Island Times Blog

Today we continued our Coral Monitoring Specialty Course training with students from the Jost Van Dykes Preservation Society: www.jvdps.org (continued…)

During our first dive, students measured live coral coverage using both transects and quadrats. They also noted areas of bleached/diseased coral. The students are doing well with the specialty course and have improved in their buoyancy control, multi-tasking, and underwater communication skills – all of which are basic and essential skills to becoming an advanced SCUBA diver. For our second dive, we explored along a deeper reef wall and performed roving diver coral and invertebrate surveys. The students have also been studying their fish species. During the second dive, we saw six lionfish, an invasive species that is competing with some coral reef species for habitat and food resources. After dinner we took a swim to a small cay called Sandy Spit – talk about being in a real life post card! We ended the day learning about bioluminescence, seagrasses, and mangrove habitats before hitting the rack and getting some well-deserved rest.