Today was our final day stuck in a classroom! Sunday, we’re leaving for the British Virgin Islands. I’m so excited, it was kinda hard to pay attention, but I did my best. The first article was very interesting. It had to do with a species of fish called the leaping bleany. They are a species of fish that live mainly in the intertidal zone, and are normally sitting on rocks outside the water. This is known as the splash zone. The fish breath by absorbing oxygen through their skin, where they have a lot of blood vessels right underneath their skin. They also hop and jump by twisting their tail, pulling it close to their head, and quickly pushing off the rock. We discussed how this could be seen as a transition species from aquatic to terrestrial species. However, we realized that the fish wouldn’t be directly linked, but might have a common line of evolution. We then talked about Lionfish and how they became an invasive species. They were most likely introduced by people releasing them from their aquariums, but the article said that there is also a chance they were caught in ballasts in the Pacific, and then accidentally released into the Atlantic when the ballasts were emptied. We then had a peer-taught lesson about the different types of life we will see on our trip. My job was to teach about Sea Turtle anatomy, specifically of the Green and Hawksbill turtles. It was a lot of fun, but you could tell everyone is anxious for Sunday to roll around.
