July 6, 2023 - Cooper's Island, Turtle Bay, North Rock and Plankton Tow

In the morning after breakfast we took the BIOS bus all the way to the end of Cooper’s Island (which is actually a peninsula). We got off at Long Bay, geared up, and did our snorkel check with BIOS staff which consisted of a 2 minute water tread without gear and a 50m swim with gear. Next, we grabbed our data collection boards and ID cards and snorkeled out away from the beach along the rocks. We saw many fish species including various parrotfish, wrasses, damselfish as well as several different corals.

Next, we walked up the beach and had a quick swim/ snorkel at Turtle Bay while we waited for the bus. We were hoping to see sea turtles here, but BIOS staff informed us that unfortunately due to decreasing seagrass levels they are becoming much less common around Bermuda. Fun fact, the temperature of the sand determines the sex of the sea turtle hatchlings! Cooler sand temps produce males and hotter sand produce females.

After lunch we took our first boat ride out to North Rocks, the highest latitude reef in the world. There were a lot more healthy corals here, although we did notice some coral bleaching. Groups saw lots of wrasses, parrotfish, and sergeant majors and a few people even saw a peacock flounder!

In the evening we went back out on a larger boat and did a plankton tow. This consisted of tossing a long, fine mesh, weighted net with a cod end attached into the water and towing for 10 minutes. Back at BIOS we listened to a lecture on the different kinds of plankton and their importance in marine ecosystems and the food chain. We also learned that they produce 50% of the oxygen that we breathe. Next, we headed to the lab to look at the plankton sample under the microscope. We each Identified at least 5 types of plankton and several people found unique species.

Lastly, we finished up the evening by working on our journal entries, and a group of us even attempted to play a game of night volleyball with headlamps.

-Elena