Today was a heavy research day for most groups. Two groups were up before the sun (5:40AM YIKES!) to go start on their projects. Payton, Drew, Ellen, and Kaity went out to the Government Dock to examine the fish community in the early morning to see how it compares with midday. Madison, Cora, and MC studied intertidal diversity with marine invertebrates. The other groups got to spend the morning snoozing and getting eaten by bugs! They also got to go work on their projects at Telephone Pole Reef. One group is looking at Flamingo Tongues and the type of coral they prefer. Crazy stuff!
Lunch today was a fan favorite: chicken sandwiches! After eating some groups headed out to conduct more research while others stayed back to study for the exam.
Yesterday brought us a lot of rain, which means a lot more bugs, but it also brought us something very special… PURPLE LAND CRABS! They are truly up, down, and all around. Drew even got in a tussle with one. The crab won.
With the pace of class picking up we are all relying on one another to learn as much as we can in a very short amount of time. In the next week we have a final exam, an organism presentation, and our research projects. Things are crazy, but we are having tons of fun.
This part of the class is a lot about application of what we have learned. We are applying the scientific method, identification skills, and knowledge of the island and its surroundings into our projects. We have learned a lot in these past two weeks, and there is still so much to learn!
Thanks for tuning in!
Madison Manger ’19 and Kaity Seitz ‘20