The program started out on Tuesday, August 13th, with an informational presentation on bonefish and flats ecology. Zach and Justin also spent a bit of time that first day teaching students the basics on flyfishing where they had the chance to practice casting, some of them for the first time! That afternoon we headed over to Great Cistern to do an introduction on methodology and how to use the seine net. We saw lots of turtles, a shark and caught some shad (mojarra), crabs, shrimp, and other fun stuff in the seine net. 

The second day we tagged 20 bonefish around Crossing Rocks, about 12 miles south of the Marls. Clint Kemp from Black Fly Lodge in Schooner Bay took us out with two of their flats boats for a beautiful day on the water. After tagging and doing a little fishing, he took us over to the Black Fly Lodge to check out their facilities. It was very quaint and personal lodge, right on the newly developed Schooner Bay. Clint was a wealth of information on not only what it’s like to be a top notch fly fishing guide, but also some of the background on the development of the unique “Live, work, and play” community of Schooner Bay. 

Check out their website:

Black Fly Lodge - http://www.blackflylodge.com/ 

Schooner Bay - http://www.schoonerbaybahamas.com/

For the last day, we headed out flyfishing to get more practice using the fly rods and to catch a few bonefish. We went out in Cherokee Sound with local guide Buddy Pinder and found LOTS of bonefish. Those spooky Cherokee bones are known to be tough to catch, but we did have two students get the chance to catch two bonefish that morning! Once the tide got a little high for fishing, we had lunch at the Pinder’s house in Casuarina. Students then learned to make their own flys to take home and use next time they are out fishing! 

Check out Buddy Pinder at:

www.worldwidefishing.com

skeeterone@coralwave.com

It was a great week out on the flats. Students got a well rounded experience on the importance of bonefish in the coastal flats ecosystem. They also learned first hand the value of bonefish in the flyfishing industry where in the Bahamas, $141 million dollars is produced annually. We hope to have a few future flyfishing guides come out of the bunch! Big thanks to our guides, Clint and Buddy, as well as researchers, Zack and Justin, who helped make the experience unforgettable for our students.

We look forward to collaborating with Friends of the Environment next year for the next Abaco flats program!

Check out Friends of the Environment at:
http://www.friendsoftheenvironment.org/

The flats week students not only worked alongside our Flats researchers all through the week, but also had the opportunity to go bonefishing with some of the local fishermen of Rock Sound and Savannah Sound. In doing this, they got a taste of some of the local ideas in conservation of the mangrove flats ecosystem and protection of bonefish as well as other species that spend all or just part of their life there.

The Shark week students spent a good amount of time in the field setting longlines and drum lines for juvenile lemon sharks and their predators. They were very successful in tagging and recapture of juvenile lemons, having caught 7 in one day at a nearby creek. They were also able to use their findings to relate to other juvenile lemon shark studies from the Bimini Biological Field Station.

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On the last day, both shark and flats presented to their fellow campers and researchers on some of the information they had learned and collected through the week. The day concluded with a trip down island to check out the Rock Sound caverns, Ocean Hole Park, the giant banyan trees, ending at a Bahamian style dinner at Sharil’s in Deep Creek. The week was a busy one full of fun, friendships, and most importantly learning about the mangrove flats ecosystem!

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In addition to being part of a multi-million dollar catch-and-release fishery, bonefish (Albula vulpes) are an essential component of tropical marine ecosystems and an integral part of Bahamian culture. A variety of activities are currently threatening the future of the bonefish, including global climate change.

Water temperature is the “master” environmental factor influencing the biology of fish. Water temperature exerts more control over fish than any other single abiotic factor as it influences nearly all biochemical, physiological, and life history activities. The advent of small thermal loggers that can be surgically implanted in fish has provided the opportunity to reconstruct the thermal history of fish over an entire year. Using a swim tunnel Liane will also be investigating the role of temperature on bonefish swimming energetics and metabolic rates.

Given the ecological and economic importance of coastal areas, coupled with the influence of thermal phenomena such as El Niño and the impact of global warming in these ecosystems, a lack of information demands a broader investigation into the thermal physiology and ecology of fish. This data will be modeled to examine the consequences of different climate change scenarios on bonefish. Liane believes this area of research has great potential to address novel questions regarding bonefish conservation and management.

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. It’s evident that global climate change is negatively impacting a variety of marine species. Statistics have shown that these climate changes have had a harsh impact on not only fishes but fisheries and varying fish distribution will strongly impact humans who rely on these stocks. Climate effects range in marine life from the oxygen consumptions in fish to changing migrational patterns. Even relatively small increases on the atmospheric temperature will raise the temperature of the ocean. It is our job to test the limits of these marine species and gauge as climate change progresses how certain conditions may affect the physiology and ecology of these species. It is important that we as researchers familiarize ourselves with past studies regarding the topic so we can take our research in the most efficient and logical direction. We as a team have to work together to gauge how varying climate change may affect Bonefish populations so we can inform the public.

After going to Page Creek we are much more prepared and have a better sense of what we need to take into account when dealing with Bonefish.

So everyone has heard of climate change/global warming- increased anthropogenic CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere shifts annual global climate, which then leads to other catastrophic events within the Earth’s ecosphere. An increase in oceanic temperature and acidity is among the most pressing and readily apparent effects of climate change. Past research has shown fish of tropical reefs to be particularly sensitive to changes in ocean temperature and pH. In the flats department, we aim to determine whether common teleost occupants of tropical mangroves exhibit a similar sensitivity to such changes. Using bonefish (Albula spp.), checkered puffers (Sphoeroides tetudineus), juvenile yellowfin mojarra (Gerres cinereus), and juvenile yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus), we aim to determine the Critical maximum and minimum temperature and pH at which each species looses equilibrium (“goes belly up”). With the help of visiting students from the Maine School of Science and Mathmatics, we have already determined the critical maximum temperature for puffers, mojarra, and snapper by observing behavior of test subjects while gradually increasing the ambient temperature. With our recently engineered water-cooling system, we plan on determining critical minimum temperature this week! Once completed this study will help us to predict the phenotypic plasticity of these mangrove species in response to rising oceanic temperatures and acidity.

Next, the team came together to snorkel down the left side of the creek and record the numbers of different juvenile fish, as well as measure water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, and counted mangrove prop roots in different areas. We celebrated a successful first data collection with refreshing tamarind juice cups at a store in Deep Creek. The entire team enjoyed the nice weather and their first field experience in Flats Research.

As a student at The Island School Carter’s research was archaeology , so this time back he was eager to do anything in the water, and the flats program sees that he gets his wish. Working alongside Justin and Luke, he spends much of his day walking the creeks catching and tagging bonefish. Although the days are long he doesn’t seem to mind the work, as long as it’s in the field. “Cubicles are scary” says Carter, adding “the idea of a desk job is just not appealing to me.”

This time around Carter has enjoyed seeing the other side of campus—the research side. He’s also impressed with the amount of building that has gone on here in the short time he’s been away from campus, with additions like the bike shed, the resource area, and the new construction at Hallig Hall.

Carter encourages alumni and friends and anyone else reading to do two things: jump at an opportunity to come back to the Cape, and SEND MAIL! Apparently mail can really make interns’ days, so if you’ve got something to say to Carter or any of the interns or alumni down here, why not write it down and put it in the mailbox.

Carter can be reached at:

℅ Twin Air Calypso
750 SW 34th St
Suite 111B
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
33315

By C.J., Noah, Hannah, Ellen, Heather, and Chris D.

The Flats Research team recently traveled by boat to Kemp’s Creek to catch bonefish. Our research group is studying bonefish, among other species, because there have been very few studies on them.  This is surprising, considering the important ecological role played by bonefish, as well as their appeal for sport fishing in the Bahamas. Bonefish are mainly found in shallow flats ecosystems, since this is where they hunt for prey. At low tide, however, bonefish tend to swim into open ocean. Recognizing that bonefish would be making this transition during the change in tides, we headed to Kemp Creek to collect some for our research.

The process by which we caught the bonefish was a method known as seining.  This method involves setting up a large net that covers the opening where the creek meets the ocean.  Many fish enter tidal creeks during high tide to forage for food.  We purposefully set the net during a time when the tide was leaving the creek, because the bonefish would be following the tide and retreating into deeper waters at this time. As the fish left the mouth of the creek, they were caught in the seine net that impeded their exit.  We also used an additional “booster” method to lure as many bonefish into the net as possible:  those who weren’t holding the net stood in a line that stretched the width of the creek, and slowly walked towards the net while splashing and making as much noise as possible to scare the fish into the seine net.  The net-operators then immediately closed the net into a circle surrounding the fish.  Using smaller dip nets, we then did our best to catch all of the bonefish that had been trapped. After collecting all of the bonefish from the net, our “by-catch” – which included a lemon shark, a cow fish, and many barracuda – was safely returned to its habitat in the creek.

consists of. One of these systems is the acclimation procedure; a tank is used to adjust the fish to various changes that correlate with changes or stressors that may result from climate change. Today we also went through the process of weighing, volumizing, and transferring fish to the respirometer chambers. These chambers measure the amount of air consumed by the fish within the tubes. This involved transferring the fish from the acclimation tanks to the “cradle of love”, where we weighed the fish. The transfer was moderately successful, with only one fish being mishandled (*coughcoughMickeycough*). Unfortunately this fish can no longer be used in the test, wasting a week of acclimation and setting us back one fish. For this, Mickey is really really really really really distraught and sorry. Overall we are making great progress collecting data, navigating the wet lab and preparing our presentation for parents weekend.

Love,
Mickey, Sean, Jake, Makayla, Rennie, Kearney, Olivia