Fourth Day in Roatán

July 28, 2018

Students woke up this morning to a breakfast of pancakes and fruit. They then went to their first lecture of the day which was about invertebrate surveys. They learned about the different invertebrates and their importance in coral reef ecosystems.

After the lecture everyone geared for heir first dive of the day. During the dive everyone did invertebrate surveys of the reef. They counted all the invertebrates they saw along a 30 meter transact tape, such as brittle stars, feather worms, sponges, and cleaner shrimps. When they finished this task they then went on a fun dive where they saw a hawksbill turtle and a big eagle ray.

We all had lunch, then participated in a snorkel treasure hunt. The hunt involved finding different marine animals and taking pictures of them. Each animal was worth a specific amount of points.

Our next activity was a second dive of the day. During the dive we did more invertebrate surveys on a transect. After, while swimming around, we saw a scrawled cowfish, and two hawksbill turtles!

Everyone was ecstatic about our dinner of hamburgers and French fries, and a dessert of cake because it was someone’s birthday. The after dinner activity was a pub quiz where we answered questions about hints like Disney movies and common knowledge. During the pub quiz, some students went on a night snorkel. They saw some really cool things like lobster, squids that inked on Brian’s camera, and a cool, color changing octopus.

Octopus

Feather worm

Lily on the boat

Hawksbill turtle 

Third Day in Roatán

After a fun breakfast of French Toast and Fruit the group had a lecture about Benthic Surveys. We learned about the many different types of surveys and which ones are the most efficient and accurate. 

In our dive directly after the lecture we tried out some of these surveys. Some groups laid out transect tapes and recorded what was under it every meter and other groups worked with recording quadrats to make 3D models. Some of the groups saw a loggerhead turtle and rays during the dive 

After the dive we had lunch followed by a very rigorous reef knowledge test. The test involved a swimming relay where we had to answer reef ecology questions and the winning team got ice cream!

We then had our second dive of the day where groups did more of the same benthic surveys. During the time afterwards we got to swim around and students saw a Midnight Parrotfish, Banded Coral Shrimp and huge schools of Creole Wrasse. 

We then dried off and headed into town for some shopping!

To end the night we learned more about 3D modeling of reef topography and watched some demonstrations of how the recording we did turned into complex 3D models on a computer. The rest of the night was spent with some downtime to work on our journals!

Students learning about 3D modeling

Midnight parrotfish

Kyla and Cheyanne 

An ocean triggerfish

Second Day in Roatán

This morning students woke up for a delicious breakfast that consisted of fresh fruit and pancakes, but to our dismay, real maple syrup was not provided! 

Everyone then headed to their first lecture on Roatán that was about Fish Surveys! It was very interesting and we learned the two main ways of surveying an area. We also talked about what classifies a fish and a couple of the main species that we would be seeing along the reefs 

After the lecture we all geared up for our first dive at a location called, The Aquarium. Students practiced laying out transects and then surveying and identifying fish on both sides of the line. After we did this groups went for a swim around the reefs where they saw a Porkfish, a Hawksbill Turtle, a Dog Snapper and a Smooth Trunkfish. 

After the dive we had a very tasty lunch and Doctor Bryan Wilson gave a talk about a certain crustose algae that is taking over reefs around the Caribbean and the research he is doing about it. Students then learned more about the Stereo Video Survey (SVS), which is two cameras connected to a metal fixture that captures fish from two different points of view. The SVS can be used to count numbers of fish and it can also be used to measure the length of a given fish. 

Another dive followed the lecture and this time students went to Melissa’s Reef to practice surveying the areas. After the surveying we had another fun dive, this time students saw an Ocean Triggerfish, a Nassau Grouper, a Scorpionfish, a Graysby Grouper and a Spiny Lobster. 

After super, at around 7:00 students headed out for their first night snorkel on Roatán. It was a very exciting snorkel as they saw two Octopus, more than four Spiny Lobsters, a couple of Peacock Flounders, a Spotted Moray Eel, two Spanish Lobsters and a whole bunch of Long Spine Sea Urchins!

Students are exhausted from their hard work today but cannot wait for tomorrow’s activities!

Owen and others putting gear on before a dive  

Aidan laying out a transect tape 

Yellowtail damselfish 

Erika and Kyla doing a survey along a transect 

First Day in Roatán

This morning students woke up ate breakfast and packed their bags to be ready for a 9:00 departure from Utila. After saying our goodbyes to the lovely staff, we took dive boats to the Utila dream fairy where we then boarded the fairy headed to Roatán. Once arrived at Roatán we had an insane bus ride across island to Halfmoon bay resort where students will be spending the duration of their time in Honduras. Our rooms were situated, they are much bigger and more “clean” than those in Utila. We ate a rather excited lunch of some familiar rice with a side more rice (jk there was coleslaw). Then students geared up for their first snorkel on the reefs of Roatán right off the steps of the resort. Students saw a Nassau grouper, green moray eel, sharp nose pufferfish, hawksbill sea turtle, spotted trunkfish and some slippery dick.

After the snorkel students dried up and prepared for our identification quiz. The quiz was followed by a meal of pasta and hotdogs and SALAD!!! 🎉

Then students decided we would round up the crew and go to town for some gelato, which was muy bueno (very good). We will definitely be going back throughout the week.

Octopus eating a conch shell 

Half Moon Bay Resort 

Kyla with a hawksbill turtle 

Sixth Day in Utilá

Today students were able to sleep in because it was a no dive day. Everyone woke up at approximately nine o’clock to be down at the dock and ready for a snorkel off the boat. We all swam around Airport Caves for an hour, seeing many fish species like Honeycomb Cowfish, Queen Angelfish, a Great Barracuda and a huge school of Blue Tang. They also saw many other animals like the Spotted Eagle Ray, Christmas Tree Worms and a species of shark that we weren’t able to identify.

Everyone then headed to a quick lunch before their next snorkel off from Coral Views House Reef.

During the second snorkel of the day students got the chance to see a French Angelfish, Spotted Trunkfish, an Octopus and a Balloonfish.

After the snorkel students dried off and had some time to lay in the sun. They then went out into the town for supper and enjoyed walking through the unique streets of Utilá.

Students are now packing their bags and are very excited to start the new adventure in Roatan tomorrow morning.

Kyla snorkeling 

Octopus in its den 

Mariel and Analise doing a fish survey

Spotted eagle ray

Fourth and Fifth Day in Utilá

July 22, 2018

Students started their days off at 6:30 again ready for today’s planned activities. 

Open Water students headed back to their classroom for their third lecture which was about the diversity of coral reefs. After this they then headed out on their fifth and final confined dive where they practiced taking on and off their gear and their weight belts underwater . They saw aquatic life like the atlantic triggerfish and a grouper that was around 2 1/2 feet long!

Reef Ecology students went out for the morning dive witch consisted of fish ID. Dive masters lead students around silver garden pointing to fish and then at the fish names on dive slates they carried. We saw an abundance of fish species including the blue chromis, blue tang, blue head wrasse & blue head juvenile, three spot damselfish, banded butterflyfish, barracuda etc. the list goes on. 

Reef Ecology students then continued the day with a lecture about mangroves and seagrass and why they are important. 

And then both groups headed to lunch

After lunch Open Water students then had a fourth lecture which was about the future of coral reefs. After the lecture students then went in their third open water dive where they practiced being neutrally buoyant by manually using their buoyancy control device. Students even got the chance to see a spotted eagle ray that was “flapping” its wings in the distance. 

After lunch Reef Ecology students had their last dive of the day at Little Bight, in smaller groups, students performed a fish identification and underwater fish counting. Students were required to write down any fish and how many within an imaginary five foot square box around their bodies while swimming a horizontal line of 20 flipper kicks across the coral reef. Some groups were lucky and saw a ray, a peacock flounder, a yellow arrowhead crab, trumpetfish, flamingo tongue, etc. 

After supper students had some time to themselves and at 7:30 they then headed out to the dock for trivia night. Although none of our teams won everyone had a great time. 

Sam and Sarah Kate recording fish

Blue Chromis 

Spotted Eagle Ray

July 23, 2018

This morning started off with a fish ID lecture for the Open Water students. It was a nice refresher for students, because we had already learned about most of the fish in the VTVLC marine biology course. After the lecture was everybody’s last open water dive of the course. We performer two skills involving compasses and then swam around for the rest of the dive. We saw a lot of incredible fish like banded butterflyfish and fairy basslets, and some invertebrates like a spotted spiny lobster, a giant channel clinging crab, and some reef squid. 

Reef Ecology students went out for their morning dive at Light House where we took a “fun dive”, we went around the reefs searching for things we hadn’t seen yet. A lecture followed, reef fish identification continued, a pick up from the last identification lecture of fish we haven’t yet learned. 

Open Water students went back for lunch then finished our ID lecture with some corals, invertebrates and algae. Around 3:00 we went for our first dive as certified divers, which was right off the dock in front of Coral View. We swam out past the reef and descended to about 18 meters. We had another really great dive during which we saw some angelfish, a scrawled cowfish, and a banded coral shrimp.

After lunch Reef Ecology students went back out on the boat to Ron’s Wreck where we would have our last dive on Utilá. This dive was described as their best dive by many who went. Students teamed up and did our first REEF data collection. We counted what fish species we saw and how many. There were many amazing encounters with marine species some had not yet seen. This included a white spotted eagle ray, a scorpion fish, trunkfish, etc. This was a great last dive for most. 

After supper students headed out to the dock to do a night snorkel where they saw a balloonfish, a stingray, squirrelfish, a spiny lobster and even an octopus! After the snorkel students went back in the water to participate in a plankton tow. They went in and out of the channel trying to collect microscopic plankton. Students looked through their handheld microscopes and some were successful in spotting some plankton! 

Students are excited to be able to sleep in tomorrow as it is a no dive day!  

Analise, Aidan, Jacob, Kyla, and Carol looking at plankton

Yellow stingray

Students in the water for the night snorkel

Third Day in Utilá

Students woke up, ate breakfast (Honduran pancakes or fried dough) then reef ecology students soon headed out on the first scientific dive of the day. Students in their groups were sent out to identify invertebrates like crabs, shrimp and snails. One really cool invertebrates we saw, a favorite amongst groups is called the Christmas tree worm, a small creatures that lives inside hard coral and when disturbed shoots it’s beautiful shape into its small hole of a home. 

This morning the open water crew watched the last of our PADI informational videos. We were then surprised with our final written exam which we all passed easily. After the test we went on or second open water dive. The dive location we went to was Black Coral Wall. Everyone geared up and hopped into the bright blue water. After descending to the bottom about 6 meters down, we briefly went over a few skills. We then spent the rest of the dive swimming around the reef. We went down to about 12 meters at the deepest part of our dive, which meant going along the side of the reef where it dropped off into deeper water. We returned to shore for lunch and then did some class work with using a dive table. This got a little confusing but everyone figured it out eventually.

The second dive for the reef ecology group included the group video taping an area on the reef location where students were asked to tuck measuring tape around coral, rock, sand, algae and sponge where we would later identify these structures when looking at the videos.

The open water crew’s second dive of the day was in confined water. One of the groups went in the pool and practiced skills and the other group went out into the reef just off the dock. One of the skills was to take off our masks and swim around a little bit, guided by our dive master. This was challenging and new for some people. 

Instead of our normal dinner and lectures tonight, we took a group trip into town for a carnival going on. It was about a 20 minute walk to town, where we had a delicious dinner of tacos and assorted meats. We then walked around for a little bit and got dessert from small markets, then made our way back to Coral View Beach Resort. It was a fun quick trip and everyone had a great time experiencing the local culture of Utila.

Aidan laying a tape across the reef 

Our walk into town for Carnival 

Jozie and Sarah Kate with Utilá sign in town

Christmas tree worms

Second Day in Utilá

Today started off again with breakfast at 6:30 and then the two groups split again for their busy days. 

Open water crew had a similar schedule to yesterday. They watched a PADI information video which was followed up with a quiz, and then had their third confined water dive in the pool. Everyone practiced sharing oxygen, learned how to do an emergency ascent and a few other skills. 

Reef Ecology divers took another morning boat dive, where students started their very first science dive. Students were lead by a dive master to identify different types of coral. 

After the dive Brian met with a few students to explain that the location we dived was very much degraded, in bad shape. One student recognized this by remembering there was fewer fish. However students were assured that we would be seeing a more diverse reef system later in the afternoon. We then had another identification lecture, this time on reef fish! 🐟 🐠 

Then we ate a delicious lunch of couscous and veggies that everyone was excited about. 

After lunch the open water group watched another informational video and took a quiz, and then we headed out on the boat for or first open water dive. After a quick ten minute boat ride we arrived out our dive site. Everyone geared up and jumped into the water, the in our individual groups we made the descent to the bottom. We were about ten meters down, so everybody had to equalize their ears and adjust to the pressure. After performing a few skills on the bottom, we went for a swim around a reef. We were a bit distracted by the struggle of staying neutrally buoyant but we did get to look around a bit at the amazing fish and corals. We ascended back to the top, got back on the boat, and headed back to shore.

For the Reef Ecology students lunch was followed by another scientific dive where in groups we were asked to identify the percentage of soft/hard coral, sponge, rock, sand and algae in a quadrant that the dive master placed over an area (a plastic pipe square)  We then had another lecture and headed to dinner.

While everyone else got ready for dinner, part of the open water crew had to perform their swim test by doing three laps around the pool, and then treading water for ten minutes. We then headed to dinner, starving after our long day. 

We had another great dinner that included interesting fruits called lychees that had a different texture and a taste kinda like a green grape! 

After dinner both groups attended a lecture about reef ecology and crustacean identification. We ended the night with some free time to rest up for tomorrow’s adventures.

Sarah Kate working with quadrants 

Half the open water group working on skills in the pool

Kyla and Mariel eating lychee fruit 

Purple Tunicates 

Arrival in Honduras and First Day at Utíla

July 19, 2018

Breakfast started at 6:30 and again our group parted ways. Open Water students began their course work in classrooms by watching informational PADI videos and then taking a brief quiz afterwards. Open Water students then began their first pool dive learning how to breathe through the regulator underwater and how to control their buoyancy. Meanwhile Reef Ecology students went on their first dive to refresh their skills that they previously learned at the Burlington Waterfront Dive Center. They then went and had their first lecture about general ocean information. 

After lunch Open Water students set off back to the classroom again to get more diving information and then out to a second dive in the pool. They practiced putting on and off their masks underwater and learned how to get the water out. Reef Ecology students set off for their second dive of the day located at Black Coral Wall where students leaped of the boat and started their journey enjoying and observing beautiful coral reefs. They saw an abundance of fish like Fairy Basslets, Squirrelfish, Stoplight Parrotfish and even a Queen Angelfish. Reef Ecology students then had their second lecture about coral and it’s importance. 

After dinner Open Water students headed to their first lecture of the trip where they learned about the oceans importance and it’s properties. Reef Ecology students had their third of the day about coral and algae identification. 

Our group then had a final lecture of the night from Brian Bry Wilson who talked about plankton and it’s importance to the ocean’s ecosystem. 

The exhausted students and chaperones are excited for their second day in the beautiful country of Honduras!

Lily Diving

                                               

                                                         Blue Headed Wrasse  

Queen Angelfish

July 18th, 2018

Taking a short bus ride from the airport we arrive at the ferry where we would ride from Roatàn to the island of Utíla and we finally got to Coral View Beach Resort where Operation Wallacea is located. The group got settled in their rooms and then headed out on their first snorkel, observing the coastal reefs of Honduras and seeing multiple fish species like the Blue Tang, Porcupine Fish and Sergeant Majors. Drying off for dinner we had a small orientation and then we headed to bed.

Owen Snorkeling

                                    

                                        Porcupine Fish

   

                                               Blue Tang

July 17, 2018

Upon arriving at Dartmouth Coach the group boarded the bus and started our four hour journey to Logan Airport. To our dismay our flight to Fort Lauderdale got delayed meaning we would miss our connecting flight from Fort Lauderdale to Honduras. After many hours of searching for flights sadly our group had to split, one half went to Houston and the other took the original flight to Fort Lauderdale. A long (and very air conditioned) night in the airport later we finally met up at Roatán International Airport.

Cool floors in the Miami Airport 

Flight from Florida to Roatàn 

All Day Classes at CCV

July 5th and 6th

Students arrived at 9 o'clock on Thursday for the first day of the full day classes. Everyone was given supplies for the trip such as underwater lights and cameras, and then we launched right into a reef fish identification video. The video went over many of the types of fish found in Caribbean reefs and gave some tips and tricks for remembering and identifying them. We broke for lunch and then headed out for our first snorkel together at Number 10 Pond. The 90 degree weather made for very warm water for our swim, but it was still a refreshing swim. While snorkeling everyone had the chance to make sure their gear worked, figure out how to use a snorkel, and have Brian's assistance if there was any problems. We saw lots of fish on our snorkel, and even a turtle. 

On Friday we started off the day with presentations from the three independent students, and other students took notes and asked questions. We wrapped up a slide show of coral reefs that we had previously started. After lunch we gathered up our plankton nets and made our way down to the river next to CCV. After 10 or so minutes of net dragging in the river, we had collected some cool creatures. Back in the lab at CCV, we looked at our findings under small hand held microscopes. Because our trip to Honduras will only involve relatively shallow waters, we finished off the day in the classroom watching a cool video about the depths of the ocean and what lives down there. 

Getting ready to snorkel.

Sam practicing her snorkeling in the Number 10 Pond

A turtle Brian found while snorkeling.

Scoping out a good spot to do the practice plankton tow.

Jacob and Aidan dragging their net in the river.

Mariel and Analise looking for organisms through their microscope.

A Mayfly that was found through the microscope.