Peter Gawne, Belize Expedition
The table is set. The pieces are in place. Now it is time for some science.
The attitude of this island centers solely on the pursuit of science, and the full-time staff have that pursuit at the center of their mission. Bonnie and Ed, the field station's managers, are indispensable in aiding the work of the two teams currently on island. Although they come from different backgrounds, each has a wealth of experience and a worldly sense. Their sage council, experience and genuine passion for both the island and the work conducted here is evident in everything they do. I both respect and like each of them immensely.
Global Explorers Blog
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
#1 Surrounded by people who are very good at what they do
Peter Gawne, Belize Expedition
I find myself surrounded by people who are very good at what they do.
After the customary tedium of traveling within the confines of the United States, Randi and I finally landed in Belize City. During the flight, we had met one of the other researchers, Alex, who was heading to Carrie Bow to conduct experiments surrounding mangroves and their associated insects. Alex was seated directly in the seat in front of me, and overheard a conversation about Carrie Bow Cay, and decided that the odds were in his favor that we were headed there as well. It was funny to be seated so close to someone headed for the same remote destination. In a plane filled with over one hundred passengers, we were seated within earshot of a man headed to the same small island with a maximum population of eight. Alex has an obvious passion for his work, and a quick sense of humor. I liked him instantly.
Traveling with so much scientific equipment (something the Phoenix Islands Expedition is familiar with), it was unsurprising that the prying eyes of officials in the Miami airport could not resist one last look inside our plastic trunk, packed with a tools, nets and chemicals of all varieties. We decided to wait for the entirety of our baggage, and took in some tamales at the airport. Those were some of the best tamales I have ever tasted, worlds beyond typical American airport food.
I find myself surrounded by people who are very good at what they do.
After the customary tedium of traveling within the confines of the United States, Randi and I finally landed in Belize City. During the flight, we had met one of the other researchers, Alex, who was heading to Carrie Bow to conduct experiments surrounding mangroves and their associated insects. Alex was seated directly in the seat in front of me, and overheard a conversation about Carrie Bow Cay, and decided that the odds were in his favor that we were headed there as well. It was funny to be seated so close to someone headed for the same remote destination. In a plane filled with over one hundred passengers, we were seated within earshot of a man headed to the same small island with a maximum population of eight. Alex has an obvious passion for his work, and a quick sense of humor. I liked him instantly.
Traveling with so much scientific equipment (something the Phoenix Islands Expedition is familiar with), it was unsurprising that the prying eyes of officials in the Miami airport could not resist one last look inside our plastic trunk, packed with a tools, nets and chemicals of all varieties. We decided to wait for the entirety of our baggage, and took in some tamales at the airport. Those were some of the best tamales I have ever tasted, worlds beyond typical American airport food.
Friday, March 19, 2010
You'd better Belize it!
Randi Rotjan and Peter Gawne, Belize Expedition
Randi: It's been two years since I've been to Carrie Bow Caye, a small (0.74 acre!) island in Belize where I did all of the work for my doctoral dissertation. Sum total of over a year of my life spent on this tiny island; at one point I could recognize every single coral head and had pet names for the resident turtles. Since then, reefs all over the world have experienced substantial demise. Several hurricanes, storms and development projects have transpired; I'm terrified to go back to one of my favorite places on this planet--will it still be all that it was? Who knows, but I'm going in order to answer that (plus many other!) question(s). Lucky for me, I am bringing along Peter Gawne, one of the New England Aquarium staff from the fishes department, who will be looking at Belize with fresh eyes. I can't wait to experience a place that I know so well through a new perspective.
Randi: It's been two years since I've been to Carrie Bow Caye, a small (0.74 acre!) island in Belize where I did all of the work for my doctoral dissertation. Sum total of over a year of my life spent on this tiny island; at one point I could recognize every single coral head and had pet names for the resident turtles. Since then, reefs all over the world have experienced substantial demise. Several hurricanes, storms and development projects have transpired; I'm terrified to go back to one of my favorite places on this planet--will it still be all that it was? Who knows, but I'm going in order to answer that (plus many other!) question(s). Lucky for me, I am bringing along Peter Gawne, one of the New England Aquarium staff from the fishes department, who will be looking at Belize with fresh eyes. I can't wait to experience a place that I know so well through a new perspective.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
One last post about Dominica
Kara Robinson, Dominica Expedition
Now that I have returned from Dominica, I wanted just to give some more background to the project I was involved with and also share some of my experiences with the students.
Previously IFAW's Floating Classrooms were a one-time fun whale watch for students throughout Dominica; it was an experience that was educational but a quick one and mostly focused on whales - sperm whales that dive for 45 minutes on average! The 2010 Floating Classroom is meant to be more than just a boat trip for the students and teachers that are participating. It is now meant to be a full set of activities that the schools can work on from now until May integrating teaching about the ocean into current curriculum guidelines and lead up the boat trip that will be more of a research cruise than just a whale watch.
Map of the Caribbean, Dominica is in the middle of the West Indies.
The hope is that throughout the next couple of months the classes work to learn more about the ocean in their backyard and hopefully through a community service project really become ocean stewards and share the knowledge that they learn with their family, friends and community. As part of the kickoff for this year's program we spent 3 days at the school in Soufriere teaching with the teachers and 2 days at the LaPlaine School.
The village of Soufriere on the Carribean Sea.
It was really interesting getting to know the people of Dominica; whether it was the staff at the Dive Lodge where we were staying, our contacts in the Ministry of Youth Development, the Minister of Education, or the teachers and students at the schools we were working with. The island of Dominica is relatively small (289.5 sq. miles and a population under 75,000) with most of the villages along the coast of the country, however one member of the Dive crew told me that probably about 70% of the people of Dominica have never been in the water, let alone snorkeling, diving, or whale watching - those are more tourist activities. The people who spend the most time in or on the water are the fishermen. It is interesting how many millions of people flock to the Caribbean each year to experience the diverse life that is at their footsteps.
Rosalie Beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island (notice the difference in the sea state). This beach is the largest leatherback sea turtle nesting beach in Dominica, just north of the village of LaPlaine.
In my job here at the Aquarium, I work primarily with students in grades K-5. Seeing how and what students learn about the ocean in Dominica was most interesting to me; especially when comparing to what students learn here in Massachusetts. For instance, coral reefs are not really a topic that is covered in the Dominica curriculum when it is literally in their backyard. That being said, we recently worked with a first grade class in Boston that was doing a whole coral reef unit that involved visiting the Aquarium and I wonder if they study North Atlantic rocky shores. Culturally, some of the students had experiences that were unlike any that I had encountered. For instance, at the LaPlaine Elementary School on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island almost every student we met had eaten sea turtle before, most likely leatherback. This was pretty shocking to me and it will be interesting going forward if these students can realize the implications of killing a female sea turtle that is coming to the shore to lay her eggs.
Some very excited girls from the Jones Beaupierre School in LaPlaine.
Photo credit: Jake Levenson
The students really left a mark on me. At the Soufriere Primary school on the Caribbean side there was a girl who asked so many questions and at one point told me she wants to be like us when she grows up. She is also the same girl who was one of the only students I met who had been in the ocean before. She has a "Pirates of the Caribbean" mask that she uses (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed on the island) to explore the ocean. Hopefully her interest in the ocean will become a love and it would be fantastic if she continues to pursue studying of the ocean.
Another student that really stuck out was a boy named Christopher at the Jones Beaupierre Primary School in LaPlaine on the Atlantic Ocean. As we were telling all the students about the boat trip that they will be going on in May, he got so excited. When I told them that they would pretend to be scientists, he was literally jumping with joy. Hopefully his excitement will continue during the next couple of months!
Me snorkeling. I have now seen tons of fish, sea turtles, and sperm whales (under permit) while snorkeling - an amazing experience!! Photo credit: Jake Levenson
This trip to Dominica allowed me to explore things I hadn't before; learn about another culture (we were lucky enough to attend the Kick Off to Carnival Parade), learn another country's school system, see sperm whales for the first time, spend time with fantastic people, and snorkel more than I ever have before (I now have learned at least 10 new fish that we have in the Giant Ocean Tank!). This trip will definitely be an unforgettable one and I look forward to sharing this experience with the rest of the Education Department and bringing it to the rest of the work that I do at the Aquarium.
- Kara
Now that I have returned from Dominica, I wanted just to give some more background to the project I was involved with and also share some of my experiences with the students.
Previously IFAW's Floating Classrooms were a one-time fun whale watch for students throughout Dominica; it was an experience that was educational but a quick one and mostly focused on whales - sperm whales that dive for 45 minutes on average! The 2010 Floating Classroom is meant to be more than just a boat trip for the students and teachers that are participating. It is now meant to be a full set of activities that the schools can work on from now until May integrating teaching about the ocean into current curriculum guidelines and lead up the boat trip that will be more of a research cruise than just a whale watch.
Map of the Caribbean, Dominica is in the middle of the West Indies.
The hope is that throughout the next couple of months the classes work to learn more about the ocean in their backyard and hopefully through a community service project really become ocean stewards and share the knowledge that they learn with their family, friends and community. As part of the kickoff for this year's program we spent 3 days at the school in Soufriere teaching with the teachers and 2 days at the LaPlaine School.
The village of Soufriere on the Carribean Sea.
It was really interesting getting to know the people of Dominica; whether it was the staff at the Dive Lodge where we were staying, our contacts in the Ministry of Youth Development, the Minister of Education, or the teachers and students at the schools we were working with. The island of Dominica is relatively small (289.5 sq. miles and a population under 75,000) with most of the villages along the coast of the country, however one member of the Dive crew told me that probably about 70% of the people of Dominica have never been in the water, let alone snorkeling, diving, or whale watching - those are more tourist activities. The people who spend the most time in or on the water are the fishermen. It is interesting how many millions of people flock to the Caribbean each year to experience the diverse life that is at their footsteps.
In my job here at the Aquarium, I work primarily with students in grades K-5. Seeing how and what students learn about the ocean in Dominica was most interesting to me; especially when comparing to what students learn here in Massachusetts. For instance, coral reefs are not really a topic that is covered in the Dominica curriculum when it is literally in their backyard. That being said, we recently worked with a first grade class in Boston that was doing a whole coral reef unit that involved visiting the Aquarium and I wonder if they study North Atlantic rocky shores. Culturally, some of the students had experiences that were unlike any that I had encountered. For instance, at the LaPlaine Elementary School on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island almost every student we met had eaten sea turtle before, most likely leatherback. This was pretty shocking to me and it will be interesting going forward if these students can realize the implications of killing a female sea turtle that is coming to the shore to lay her eggs.
Some very excited girls from the Jones Beaupierre School in LaPlaine.
Photo credit: Jake Levenson
The students really left a mark on me. At the Soufriere Primary school on the Caribbean side there was a girl who asked so many questions and at one point told me she wants to be like us when she grows up. She is also the same girl who was one of the only students I met who had been in the ocean before. She has a "Pirates of the Caribbean" mask that she uses (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed on the island) to explore the ocean. Hopefully her interest in the ocean will become a love and it would be fantastic if she continues to pursue studying of the ocean.
Another student that really stuck out was a boy named Christopher at the Jones Beaupierre Primary School in LaPlaine on the Atlantic Ocean. As we were telling all the students about the boat trip that they will be going on in May, he got so excited. When I told them that they would pretend to be scientists, he was literally jumping with joy. Hopefully his excitement will continue during the next couple of months!
Me snorkeling. I have now seen tons of fish, sea turtles, and sperm whales (under permit) while snorkeling - an amazing experience!! Photo credit: Jake Levenson
This trip to Dominica allowed me to explore things I hadn't before; learn about another culture (we were lucky enough to attend the Kick Off to Carnival Parade), learn another country's school system, see sperm whales for the first time, spend time with fantastic people, and snorkel more than I ever have before (I now have learned at least 10 new fish that we have in the Giant Ocean Tank!). This trip will definitely be an unforgettable one and I look forward to sharing this experience with the rest of the Education Department and bringing it to the rest of the work that I do at the Aquarium.
- Kara
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Last Question: What if we blended in?
Sunnye Dreyfus, South Africa Expedition
Cederberg, World Heritage Site
Blazing sun, broken arm, raging allergies, brightly colored clothing, a bad attitude and inappropriate footwear. I was so not prepared for the Cederberg and the cape leopards she was hiding.
I was dreaming of the ocean surrounded by at least 20 species of shark and schools of juvenile pufferfish. Thankfully, there is no law that regulates the scientific feasibility of dream content. Instead, I was being jostled around cape leopard habitat. No, not leopard seal or leopard shark habitat, but the 4-legged, furry land kind.
Rather than kelp forests, I was shepherded through bone-jarring rocks experienced via foot or 4-wheel drive. I had to hold my arm in the air every time we hit a huge bump in the road (which was all the time for 2 hours). I was sneezing in sets of 7 as the dust & pollen of the Cederberg found a cozy nook in my nasal passages.
The formation to the left of my head is called the "tea kettle" by some.
I think it looks like a turtle.
A beautiful day in the Cederberg...says the leopard.
Looking for cape leopards is really quite fantastic because it gives you a lot of time to reflect and meditate. I was sitting (awkwardly) on a rock (there were many) wondering (as always) how I got there. I was struck by the quiet peacefulness and unwavering patience of those around me. There were six of us with binoculars, telemetry and GPS gear, cameras, camping chairs, coolers, two vehicles, water, backpacks, food, hushed whispers and a ration of hope.
All of this...for a girl.
I never saw her, but I know she saw me. She saw all of us. How could she not?
There she is...do you see her? I didn't think so...
Like so many animals, she is a master of a natural subtlety we call camouflage: the art of blending in. I am sure she was quietly licking her paws, flicking her tail like some spastic metronome, or navigating the rocks like quicksilver. Whatever and wherever, we were not privy.
Photo credit: capestorm, flickr
And humans? Well, we stick out like sore thumbs. We yap, trap, laugh, graph, huff, puff, develop, envelop, dig, rig, mine, whine, drive, dive, fly, cry, screech, bleach, travel, unravel. If it's out there, we do it...and often loudly, quickly and on an enormous scale. And the rest of the animal world goes on and does their best to stay out of our way.
Cape leopards, like sharks, are still mysteries to us and so it is understandably unnerving to hear about our interactions with them. Some farmers, like some fishermen, hunt, exterminate, trap, and/or dispose of these apex predators and send a message in the process:
Stop eating my sheep.
Stop getting caught in my nets.
And most of all, stop threatening me.
So, what if we just blended in?
Dear South Africa, Thanks for having me. Sincerely, Sunnye
To learn more about cape leopards, check out the Cape Leopard Trust.
To see all of Sunnye's posts from South Africa, click here.
Cederberg, World Heritage SiteBlazing sun, broken arm, raging allergies, brightly colored clothing, a bad attitude and inappropriate footwear. I was so not prepared for the Cederberg and the cape leopards she was hiding.
I was dreaming of the ocean surrounded by at least 20 species of shark and schools of juvenile pufferfish. Thankfully, there is no law that regulates the scientific feasibility of dream content. Instead, I was being jostled around cape leopard habitat. No, not leopard seal or leopard shark habitat, but the 4-legged, furry land kind.
Rather than kelp forests, I was shepherded through bone-jarring rocks experienced via foot or 4-wheel drive. I had to hold my arm in the air every time we hit a huge bump in the road (which was all the time for 2 hours). I was sneezing in sets of 7 as the dust & pollen of the Cederberg found a cozy nook in my nasal passages.
The formation to the left of my head is called the "tea kettle" by some.I think it looks like a turtle.
I was in a car full of strangers and absolutely no idea what I was doing or where I was going. Just looking out the window made me thirsty and I was a fish out of water in my city slicker duds. Self-loathing crept up on me as I thought of all the ocean I was missing because of this stupid cast on my arm. What do cape leopards have to do with anything right now?
Honestly, Sunnye. Really? How very uneducator-like of you.
Honestly, Sunnye. Really? How very uneducator-like of you.
A beautiful day in the Cederberg...says the leopard.All of this...for a girl.
I never saw her, but I know she saw me. She saw all of us. How could she not?
There she is...do you see her? I didn't think so...
Like so many animals, she is a master of a natural subtlety we call camouflage: the art of blending in. I am sure she was quietly licking her paws, flicking her tail like some spastic metronome, or navigating the rocks like quicksilver. Whatever and wherever, we were not privy.Photo credit: capestorm, flickrAnd humans? Well, we stick out like sore thumbs. We yap, trap, laugh, graph, huff, puff, develop, envelop, dig, rig, mine, whine, drive, dive, fly, cry, screech, bleach, travel, unravel. If it's out there, we do it...and often loudly, quickly and on an enormous scale. And the rest of the animal world goes on and does their best to stay out of our way.
Cape leopards, like sharks, are still mysteries to us and so it is understandably unnerving to hear about our interactions with them. Some farmers, like some fishermen, hunt, exterminate, trap, and/or dispose of these apex predators and send a message in the process:
Stop eating my sheep.
Stop getting caught in my nets.
And most of all, stop threatening me.
So, what if we just blended in?
How would this world be different?
Do you ever try to blend in? How do you do it?
After being a sore thumb for so long, how do we blend in with all of the other digits?
And are we interested in doing so?
We are the shortest finger after all.
Do you ever try to blend in? How do you do it?
After being a sore thumb for so long, how do we blend in with all of the other digits?
And are we interested in doing so?
We are the shortest finger after all.
Dear South Africa, Thanks for having me. Sincerely, SunnyeTo learn more about cape leopards, check out the Cape Leopard Trust.
To see all of Sunnye's posts from South Africa, click here.
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Dr. Salvatore Cerchio is a marine mammal biologist who has studied free ranging populations of cetaceans around the world for more than 30 years. He is currently a Visiting Scientist at the New England Aquarium. In November 2015, he traveled to Madagascar to study Omura's whales.
Brian Skerry is the Aquarium's Explorer in Residence and an award-winning National Geographic Magazine photographer who specializes in marine wildlife subjects and stories about the underwater world.
Madagascar 2015
Belize 2015
China 2015
Bahamas Spring 2015
Bahamas Fall 2014
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New England Cod Research 2013
Fiji 2013
Belize 2013
Antarctica 2013
Pacific Garbage Patch 2012
Belize 2012
China 2012
Brazil 2012
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Costa Rica 2012
Ocean Health Index Expedition 2012
South Africa 2011
Montreal Biodome 2011
Schooner Adventure Camp 2011
Alaska 2011
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Totoya Islands, Fiji, 2011
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Delaware 2010
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Sea of Cortez 2008
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Salvatore Cerchio, PhD
Click to display Sal's posts.Dr. Salvatore Cerchio is a marine mammal biologist who has studied free ranging populations of cetaceans around the world for more than 30 years. He is currently a Visiting Scientist at the New England Aquarium. In November 2015, he traveled to Madagascar to study Omura's whales. Brian Skerry
Click to display Brian's posts.Brian Skerry is the Aquarium's Explorer in Residence and an award-winning National Geographic Magazine photographer who specializes in marine wildlife subjects and stories about the underwater world. Sort Posts by Expedition
Belize 2015
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New England Cod Research 2013
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Costa Rica 2012
Ocean Health Index Expedition 2012
South Africa 2011
Montreal Biodome 2011
Schooner Adventure Camp 2011
Alaska 2011
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Totoya Islands, Fiji, 2011
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