The future of conservation research!

The past few days have been a blast!! Time is going by so fast and it is crazy how it is already THURSDAY?? I'm not ready to leave next week :'( 

    Yesterday we got a tour of the ISER Caribe facilities on the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez - Isla Magueyes, and it was amazing! The experience was eye-opening to the amazing world of corals and sea urchins, and how  their relationship makes the ocean a better place to live for everyone! That had to be the highlight of the day, and today, we met Dr. Stacey Williams-- it definitely sounds like a lot of work to set up and run a non-profit, especially in this political climate– I hope the organization continues to do great work spreading awareness on the importance of coral reefs. I am still deciding on what I could potentially pursue for my masters, and I have always been interested in conservation! I'd love to get some experience in working with corals or urchins, but my heart is set on sea turtles (sorry ISER)! 

    This morning we went to Laurel! Did some more seagrass surveys and even a coral survey! There was a lot of wind today, making the water extremely choppy and difficult to stay in one place. I think it would be a good idea to work on swimming more (my legs get sooooo tired) and getting scuba certified (eventually) for my future career. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun seeing tons of humongous Diadema antillarum  hidden in the coral, and the tiny damselfish flitting about. The weirdest part about snorkeling is getting out of the water and hours later still feeling like you're getting tossed around by waves-- feels like you're drunk!