continue my excursions.

– Gary

Well we arrived yesterday and not any sooner could we have dove into a lecture! So far we have gone over the ecology of coral reefs, and basic interactions that occur within the community that exists between coral reefs and other species. I find that the best way to ever do things is by seeing them in action, like actually seeing the community you are studying, and the fishes that interact throughout them.

Our first snorkel experience was amazing, especially because the water was so nice. We got to see the various sea grass beds, fishes, and corals; such as mermaids fan(though I did not see it), Sargassum, Holothuria mexicana (Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber). This has been a great adventure so far but I Cannot wait to SCUBA dive and see the fore reef and what lies among the massive corals !The most interesting thing was seeing all these new fish and corals, along with the visible thermocline that you could reach down and feel the difference in temperature. Along with that is the neat lizardfish we saw today during the second snorkel, who was determined to not move while I hover over him because he was camouflaged into the bottom.

Lizardfish, you can't see me. I swear.

– Mike

The "before" group photo. Notice the large number of folks wearing pants on the first day. They have yet to realize it's warm in Jamaica (or maybe they haven't unpacked yet).

All students and instructors in Stony Brook's Tropical Marine Ecology course have arrived in Jamaica safe and sound.  We just wrapped up our introductory lecture (at 930pm), breakfast tomorrow is at 730am so everyone is headed off to bed.

We'll have several blog posts each day written by the students (with pictures) so check back in with us to find out what everybody is doing down here.

It's ~ 82 F and pretty humid here (at 10pm) which is a nice change from the freezing cold of Long Island when we left this morning.

Prof. Warren