The crystal blue water, the bright and warm sun, and the white sandy beaches. All of these things are typically what people conjure up when they think of the Bahamas. But during today's afternoon snorkeling session and field class session I think all of us OSU students can say we can dig a little deeper beyond the surface of this awesome landscape San Salvador Island has to offer! Today we all got to snorkel and see the unique underwater environment of Graham's Harbor in San Salvador which is home to a broad range of aquatic life. While snorkeling in the field I saw a variety of animals including stingrays, sea turtles, various genera of starfish, fireworms, various other small reef fish, and even a juvenile nurse shark. I also was able to observe several different types of coral native to the area including Diploria more commonly know as "Brain Coral". I hypothesized that due to the fact much of this coral was still appearing to be just starting to establish itself in small colonies, that over many years a thriving reef ecosystem could potentially be in store for Graham's Harbor. With this being said however the main focus of todays snorkeling lab was to observe the unique characteristics of Graham's Harbors' plentiful grass beds and algae that many animals use for shelter, food, and to raise their young. So while we all were taking in the scenery we all collected samples of native algae and sea grass species to that we could take them back to our field lab to analyze them and truly identify them. After spending the afternoon snorkeling and collecting specimens, all of us students met at our lab space at the Gerace Research Center to take a more in-depth look at just what exactly we collected.
In review of what we collected, I can truly say my eyes were opened up to just what exactly each piece does specifically for the ecosystem and why it is so important to have. Starting with the sea grasses the area had to offer. There was a larger, thicker type of sea grass that tended to form in large beds which made great places for aquatic life to thrive, while on the other hand there was a whispy, thin grass that lined much of the shallower inlets that acted more as a buffer against the sand and the relatively calm wave energy. I learned this larger grass was actually called Thalassia and that it likes to form in more calm waters and that it not only offered safety to smaller fish and crabs, but that it also provides sustained food for a recovering sea turtle population in the Bahamas. The smaller of these two grasses was actually called Syringodium. Syringodium also helps to give aquatic life a solid place to live, and it actually helps to absorb wave action close to shorelines.
Algae life was also very abundant in Graham's Harbor as well, as my group alone collected 3 species of algae in a small area. The most interesting of these algae to me were Halimeda and Penicillus. This is because these algae actually produce calcite within themselves and are built up of a calcium carbonate structure. What this entails is that when these organisms solidify and eventually die, they are eroded by kinetic wave energy and are turned back into the very sand that makes up the habitats and beaches you and your favorite aquatic animals love so dearly. These organisms were so unique as even in the short time they spent in our field laboratory, they began to dry out and actually started to shed their green outer layers and reveal their distinctive white calcite skeletons!
All in all today was very insightful and also very fun as we all got to make our own observations about the amazing wonders San Salvador has to offer.
This post was written by Gavin E.
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