Today is the last day on the island...
This morning i woke up and felt pretty tired so i stayed in bed and fell back asleep until around seven thirty, i was woken up by the guys coming in and asking me how i slept as per usuall i replied yes. Following my reply i was asked if i dreamed last night, me being a person who seldom has dreams even has the chance of remembering them i said no. Chris then explains that at right around three a clock he was jolted awake to me yelling yeah at the top of my lungs, this i found extremely funny and couldnt stop laughing from how each of the guys explained that they all except Jaren woke up suddenly to me yelling super early in the morning while i was still asleep. Breakfast consisted of porrage, Pancakes, sliced Fruit, and Coffee. The porrage i will miss because of how filling, warm, and sweet it is. After eating breakfast we got ready for our last deep dive out on the reef. the dive consisted of us going with the current and slowly floating along the coral see thousands of fish of different colors swim by. Blue saphire shpaed fish that came in the schools of hundreds, Clown Fish of a Variety of colors dipping in and out of their soft Anenome homes, and Turtles, Rays, and all the other fish never at any point stopping but some how calm. The Coral with its aggressive branches and flats cradeling all of this life within its reach. After around an hour of drifting and swimming around sixty feet below the surface we loaded back into the speed boat which was a small red boat with a makeshift roof that was capapale of pulling eighty miles per hour on the water. Since we had to wait for the tide our captain decided to take us to a part of the reef that was home to a Massive Coral that was about thirty feet tall. Once i had fell backwards into the water and the bubbles had cleared i was awestruck This coral had around five or six giant grouper cicrling it, a shark around eight feet long naping next to it, and tons of cleaner wrasse using this massive yellow, red, orangish colored small house of coral. After i had regained the relisation that i was alive and could dive to see it better i dived and got around sixty feet below the surface on the sea floor face to face with the fish admiring their home.That dive was by far my favorite dive of the whole trip. Dinner: - Raveolli - Salad - Tea - CheeseCake
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I am super tired so im gonna keep it short
- Did a deep sea swim and saw some awesome coral - Finished my research project - Had an Awesome steak dinner with potatoes and icecream for desert I will write a longer one tomorrow but as of now i need rest for my final day here Love yall excited to see yall soon Today i was excited and nervous waking up mostly becasue i was startled awake by the guys leaping out of bed. This however got me awake real quick and i slipped out of bed with ease without a hint of drowsiness and only a slight headache which was eleveated by the morning coffee that was nice warm, sweet, and smooth. For breakfast we had something interesting, it was tomatoes cut in half, sprinkled with mozzerella cheese and then baked until the cheese was nice and crispy on top. I had three of these they were really good tomatoes but for myself i would have hollow out the tomato or made a sauce with the insides of the tomato to give it more depth, and kind of a non-complimentry dish but the really good porrage with honey and brown sugar.
Moving to the first swim of the day we headed out at nine forty in the morning and got back at ten forty collecting some data observing were the cleaner wrasse prefered to set up their stations. So far the wrasse seem to have a preference towards the branching coral which corralates with our hypothese. Our second swim was a deep dive on the boat...And i know what your thinking oh no hes gonna get sick again, today actually went fantastic prior to us leaving on the boat i had a ginger and lemon tea recommmended by my professor Trisha who is married to my other professor Ed, i also had a dramamine and through the whole swim i never got sick once. I got to sea squid that Trisha pointed out for me because other wise they blend in the water perfectly they change the color of their body to match the surroundings and if you get to close they can release a curtain like cloud of ink to either hide in or dissapear almost like the oceans magicians. I also go pretty close to a shark today aswell as a little family of clown fish which are one of my favorites. The water today was really nice and warm and i could finally swim without a wetsuit allowing me to dive a lot more and tan a little bit in the nice gaze of the sun. The waves were really nice and calm though with the amount of time i spent underwater you wouldnt even realize that it was moving at all on the surface. Dinner: - Curry - Salad - Blueberry and Banana Pavlova - Orange and Lemon Tea with a Hint of Sugar This Morning i decided it would be smart to sleep in and save my energy for the data collection i had to perform during noon. I curled back into the covers and let the fan lul me to sleep. I woke up again around seven thirty just about half an hour before breakfast slipping out of bed and landing in my shoes i went for the morning piss, after releaving myself i wandered over to the kitchen to be pleasantly surprised by poached eggs with toast and porriage. I had some porage mixed with sweet brown sugar and some smooth honey. I then also got some coffee with some full cream milk and two small scoops of sugar. I nice little breakfast though small very filling and enjoyable fill.
After some nice alone time in the lab writing about our final project on Cleaner Wrasse, which are small fish that clean both large and small fish at little cleaner stations that they make out of coral. I went for the first data collection which consisted of me and Chris who gave himself the nickname Trojan PorkChop or PorkChop in a Condom, and a Go Pro to capture the fish cleaning in action. On my short outing the water was a nice luke warm and lots of fish were out, i got 6 videos of the the Wrasse hanging outside the their stations but sadly no cleaning in action. The Rest of the day consisted of me sunbathing listening to my brothers playlist Chill, while feeling the sun on my skin and the sand under my feet with the sound of the sea shore slowly putting me to sleep. Well sorry for the short story today i would right more but its a little repetitive unless something really cool happens or i just throw up love yall and am excited to write tomorrow and see yall when i get back oh yeah Dinner: - Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken - Cheesy Potatos - Steamed Broccoli - Sweet Potato - Boisen Berry and Blueberry Icecream Cake - Tea Morning Swim: Before I start this little short novel of a blog I would like to say thank you guys for reading my blogs it's fun hearing back from all of you. I would like to also explain again why I didn't post the last few days, the short story is I got seasick but I know you guys want to hear the long story...
2 Days Ago... Started the morning like any other with the alarm buzzing, the fan whirring, and the sun not even peeking its head over the horizon. Got out of bed with the guys we all went for our morning whize and got changed into our still-damp wetsuits which felt like putting on a wet piece of salami. The girls started to show up shortly after we arrived at the drying room all of us were still a little droopy and slowly moving around amused ourselves and as soon as we all had our gear we sluggishly dragged our feet to the shore. The water on the swim felt chilly and nipped at your ankles as you stepped into the cold ever-changing surface. One good part about the water though is it slaps you in the face when you dive in and feel like a new person and wide awake. Once we were done with our little swim we quickly moved to the showers to remove our suits that felt like ice with the wind at our heels. Getting to the showers and twisting the squicky nobes which allowed the water to come down around your shoulders and give you a warm hug immediately stopping you from shivering. The Sand was washed from the nooks and crannies on the body and ridding it of anything that previously caused discomfort. Drying off feeling brand new and then getting dressed for breakfast is a newfound appreciation for me. Porrage waiting for us bringing us in with its scent that you could smell for miles, the sweet brown sugar and milk with the fresh oats almost beckoning you to them. After dinner and a short lecture, we moved to get dressed again for an outer reef dive, which I was worried about but also excited about. The boat we took was a small around sixteen-foot long and eight-foot-wide double motor speed demon on the water, I took pride in pushing everyone offshore because I was the only one strong enough to do so and then run in the water to jump in after they were free. Since I was the last one on the boat I got to sit very front and center, this seemed like a good idea at first... I soon came to realize that the front acted like a trampoline every time we hit a wave, this nearly sending me off the boat numerous times it was like riding a bull I could hold onto a small metal post in front of me other than that I was tossed left and right and at some point my feet leaving the ground completely just to come hard right back down onto my seat. This was fucking awesome, I was having a blast, what more could a nineteen-year-old boy ask for, going sixty miles per hour on the water, getting tossed like a rag doll by the waves, and being able to be front and center. Later I found out this was a short-lived excitement because shortly after getting my fins and snorkel on I jumped into the water and felt fine. Huh weird, I thought I'd be sick, well I guess I can just keep going. I was partnered with the same girl named Rachael who is a scuba diver that likes sharks. We combed the reef seeing fish that looked exactly as they were named parrot fish with their beaks used for eating coral and trumpet fish that were long and yellow. We also so filter-feeding worms that looked like little pine trees that would duck out of sight if startled. (I'll Send Videos) around twenty minutes in I started to feel a little off almost like I ate something. Well, guess ill keep going until I can't. Another five minutes pass and my head starts to spin as the waves move me like clothes in a washer and smack me in the face as the wind picks up, jeez I'm not feeling good at all, I have nausea, headache, and numbness in the hands and feet, yeah I think its time I get out of the water I tell Rachael that I need to head to the boat and lie down little did I know that this would make it worse once I had handed my fins to Aggie(The Boat Attendy and super nice person) and had climbed up the latter it hit me, I quickly and calmly got on my knees and rested my stomach on the edge of the boat with my mouth hanging over the edge, 1, 2, 3, 4 times I chundered over the edge and after I had done thoroughly with expelling my guts into the sea I turned and sat down feeling immediately better, I will say the taste of tomato sauce and banana muffins don't go hand in hand. I only lasted thirty-five out of the forty-five minutes that we had planned on being out there, everyone swam until Aggie waved them in soon everyone realized what had happened and thought it was funny that the amount of fish around the boat had drastically increased, and since there were more fish this interested the sharks we also had a bunch of sharks around. The Ride back was better I road on the back of the boat with the occasional bump but overall it felt as though we were a hot knife cutting through butter, the mist on my face and the sun over the shoulder patting me on the back with a warm hand easing the sickness away. To end the day I had a small dinner and decided it smart to not go for the next morning's swim. Well their yesterdays and the days before blog today are short and simple Morning Swim - Tea - Lunch - Lecture - Tea - Dinner - Chilllll I'll send videos of the wildlife on here if I can figure it out if not they will be on the chat we had set up before the trip. Morning Swim:
I did not attend the swim today due to the fact that i threw up 4 times yesterday on the boat and i didnt want to push myself to far with immediatly getting in the water after i woke up Lab: Towards nine thirty in the morning i went out and helped collected coral data where we would take the lightest color onthe corral and the darkest and compare the data to a global input of data from other scientists from around australia nad the globe Dinner: I forgot i writing this a day after sorry Great day will write like i have been tomorrow since ive heard from many people that they enjoy my writing The Morning Swim:
Today I woke up before the others and decided to listen to the fan hum for a good ten minutes which was really nice in my nice warm bunk bed. once the others woke up and we all were out of bed we headed to the showers to get out our wetsuits. Meeting at the tank as usual and having the girls slowly started to wander through. heading out to the tide was cold almost like the wind was using any moisture as a little knife to pierce your warm skin. When we got to the water though cold to the touch once underneath the ever changing surface it felt as though you were being wrapped in a warm blanket that hid you from the wind just above the surface. The normal sightings next to the dock the Cow-Tail Rays, Shovel Noses, sharks and turtles. All very cool however not anything new quite yet. We got out to the wreak much faster than the other times out and got to get a good look at it, huge three foot long snappers in groups hangout were there once was a captain manning the ship and loads of small bait fish and cleaner wrasse almost seasoning the coral covered and algae riddled ship. Moving away from the ship and starting to circle back we were going down the main channel which is clear but deep and about half way back to the dock we had an eagle ray which glided on the seafloor current and majestic "flew" along side us, the wings must have been four feet end to end and the tail being nearly twice in length, really quite a magical. The Lecture: The Lab: This consisted of us using the same weighted measuring tapes to see how far from shore we were however rather than measuring from the shore we started at the first large coral cluster near the shore in the area were were researching. At each Cluster we would use a syringe like device to collect sixty milliliters of sand, what we hope to gain from this is to see weather or not there are more microorganism's either farther or closer to shore. The Morning Swim:
The morning swim consisted of us waking up to the buzzing of the fans and the constant hum of the phone alarm. We got out of bed and got into our swim suits and wetsuits, once everything was in place and everyone had met at the Tank (Fish Tank on the Island) we headed out. We walked to the Jetty/Boat Launch and waded into the chilled water about shin high and begun putting our flippers on, Trisha led the swim with Ed tailing behind like protective parents. On our way out there were oodles of CowTail stingrays about five feet long each and four feet wide. Then out of the blue emerged an aggressive outline with a sleek and steading profile about five foot in length, a Lemon Shark. My first shark while being in the water, the social media and movie scenes flashing through my head all in that moment, but just as soon as it started it ended and I realized that unless provoked they were nothing but see puppies. After making it to the sunken boat around one hundred yards from the shore we circled back and started to head towards the shore, on the way out I was feelin fine however after we circled back my head started to spin and I got sick to my stomach as though I had eaten something sour. I decided to tough it out until I got to shore as to not slow the group down. It seemed to take 4 hours to make it back to the dock which was the place I could sit down and take my mask off to breath, i felt immediately better as soon as i took that first breath and i can back to center. Once i felt good enough to get back into the water i got back in i mossed around the jetty looking at the huge rays which although terrifying were mesmerizing and majestic sitting on the bottom of the sea floor, out of no were i turn to my right to see a massive seven foot long lemon two feet from my face, the thing was close enough i could see its eye looking right back at me, this freaked me out good and i brought my arms close and starred it down until it disappeared into the water. after that encountered the sea sickness came back and i decided to head to shore to not puke in the water. The Lecture: Evolutionary history of coral reefs: Scleractinian corals stony corals or hard corals are animals in the phylum cnidaria that live on the seabed and build themselves a hard skeleton
Early Reefs: 4.6 BYA - 251 MYA Were not Coral Formed By:
488 MYA: First appearance of hard corals 443-359 MYA: Tabulate and rugose corals start to get a foothold 199.6 MYA: Relatives of modern scleractinian corals 145.5 MYA: Modern families of scleractinian corals 55.8 MYA: Modern coral reefs are born 5.3 MYA: The great barrier reef is formed Hermatypic corals (Reef Builders) Corals have a history of going extinct Corals Start as a tiny single polyp Most Species polyps stay inside the hard skeleton during the day At Night the Polyps come out to feed What do hermatypic corals eat?
Why do Corals have Mouths?
Coral Reproduction
Half of the corals on the GBR release their gametes just after dark 5 days after the full moon in spring
New Caledonia Barrier Reef - 1,497 Km long or 930 Miles Great Barrier Reef - 2,300 Km long or 1,430 Miles
For this lab we were outside collecting data with these PVC Pipe squares with a grid of thin pink rope making a five by five grid in-between the pipe, A weighted measuring tape, and a waterproof writing tablet. We collected the percentage of what sort of benthic seabed cover which includes coral sand rock etc. I worked with a girl named Rachael who is a certified scuba diver and has lots of love for the sea and the creatures that live in it. The Tape that we used snapped twice so instead of measuring all the way out to twenty five meters we went five meters at a time to take measurements which worked great. Dinner: Spaghetti and Beef Red Sauce Salad Garlic Bread Ice Cream Cake The Trip:
It was relaxing and was nice to have the cool winter breeze of the ocean on my face. While watching the waves move along side the boat and move up and down off in the distance the occasional flying fish would come gliding out of the water and would sail till you couldn't see it no more. The Island: It was really unique and unlike anything i have ever seen very well kept and clean along with the residents who live on the island being very friendly while emphasizing the importance of being respectful and courteous to the wildlife. Many birds live here including small brown birds with pencil long beaks that run around on the ground along with the common seagull flying overhead. Fish of all different colors and sizes hugging the dock seeking refuge from the numerous shark patrolling the port. The Sand unlike any other super soft and fine like flour, and looks along the lines of powdered sugar. All of this color surrounded by an expansive and enormous great blue mass that shimmered in the sunlight. Snorkeling: Once fitted into the wet suits which felt like a second skin and was twice as sweaty, along with the duck like flippers. We found our way to the beach and were showed how to slip on our flippers. After a few minutes everyone was ready to move out and we buddied up with a Classmate I was buddied up with Abby a really nice black haired blue eyed girl. we started about three hundred yards from the dock and swam against the current up to the dock. On the way we had numerous encounters with the wildlife. We had a green see turtle swim with us about Thirty yards while looking at the sea bed which was littered with Sea cucumbers coral and other sea shells. Once to the dock we saw Cow-tail stingrays which were five feet long and four feet wide with them we the calm slow moving sea turtles and the fast moving fish. After seeing the variety of sea life we rode the current back to where we departed and moved back for supper. Supper: - White Fish - Mash Potato - Mixed Veggies - Cauliflower and Broccoli - Cake with Thick Cream and Chocolate - Water |