Bermuda Field Course 2011 :: Daily Report

Day 08 | Thursday, March 17, 2011

We can't believe it was our final day in the field! Being in Bermuda for an entire week now, we've definitely fallen into a routine here of timely meals, beautiful scenery, and long evenings of analyzing data. Today we focused on coral reef fish ecology and behavior. Dr. Lema gave a lecture after breakfast about the different types of reef fishes and some of their unique qualities. The Southampton students told us how much they enjoyed it, because many of them have not taken an animal behavior or ichthyology class before, like most of the UNCW students had. After the lecture, we split into two research groups: one focusing on behavioral variation across fish species, the other looking at which species utilized which substrates. We then hiked once again to Whalebone Bay, enjoying conversation and our packed lunches along the way. It was a busy day in the water! We saw reef squid, a group of large parrotfish, and some barracuda. Since it was the last day in the field, we were very proficient at our data collecting, and even had time for a "joy" snorkel afterwards before heading back to the BIOS station for dinner. Tomorrow is a day of hard work as we prepare our final oral presentations to be conducted on Sunday! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

- Laura, Renee, Rachel

Unpacking for fish studies at Whalebone Bay