Bermuda Field Course 2011 :: Daily Report

Day 03 | Saturday, March 12, 2011

Day three in country was a myriad of rain, wind and sun…and unparalleled triumph. The day started peacefully with a lovely sunrise and a great breakfast of eggs, bacon and waffles. Fortunately enough, we found our missing comrade Robbie McNeill (who somehow was lost from Day One's photo archive); this blog post is dedicated to him. Two groups of UNCW and University of Southampton students left the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences seeking success and all the glory with our first attempt at field ecology sampling. 'Team Seagrass' sought refuge from the wind and rain (but, quite sadly, did not find it!) at Well Bay to investigate seagrass density relationships with water depth. 'Team Mangrove' found solace in flittering moments of sunbathing after sampling the red mangrove habitat at Walsingham Pond for epifaunal species zonation. Despite the complete absence of beginner luck, both groups attained their goals and returned with data. As a reward, lasagna night welcomed us with open arms. Following dinner, both sides of the pond gathered to crunch data. Alas, and despite our best efforts, conclusive conclusions currently elude us. However, with each passing day we grow closer as a group. And as the crescent moon now rises, we look forward to examining Bermuda's communities of zooplankton - also known as "weebeasties" - after the sun returns tomorrow…

- Zach (and Robbie too…maybe)

Traveling to field sites via the BIOS bus