Acropora palmata // Science Without Borders®

Posts Tagged ‘Acropora palmata’

Virtual Connections

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

March 29, 2012

Throughout this week, students from two high schools—Gig Harbor High School in Gig Harbor, Washington and Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona—have been virtually following the Global Reef Expedition to learn more about the work of the Living Oceans Foundation. Recruited through the Coral Reef Educator on the Water (CREW) Program, the schools represent entirely different environments from that of Navassa. They recently had an opportunity to submit questions to Navassa Mission researchers.

Our usual morning greeting.

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Tags: Acropora palmata, biodiversity, coral bleaching, coral reefs, Corona del Sol High School, Diadema urchin, elkhorn coral, Gig Harbor High School, Global Reef Expedition, invasive species, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, lionfish, Navassa, parrotfish, research
Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Navassa | 2 Comments »

Next Stop: Navassa

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

March 26, 2012

After a short break in Jamaica, the M/Y Golden Shadow departed for an overnight sail to the next stop on the Global Reef Expedition: Navassa. Joining the Living Oceans science staff is a cadre of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and University of Miami researchers. Together, they will characterize the current status, threats and resilience of Navassa’s reefs.

By revisiting past survey sites, the researchers will update information on coral reef communities examined by NOAA and other partners over the last 10 years. The current mission includes a team doing fish counts, one assessing the density of Elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and other corals, and one doing benthic transects.

Navassa Mission primary dive sites (by Southeast Fisheries Science Center)

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Tags: Acropora palmata, Coral Reef Educators on the Water, elkhorn coral, full face mask, Global Reef Expedition, Golden Shadow, Haiti, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Navassa, NOAA, research
Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Navassa | No Comments »

Shark Day

Monday, March 19th, 2012

March 17, 2012

St. Patrick’s Day saw the Calcutta leaving early for the far eastern end of Pedro Bank. The route took us across an area of deeper water and larger swells, so it took close to three hours of hard bouncing to cover the 41 km (25.5. mi) to Portland Rock, without a doubt one of the least inviting islets in the Caribbean. A nub of steep, sharp rock lashed by waves and covered with guano, it still had a few fisherman’s tents on top and a handful of fishing boats pulled up nearby.

Welcome to Portland Rock

Unfortunately, even after asking these knowledgeable locals for advice, we weren’t able to find any spots with more than minimal coral cover, and the underwater visibility was low. Andy and Phil decided it would make better sense to backtrack another 30 minutes to tiny Blower Rock. The first dive was marked by huge colonies of star coral (Montastraea faveolata and M. annularis) up to 2.6 m (8.5 ft) across. We spotted our first nurse shark as soon as we entered the water, but Rachel soon got a closer look.

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Tags: Acropora palmata, coral, elkhorn, Global Reef Expedition, invasive species, Jamaica, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, lionfish, Montastraea, nurse shark, Pedro Bank, portland rock, research, star coral
Posted in Atlantic Ocean, Jamaica | No Comments »