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Puerto Rico Cruise Day 11
The End of the Road
Bright and early, two teams headed off to retrieve the seagrass shoots that had been hole-punched on Day 1. Then we bid a fond farewell to Moises and all of our fish friends below, and it was anchor’s aweigh and full steam ahead for port. The smooth steam back allowed everyone to catch up on some much needed rest to prepare for a grand celebration upon our return to Viejo San Juan.
It was a successful cruise, to say the least. We were able to complete all of our cruise objectives. Seagrass shoots from three blowout features were marked, allowed to grow for 10 days, and retrieved at the end of the cruise. Once back in the lab at CCFHR, growth rates for the shoots will be calculated, enabling us to determine how long it takes seagrass to recover from this type of disturbance.
Photo: John Burke
The seagrass core team worked diligently to collect, prep, and store a total of core samples. Five separate seagrass injury sites were sampled including two manatee grazing areas. At CCFHR, these samples will be dried and weighed to determine above and below-ground biomass. These component biomasses will be compared between the injuries and the undisturbed seagrass beds. The goal is to use this data to refine our seagrass recovery model by including below-ground growth in recovery calculations.
prepares to begin her habitat survey.
Photo: Mike Judge
A total of 99 fish/habitat transects were completed, including 14 mangrove, 43 reef, and 42 seagrass/algae. In addition, two small patch reefs along the northwest coast of Vieques were surveyed. Fish abundance and distribution data from these surveys will be tallied at CCFHR and will be used to determine fish-habitat associations in this region, specifically the interactions between adjacent habitat types (i.e., seagrass-reef interface).
We at CCFHR would like to thank all of our visiting scientists for their hard work, patience, and persistence and to acknowledge the crew of Nancy Foster for their dedication to making the cruise as safe and productive as possible. Until next year, adios!
John Burke examines every nook and cranny in the reef for hide-n-seek fishes! Photo by Sean Meehan |
Rainbow over Vieques Photo by Amy V. Uhirn |