Marvelous Monday in the Sun

The day started with a lecture on coral formation and the teachers learned about the corals of Roatan, including massive brain corals, stately pillar corals and fragile lettuce corals, to name a few.


The second half of the lecture featured research that has been conducted in Roatan that shows that hurricanes, global warming, and human impacts have taken a toll on the coral cover along the island.  After the lecture, the group headed to a dive/snorkel to actually see these fascinating reef builders.


 Unfortunately, the group was able to see some of the damage on the reef as well.  Divers have been known to "love the reef to death" and some of this damage is visible on the reef.  Although the group is instructed on proper treatment of the reef, uneducated divers often touch, kick, or stand on the coral doing damage that will take years to recover from.  We headed to Maya Key, where we enjoyed an island lunch and a tour of their animal refuge, that included monkeys, toucans, macaws, and cats, such as a margay and a jaguar.


As we headed back to AKR, we stopped for the final dive/snorkel of the day.  Several hawksbill sea turtles swam along with our group, probidig an exciting end to a busy day on the reef. 


As we go on to educate the next generation of stakeholders, we need to make students realize the vital role that coral reefs play in the health of the world's oceans.  That is another reason why COSEE Great Lakes teaches educators about Ocean Literacy principles. Without our oceans, our world would not be as healthy or as beautiful as it is.  Here's to the coral reefs of the world...a small veneer that adds beauty and color, and feed the engine of the marine feed webs!!

Super Sunday in the Sun!

So, our first full day in Roatan got off to a great start with a lecture on fish identification.  We learned that angelfish have a specialized spine on its gill cover that it uses to protect itself and that a blue tang is actually yellow when it is a juvenile.


After the lecture, we went out to the reef to put our new-found knowledge to the test.  The snorkeling group headed inshore, while the diving group went down to 80' to see a bright yellow seahorse that was securely fastened to a flexible coral.  

The photo to the left shows a Cubera snapper with a remora attached to its side.  The little hitch-hiker is getting a ride on the side of this predator.

As Jeff Hoyer got back on the boat after the snorkel he said, "It's like being in an aquarium!"  The bright colorful fishes that the teachers learned about were all around them as they went on the snorkel or dive.


After lunch and a lecture on marine invertebrates like crustaceans, sponges, mollusks and worms.  We learned that sponges are not boring, but there are boring sponges that actually bore into reef substrate.  A non-boring, bright yellow boring sponge is pictured on today's blog.

Arrived!

Sunday, August 8

Hi everyone, We all arrived safely except for Dave. His flight was canceled in the middle of the night before travel day! He should be here later today....

Hope to have some photos for you later today.

Dark Nights for the Perseids (From SKY & TELESCOPE)

The last time the annual Perseid meteor shower happened during a run of good moonless nights was in 2007. It turns out that every three years, the same phase of the Moon returns to roughly the same date each month (2.2 days earlier, on average). So in 2010 we're on for moonless Perseids again!
The shower lasts for many days, but according to the International Meteor Organization this year's peak should occur during a half-day-long window. For North Americans, the best viewing will probably be late Thursday night and early Friday morning, August 12-13, or possibly the night before.

Visit the SKY & TELESCOPE site for more info.
 

Roatan Marine Park

The Roatan Marine Park (RMP) is a grass roots, community-based, non-profit organization located on the island of Roatan, 50 kilometers off the mainland coast of Honduras. 

The organization was formed in January 2005 when a group of concerned dive operators and local businesses united in an effort to protect Roatan’s fragile coral reefs. Initially, it was our goal to run a patrol program within the Sandy Bay-West End Marine Reserve (SBWEMR), to prevent over exploitation through unsustainable fishing practices. Over time, we expanded the scope of our environmental efforts through the addition of other programs encompassing the entire island.


Click here to visit the Roatan Marine Park web site.

Recommended Reading and ID Books

Reef Fish Behavior has become a classic reference and overview of what is presently know about the behavior and ecology of reef fishes inhabiting the waters of Florida, Caribbean and Bahamas. 

Available at Amazon.com

By far, the most popular identification books for the area we will be visiting are these by Humann & DeLoach. This three volume set may be purchased in the boxed version pictured or as individual volumes: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral.

Available at Amazon.com