After making our way through the tests from last night, everyone quickly got on their way to planning their research projects. Some people spent the morning collecting specimen, such as Upside Down Jellyfish and Sea Urchins, while others snorkeled and took surveys of population and diversity. My partner Ali and I spent the morning creating easy to see buoys out of water bottles, tape, and twine, then sinking them out by the coral ridge. Our personal plan is to study the biodiversity of coral patches, while taking into account their size, distance from the coral ridge, and distance from other coral patches. Everyone was really excited to start work, even if their project ideas are a little hazy. The best perk of the day was all of the free time we each got. Some of us didn’t know how to handle our time, complaining of boredom and wasting the day away with naps. The only thing that could be agreed upon was that being bored is always better than being in hours upon hours of lectures. Those lectures were tiring, but at least we can now understand what we are seeing, as well as what we are researching, when were out in the open blue water. Tomorrow, we are all pumped up to spend the day off campus, climbing waterfalls and seeing the shops. Tonight should be an early night for everyone to rest up for it.

This will be the last picture of us diving as a group for a while, because the majority of our gear is out being used by others. Hopefully, we can all get back in the water soon!

Here’s what make-shift buoys look like: plastic bottles, colorful string, and a WHOLE LOT of tape.

Surprise out on the coral ridge today! First adult peacock flounder I’ve seen with the blue coloring and everything. We got very excited and put off the research for a good five minutes to follow it around.

– Taylor