To help tag and track sea turtles in the British Virgin Islands, we snorkeled at Mount Trunk, searching for any type of sea turtle to capture using the techniques tought to us by Dr. Gore. Dr. Gore has dedicated her life to help preserve any marine life that may be threatened. With the help of her presentation, Dr. Gore explained to us that before the dinosaurs had gone extinct, there were approximately fifty different species of sea turtles, but after the mass extinction, only seven species remain. We also learned that sea turtles in or near the Caribbean become very used to humans due to them feeding the turtles, which can lead to the threatened turtles becoming easily killed by fishermen. In order to keep from harming ourselves or the turtles we caught, we were instructed to place a hand at the top of the turtle’s shell behind the head and at the bottom. Unfortunately we did not catch any, and we gave in and went to lunch. After lunch, we went snorkeling at Savannah Bay to search for invertebrates. The group that had gone snorkeling there before found two different sea urchins, which we later found out were capable of telling which way was up and down, and, using special tentacles, flipped themselves around when they were thrown upside down by us or waves. We were also told that sea urchins feed on kelp and algae (algae grows on already dying coral and absorb proportions of oxygen too great to keep the rest of the ecosystem healthy) using their mouths located at the bottom of their bodies. Looking forward into the week, I think I’m most excited to help the coral nursery and plant more staghorn coral. I think this would truly help the nearby ecosystems and eventually a greater amount of ecosystems, as long as we pursue the original goal of reviving the coral reefs.
