Day four of nothing but warm weather, snorkeling, and Latin fish names. Fortunately, we just recovered from our hiatus of no Wi-Fi. But who needs Wi-Fi when you can go snorkeling and see a Peacock Flounder (Bothus lunatus) right in front of you? While the divers are out training, the rest of us have down time to collect and take pictures of various organisms in the Bay. Always using the buddy system when snorkeling, Shay and I discovered lots of exciting fish and invertebrates yesterday. We even brought back a sea cucumber that has cemented himself to the water chamber in the wet laboratory. Actually, we should probably check on him soon.

During the lectures we learn about various types of corals such as Alcyonarian corals (soft coral) and Scleractinian corals (hard/stony corals) and how coral reefs affect the ecosystem. Other than lectures, we spend a lot of our time during the day identifying the specimens we find or see. I’m sure we will all have a long list of algae, invertebrates, and fish that we have encountered by the time we leave. Once the divers are certified they can go on deep sea dives and observe new species for us to identify. We’ll keep you updated!

I spy a Bothus lunatus. Do you?

Anita and Shay are snorkeling buddies on this beautiful day in Jamaica

– Lea