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!
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| Students learning about 3D modeling |
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| Midnight parrotfish |
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| Kyla and Cheyanne |
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| An ocean triggerfish |
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