Another day gone and more memories made. Today we officially started our project dives. On the first dive me and my group (Peter, Nicky, Keagan, and Sloan) dove down the Ginger Steps to observe the relationship between coral and and algae. We noticed that where there was an abundance of algae there was little to no coral. However, the majority of the coral had a small bit of algae at the base of it. Surrounding the reef we saw marine life including squirrel fish, “dory” fish, and we were joined by 3 sharks! Although productivity was low because of the distraction of the sharks, we managed to gather a good bit of data. After taking a small break, we dove again on the other side of Ginger Island. This time productivity was high because there were no sharks or other apex predators to distract us. We marked off a 12ftx12ft area to observe decaying stag-horn coral. We concluded that the coral was decaying because of too much algae and took pictures of the dead/decaying coral to use in our final presentation. After our dives, we hiked to the Baths where we walked and swam around giant rocks. Finally, we snorkeled back to the beach and ate spaghetti and meatballs. Today I learned that too much algae cause lead to the death of a reef; however, there is a symbiotic relationship between coral and algae, meaning that both parties benefit. I look forward to completing our ongoing research and to winning all the beach games tomorrow!
