Gettin Ready

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023

Today was our first official class day together! We all appear to be very much looking forward to the upcoming trip and we were able to meet the 17th and final member of our group. For our first day of lecture we got any questions answered and learned all about the abiotic elements in coral reefs and the oceans as a whole. Differences between the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean oceans were pointed out and we were taught about the specific kinds of marine ecosystems we will be interacting with in San Salvador. We also learned about the diversity, food chain, and influences on the reefs as well as the diversity of organisms that inhabit the complex food marine chain within coral communities. Tomorrow we will continue with lecture, focusing on soft-sediment and seagrass communities, hitting the pool at 12:30!


-Helena, Camilee, Ingvild


Wednesday, January 4th, 2023

Anticipation is building as we prepare for our adventure. In class, we looked at organism associations, competition, competition techniques, coral diseases, and more ecological factors within coral reef communities. Additionally, we learned about coral reef fish and different interactions between various species. Fish diversity control was an emphasized subject with four main models, and we scratched the surface on soft sediment habits and will continue to further discuss this tomorrow. Lastly, after a short break we were able to have some fun testing out our snorkeling gear in the diving area of the pool. We learned how to use our body weight to dive to the bottom of the pool, learned some tricks countering pressure, and socialized. 


-Helena, Camilee, Ingvild


Thursday, January 5th, 2023


Today was our last day on campus before we depart for the Bahamas tomorrow. People seem to be getting very excited about the upcoming adventure. During our lecture today, we talked about soft-sediment communities including seagrass communities and mangrove communities. Once we get to the Bahamas, we will get to see such underwater communities up close. Soft sediment communities include mud and sand and they cover a large portion of the world's benthic environments as well as provide habitat for multiple benthic invertebrate species. Soft sediments are three-dimensional environments that are being inhabited by many benthic organisms - some of which are burrowing into the sand/mud. Such burrowing species contribute to reduced competition. 

We then went over some last minute questions before departure, and we are all going to meet at SeaTac tomorrow at 10AM for our flight to Miami. We will spend a night at a hotel in Miami before our next flight to Nassau. 

Stay tuned for more updates about our trip.


-Helena, Camilee, Ingvild

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2023 at 1:10 PM

    Sounds fascinating, wish I was with you 1

    ReplyDelete

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