I expected today to be full of scientific studies, and it exceed those expectations. We started off the morning by collecting data from Red Mangroves out at Cayo Mata la Gata. This helps us by getting a better grasp on coastal ecological systems such as these mangroves and nearby seagrass beds. My job was to be the data collector for my group, which seemed overwhelming at first but once I understood all the material I became much more confident! Not featured but we found so many hermit crabs (named a baby one Herbit, he was so cool) and even counted the amount of burrows present within our transect.
After wrapping up our study with leaving out two leaf litter traps, we headed over to Enrique, a coral reef and seagrass bed. This was where we got to do our first benthic survey of the trip in open water. Due to high winds and choppy seas, it wasn't the easiest site to work at but once you let yourself go with the flow, everything worked out. The data collected from Enrique was used is so many vast studies like seagrass sediment cores, CPCE photo analysis, phytoplankton cell counts, and more. I'm so excited to keep this adventure up AND to help cook breakfast tomorrow!
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