A Bumpy Road to Barracudas

 Today was the fourth day on the island and the plan was to visit Pigeon Creek, an estuary on the island. We started out our day comparing salinities from five different locations with Blake serving as our runner to gather samples from the water. We measured the salinity by using a refractometer, as demonstrated by Breana below.

Following our final salinity measurement before reaching the estuary, we hit a bump in the road…

…Our tire delaminated. During the following hour of waiting for our backup truck, some of us walked around the area to help pass the time, while the rest of us stayed in the broken truck attempting to stay hydrated and unsunburnt. 

After rescue arrived, We then made our way down the bumpy, two-mile road to the estuary where along the way we saw lithified sand that had been relocated when Hurricane Joaquin struck the island. 

Once at the estuary, we got into our snorkeling gear and headed into the water. Exploring the mangrove, we spotted numerous different species including Glassfish, Mojaras, and Barricudas, some of which were almost three feet in length. 

After finishing up snorkeling and taking our final salinity measurement at Pigeon Grove, we headed back, stopping for a quick field lunch of sandwiches and fruit at Monument beach.

We made a quick stop at Wendy’s, a snack shop across from the airport to get everyone ice cream, and then headed back to the research center to relax before dinner. 

Dinner today consisted of chicken, carrots, green beans, gravy, sweet potatoes and a spicy soup that had a few of our taste buds burning. Following dinner, we worked on our figure analyses and identified more of the fishes we saw earlier in the day. Finishing up with class we headed off to bed to rest after a slightly hectic day, ready for another one tomorrow.

Sincerely, 

Kayla and Helena