So today we began to help in continuation of research done here in Discovery Bay regarding the state of the reef. During the 1990s, a team of scientists, Richardson B. Aronson and William F. Pretcht, began conducting transect-like recordings to help distinguish the densities of herbivores, including Urchins, Surgeonfish and Parrotfish, as well as the seafloor habitat, mainly regarding if it included sand, coral, or algae. As of 2012, our professors Dr. Bradley Peterson and Dr. Joseph Warren, as well as their previous student Dr. Amber Stubler, began to continue Aronson and Pretch’s research in Discovery Bay, Jamaica.

In order to partake in this continuation, my classmates and I took out tape measures to measure 5m linear point intersections which we used to count up herbivores and the bottom structures in various locations. Originally my group thought this procedure would be fairly simple, especially since we were divers so we could stay under the water, however it did not turn out that way. Trying to make our way out into the bay with our heavy gear on, against a decent current, and then balancing in almost 4 feet of water, trying not to stand and harm the habitats underneath, was as hard as it sounds. Due to these difficulties, we could not finish the linear intersection recordings we had planned out. Of course, setbacks like these happen in research when you are in the elements where everything is unpredictable. Therefore, we decided to continue our recordings by snorkel tomorrow, which hopefully will allow us to finish and analyze our findings against previous data. So even though today was slightly disheartening, I am still very excited to continue and compare this year’s data to previous years, allowing us to see how well the reef is doing.

One of the green urchins counted during our assessment of the reef! Credits Siobhan. 1-13-19; ~4:00pm.

Signing off

-Apricot Ann Marie