Under da sea!

We began today by returning all of our hermit crabs (dead and alive) back to the beach where we collected them. We had to do this because there is only one hermit crab population in this region and we didn’t want to mess up the natural order of things. The hike through the jungle was amazing, just like last time. When we arrived at the beach, everyone grabbed a handful of dead crab or empty shells and we placed them in little piles amongst the foliage. Then, we waited to see if any more hermit crabs would show up to investigate the new smells. We did this to show that the reactions we noted in our experiment did not just occur in the lab, but also in nature. We had observed them in the lab just to control the variables. On the hike out of the jungle, we saw three more sloths! These were in a much better location and we were able to get great pictures!

Now that we were done with our hermit crab experiment, we could move on to our next area of study… mangroves!! On the way back from the jungle, we stopped at a small mangrove island. We spent a lot of time snorkeling around the island. Our assignment was to take pictures of one mangrove root near the fringe of the island, and one toward the center. We wanted to document the amount of sponge coverage on each root. Furthermore, we needed to swim around and look for roots without any growth on them at all. These would be roots that have very recently entered the water. Once located, we tagged them with a number so that they could be found when the next class comes in the fall. I think they will be studying the amount of growth that can occur on a mangrove root in 6 months. After taking pictures and tagging roots, we had time to just snorkel and explore the wildlife living right below the surface. I know I’ve said this before, but I am still completely astonished at the amount biodiversity located in and around the mangrove roots. Words cannot do it justice. Here are some pictures from Justin's underwater camera to help describe the amazing world of mangrove roots.

Eventually, we had to head back to the research station for lunch, siesta, and then data analysis. Fortunately, the data analysis didn’t take very long and we were had time to catch a ride into the village and explore it during the daytime. It was alive with activity, just like it is at night. It was fun to walk amongst the little booths and barter with the locals for fair prices. The handicrafts are amazing to behold and one can’t help but buy a few trinkets for friends and family. Plus, it’s fun to talk with the locals, even though most of the time we don’t understand each other due to the whole Spanish-English language barrier. I think I might need to stick around Nick, if only so that he can translate Spanish for me!

Exploring the town