Tuesday July 6th

Today we went to REEF where students had individual meetings with Brian about their progress in the course . After the meetings they took their level 2 fish ID test. All students passed. David from REEF talked to students about threats to reef ecosystems and efforts to improve it. He Particularly concentrated on efforts to develop corals that are resistant to warming and efforts to reintroduce corals.

David also explained the current health of the keys reef and compared it to reefs around the world.

In the afternoon we went to the History of Diving Museum and a bird sanctuary and rehabilitation center.

Monday July 5th

Today we had a nice late wake up before we headed over to REEF to start off our day. We started by entering our data from the past two days of dives. Then we learned a little bit more about the fish we’ve seen with a slideshow by Moose. After a quick lunch break we drove over to John Pennekamp State Park. We explored the sea grass and mangrove habitat with our snorkels and saw tons of fish like the scrawled filefish, bluestriped grunt and yellowfin mojarra, we also got to see a few upside down jellyfish. The rest of the afternoon was spent at REEF journaling and entering our fish surveys into the REEF database. We finished off our day with a delicious dinner from Mrs Macs where we all tried fried alligator (surprisingly good).

-Kira

Sunday July 4th

This was our last day out on the boat diving and snorkeling. The weather had given us a few days of beautiful skies and waters, but then it was becoming stormy again. Before coming on this trip I never thought I would ever get so close to fish. Getting to dive in the ocean with all these wonderful fish, plants, and creatures has really changed my world. You can see these fish in books or movies, but when you get the chance to be in the water right next to them it’s totally different. You get to see how they move, where they live, and what they are eating. This makes you realize just how important these animals are to our ocean ecosystem.

The places we went were Benwood shipwreck, City of Washington shipwreck, Fivefingers reef, and Horseshoe reef. All these places had so many amazing fish and some would be the same as other places, but some were different depending on where we were. The fish we found were: Queen Angelfish, Foureye Butterflyfish, Bicolor Damselfish, Yellowtail Snappers, Blue Tang, Trumpetfish, Nurse sharks, Spotted Eagle Rays, Blue Headed Wrasse, Great Barracuda, and so many more. While in the water I was able to follow some of these fish while they went about their day. I watched as they moved about the coral giving them space, but there were some that really didn’t mind you being right next to them and if you went to take a picture they seemed to pose for you. I have really enjoyed getting to know these fish and hope to keep doing this and exploring in the oceans seeing more plants and creatures.

-Nadia