The next “Lionfish Collecting and Handling” Workshop organized by REEF in collaboration with the SPAW RAC will take place on May 15-18, 2012 at the Cape Eleuthera Institue. The workshop is a 2-day workshop focusing on hands-on collecting/handling and monitoring for key resource managers or their official designee. This workshop is the second of 3 workshops that will be held in the region and funded in part by a NFWF (National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) grant. This workshop is by invite only. Please contact Skylar Miller at skylarmiller@islandschool.org for more information.
Category Archives: Cape Eleuthera Institute
Bonefish Flats Group Research Update
A couple weeks ago the Bonefish Flats group took a trip to Page Creek in order to gather information about the habitat that Bonefish live in.
The flat that we went to was surrounded by the ocean and land. In the beginning of it the depth ranged from 0-3 feet, deeper into the flat it was only a foot deep. Some fish populations included yellowtail snapper, schoolmaster fish. There were also red mangroves all over. Flats are generally shallow areas. They are an abundance of mangroves and small fish that use the mangroves for protection. Present in the mangroves are species such as small fish, echinoderms, Cassiopeia, etc. In the flat that we went to the water varied from 0-3 feet. The beginning of the flat was deepest, and then it got shallower. In the flat we found yellow tail snapper, schoolmaster fish, blue crabs, etc. There was sand and turtle grass on the floor. When we went there it was low tide and the sun was high in the sky. This caused for the water to be much warmer than if the sun was not out and it was high tide because the more water there is the more energy it takes to heat it up. It was important for us to take a trip to the flat and observe it because this is the habitat for Bonefish.
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We went into the flats to have hands on experience with our studies. We went into the field to collect, observe, and tag Bonefish to have a better idea of where we should take out studies. Continue reading
Hallig House Grand Opening!
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The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) welcomed government officials, Bahamian dignitaries and esteemed guests to the grand opening of its Hallig House. The event was celebrated within the context of the One Eleuthera Foundation’s Earth Day Weekend, as a symbol of how community partnerships with shared vision can support a future of sustainable development in The Bahamas.
Chris Maxey, co-founder of the Cape Eleuthera Island School, encouraged event guests to envision the impact of innovative green design technologies: “Imagine building systems that are a net exporter of energy and water, that use the sun to heat water and to cool living spaces, that process waste in a responsible way that helps restore ecosystems and beautify the seascape.”
Hallig House was designed as an educational model for island nations. Led by Warren Wagner of W3 Architects and designed by a team of conservation systems specialists, the building features innovative elements, which solve specific regional issues. The building’s structure and shape, construction materials, and renewable energy and waste management systems all demonstrate how local and national development can maximize locally available resources while minimizing impact on local environments.
The opening marked the first time that the Cape Eleuthera Island School has been honored by the presence of His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes Governor-General to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. He gave the keynote address at the event, seen in the video below. Continue reading
RSMAS to Offer Masters Program at CEI Fall 2012
The Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) at University of Miami has announced its new Coastal Sustainability Science and Practice Track through their Master of Professional Science Program. It will be offered for the first time this fall 2012 at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. We are excited to welcome these Masters students to the CEI campus! This course will equip students with advanced training in the expanding field of sustainability, with a combined focus on the practical aspects of systems management and the theoretical understanding of whole-systems design. The goal of this track is to train future leaders who create solutions for sustainability issues at local and global levels. If you are interested in this program or would like more information, visit the program’s website here.
Lionfish Research Project Update: The First Week
The first week of research was a big week for the Lionfish research project. We oriented ourselves to our goals, methods, and systems. We discussed what an invasive species means, the invasion of lionfish, their life cycles, and their anatomy. On Thursday, we dissected lionfish in the lab. Our project began with learning external anatomy, including how to prevent lionfish stings. Next cut their bellies and look into the internal anatomy. We saw their key organs, and even their super stretch stomach that makes them such a successful predator. I found it especially interesting when we opened their stomach; we identified their stomach contents. This is especially significant because we identified their stomach contents to determine which species were suffering due to lionfish predation. I really enjoyed our dissection. The following week was our first field day. We went diving on a reef and practiced protocol for surveying a particular reef. The group was really excited to begin their work and get in the water. Stay tuned for new updates from the Lionfish research project!
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Conch Research Project Update: Our First Day in the Field
by Amelia Patsalos-Fox, Shane Wetmore, Sterling Wright
On Saturday we went out to free dive for conch in the shallows near the sandbar to see how many adults we could find. It was a nice first experience for us and it taught us how to find conch even when they are camouflaged in the sand. For the past week we have been focusing on queen conch identification, history of the conch fishery, and ways to survey the population effectively. Our most exciting experience so far has been in the field. We were able to travel out into Cape Eleuthera Sound and take our first peek at some conch. As we snorkeled around, we practiced our free diving and determining live queen conch from dead shells. We mostly saw juveniles and a few sub-adult sizes. We then gathered in a group in the water to practice identifying differences between juvenile and sexually mature conch shells. This was very helpful in learning about the shells. It was extremely hands on and we had the help of a visiting conch researcher, Catherine Booker, from Community Conch, a Bahamian non-profit organization. She had given us a presentation previously on conch in the Bahamas and it was amazing to see her teach us about proper ways spot conch. All in all it was a positive experience and was very helpful towards our future in surveying the density of conchs in the Cape Eleuthera Bite.
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The following week we were able to go out and start experimenting with collecting real data. Our project hopes to identify Continue reading
Recreating a Historical Shark Research Project
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The joint CEI and University of Illinois shark research team just returned from the second of four, 2 week field expeditions to a shallow bank known as “the bridge” that connects the southern tip of Eleuthera to the northern tip of Cat Island. The first expedition went out in November 2011. The historical project is re-creating a study from a dataset detailing the diversity and abundance of shark populations in The Bahamas that took place over 30 years ago. Back then it was conducted by Captain Steve Connett and the crew of the R/V Geronimo from St Georges, Rhode Island. The current study is conducting surveys identical to those performed by Captain Connett and his crew 33 years ago, and has already discovered some very interesting results. In the original dataset, 96 sharks from six species were captured during 25 scientific longline sets. In just 12 sets, we have already caught 84 sharks from three species! Continue reading
Mask and Snorkel Donation
This fall, Cape Eleuthera Institute’s conch research intern from the College of the Bahamas, Tarran Simms, facilitated the donation of 500 masks & snorkels from Dolphin Cay at Atlantis resort in Nassau to Ron Knight, Island School Director of SCUBA operations and waterfront manager. Knight in turn, divided the bulk of the snorkel gear among every 4th, 5th, and 6th grader between Tarpum Bay & Deep Creek, where the excited students and teachers accepted appreciatively. Knight also intends to distribute the remaining gear to student of DCMS in Deep Creek, Eleuthera.
Gap Program Update #2: Evolution of a CEI Intern
If evolution is a transformative process, then who’s to say we aren’t evolving everyday?
As our third week here at CEI comes to a close, all of the gap year interns are beginning to naturally expand into our own place here. We all have developed and begun to find our place in the community at the Cape Eleuthera Institute; some of these changes we discover together, and some we can only find on our own.
This week we all brainstormed on ideas for our Independent Student Project, or ISP, which is the research or outreach project that we want to dedicate our time here to. Gap interns Sarah and Lulu are joining the Shark Team, I am joining the Lionfish team, Shaquel is focusing on gathering data on local knowledge of CEI projects, and Jon and Cole are developing an independent project studying filter feeders. The unfolding of each of our interests is becoming more apparent!
As we make these decisions, we are having plenty of fun in the meantime. SCUBA! This week we are working on Advanced Open Water Scuba, which involves a boat dive, deep dive, night dive, naturalist dive, and navigation dive. Here’s a drawing I did of the scuba transformation!
Introducing CEI Research Assistants Jason Selwyn and Mike Piersiak!
My name is Jason and last semester I came to CEI as an intern with the Lionfish program. While working here I got to work on things ranging from catching deepwater sharks to installing new netting on the aquaculture cage to performing monthly surveys looking at the impact of lionfish on reef fish populations. I also got the chance to act as a teaching assistant for the lionfish research class at The Island School and teach students the scientific method and how to investigate ecological questions.
After my internship I decided to take the opportunity to come back to CEI as a research assistant. I still do some of the same things (data collection in the field), but I also gained many new responsibilities. I moved from a teaching assistant to a full-blown co-teacher for the lionfish research class. I am also conducting an independent project on the topic of my choosing to investigate something about the marine world that surrounds us here at CEI.
My name is Mike Piersiak and I came to CEI last semester as an intern with the Shark Research and Conservation Program. My main focus was to gain as much knowledge as I could regarding not only my specific area of interest (sharks), but also knowledge about the other research projects taking place here. Continue reading