From Chicago to Coral Reefs
Dantawn's Expedition with Earthwatch

Dantawn (right) with his brother and mother
before departing to the Bahamas.
Photo: © Project Exploration

Overview
The purpose of my trip to the Bahamas was to help Dr. Kathleen Sealey and Dr. Lester Flowers with their research on the coastal ecology of the Bahamas. The Bahamas is going through a lot of changes in development. What Dr. Sealey and Dr. Flowers are trying to find out is how development is affecting the islands and the ocean water.

I was a part of a team composed of six S.C.A.P kids (Student Challenge Awards Program) in addition to 8-10 college students from the University of Miami and one student from the College of the Bahamas. The students were doing research in their fields. We were responsible for helping them with their research, and at the end of the expedition, we compiled all the information and made conclusions about how development affects the Bahamas.

Dantawn traveling to Guana Cay where he stayed.
Photo: © Project Exploration

The daily life of a S.C.A.P kid
We all wake up at about six in the morning and our day begins. The first thing that needed to be done is checking the fish traps and going on turtle walks. The S.C.A.P. kids are separated into groups of three and placed with one of the groups.

Fish Traps
Every day, two fish traps are baited and placed into the ocean at a set G.P.S. point. The purpose of fish traps is so fish can be surveyed and data can be recorded on certain fish that may be affected by development. All fish that are caught are surveyed, but certain ones in particular may be tagged so if they are re-caught, changes will be noticed. After the data is recorded, the fish are released back into the ocean. Fish traps are checked two times daily; once in the morning at 6:30 am and in the afternoon at 4:30 pm.

Dantawn gearing up for a snorkeling trip.
Photo: © Project Exploration

Turtle Walks
Every day we have to do a turtle walk at 6:30 am, which is about a two mile walk up the beach on one of the islands. The purpose of turtle walks is to search for any traces of turtles or turtle hatchlings. Turtles or turtle hatchlings were rarely ever found although a few turtles were seen in the water. I didn’t enjoy this very much because of the intense heat and beaming sun while we hiked up the beach. Next, we returned back to the house to have our breakfast. We usually ate cereal or oatmeal. We could also eat leftovers from the previous day.

At about 9:00 am all of the gear that is being used for the day is taken to the dock, including our snorkeling gear. Two boat trips are then made to the site which we will be working at for the day. We work from about 9:30-11:00 doing different surveys of the site.

Surveys
Surveys are done by observing the site and recording the data on survey sheets which were already made out, based on the type of survey being performed. The survey sheets are placed on clipboards and are waterproof so we can record the data as we snorkel and observe in the water. Surveys are done at all the sites and may take as long as one to three hours to complete. The different surveys that are done are: fish, epifauna, algae, and coral.

Seines
A seine is a large fishnet that hangs vertically, with floats at the top and weights at the bottom. We use this to catch fish close to shore, so that we can survey them. After the fish are caught and the data is recorded, the fish are then released back into the ocean. Seines are done in high tides and low tides, so a variety of fish may be caught. At 11:00 am we usually break until lunch time or pack up and go back to our lab.

At noon we eat a much-needed lunch. Lunch is usually sandwiches of our choice. We choose from peanut butter and jelly, turkey, or ham. We also have granola bars, fruit, and plenty of water. We have lunch for about an hour, then we begin our work for the afternoon.

Our afternoon work consists of either entering data on computers back in the lab, finishing up our work from the morning, or beginning to work on a new site. Basically, we do the same work we did during the morning. We perform more surveys and we also test the water quality.

Water Quality Testing
To test water quality we did two different things. First, a drop of the water from the site we are testing is placed on a refractometer to measure the refractive index, which is a measure of how much light is reflected. It is held to the sun and the number of the index is recorded. Second, a disk with a pattern of black and white is held underwater by one volunteer. Another volunteer grabs the role of rope that is attached to the disk. The volunteer with the rope swims backwards until they cannot see the pattern anymore. Then, the volunteer swims forward while counting meter marks which are on the rope and records the distance.

All of our work for the afternoon is usually complete between 4:00 and 5:00.
Usually, we have down-time for an hour or so, unless you still have to enter data or check fish traps again.

Dinner is served at 6:30 pm every day. Meals are usually our basic every-day food like, mac and cheese or baked chicken. Then we have time to bond and joke around. Usually we listen to music, play games or cards, or watch movies. We also get to journal during this time. At 9:00 we start heading to bed and settling down for the evening.

Dantawn holding a live land crab after dinner.
Photo: © Project Exploration

Final thoughts
So you ask, “What did you think about the trip Dantawn?” I would answer it by saying, “I really enjoyed the experience and being out of the country, especially studying what I love best—science.” I believe that I have been given the opportunity that not many kids similar to me have done or will do. I loved the Bahamas and its atmosphere. I enjoyed helping Dr. Seally with her research and learning as I helped. Although I did have a wonderful time, I do wish that more
inner-city kids with low incomes were able to participate in this program because I believe that the relationships I built with the other S.C.A.P. kids would have been stronger. I would like to thank Project Exploration for all their support and I would like to give a special thanks to Conor, Jessica, Alpana, Elena, and Gabrielle, because without them this would not have been possible for me.

Dantawn (bottom row, left) with the oer students
in the S.C.A.P. program.
Photo: © Project Exploration

For more information on Earthwatch's S.C.A.P. program,
visit the Earthwatch website at http://www.earthwatch.org/education/student/scap.html

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