Revitalized

There is no way for me to describe the feeling of being home … I didn’t realize it until I was sitting in a living room after an epic day of surfing and exploring remote beaches of Oahu and stumbling upon wildlife along the way with some of my best friends. 

We were sitting around the table, not saying much, but I was completely content. I have done a lot of introducing, explaining, and proving myself over the past eight months … I was overcome with the feeling of how incredibly nice it was to just be, to know my friends love me without me even having to try. 

I spent three weeks back on Oahu, reconnecting, not only with myself, but with an understanding of how special Hawaii is. Even since I moved here almost six years ago, I have noticed an enhanced appreciation for traditional cultural practices, a push to get back to living in a way that can sustain the people who call these islands home, while protecting the unique and beautiful environment that provides for this possibility. Encountering three monk seals in less than a week, coming across half a dozen native forest plant species in abundance above one of the most developed parts of the island, and discovering a plethora of reef fishes in a nearly decimated reef environment off of Waikiki served to solidify my awe of the resilience of natural systems.

 Combined with my chance to work in a lo’i and to witness the receipt of the Hokulea in Kailua, these were all a part of an experience that has both given me hope for Hawaii and inspired my belief that there is a lot that can be learned from this place.  It is a powerful testament to Nature’s many networks, as well as the integral role we play in them all.

Ship Happens

It has been an inexcusably long stretch since my last post, which may require a very lengthy recap of the past two years ... 

After returning from my second trip to Moorea, we prepared for the Hawaii coral spawning season. It was quite successful, yielding hundreds more samples. I would spend the better part of that Fall in the lab, processing samples from both Moorea and Hawaii. In January of 2012, I returned to Moorea, this time focusing only on coral spawning, as I had done on the first trip. While we did not have much spawning, we were able to get valuable samples with which to compare samples from the previous two trips. 

From Moorea, I headed to Australia for a semester abroad at James Cook University in Townsville on the north east coast of Queensland, Australia. The opportunity to study marine biology at a university so well known for its coral reef research was incredible! Field trips to Orpheus Island in the Great Barrier Reef, rotting the head of a big-eye tuna in order to reconstruct the skull, and working with marine science students from all over the world were highlights of an incredible study period! However, living in a country that is so conducive to exploring the outdoors was definitely distracting! North Queensland is an incredible place, with an abundance of bugs, massive bats, and many wide open spaces! A four day backpacking trip on Hinchinbrook Island was beyond beautiful and was one of many epic excursions during those unforgettable months.

On my way back to the states, I made a pit stop in Fiji to volunteer at Naciriyawa Organic Farm for two weeks. Fiji was fascinating and the people on the farm were so genuine ... With no electricity, no refrigeration, and a rain storm that swamped all of our tents, even this short time gave me a chance to process my time abroad and to reconnect with the simpler things in life. 

Hawaii welcomed me back with open arms. For my last semester in Fall of 2012, I continued helping with lab work on coral samples, was a part of the original Hiking Hawaii Cafe team (an amazing company, visit hikinghawaii808.com for more details!), and just enjoyed the island life. By November, graduation approaching, it was still uncertain as to what my next step would be. That is when I received an email that would open up a door that I could never have anticipated ... Within two weeks, I was booked as the  Naturalist onboard four round trip luxury cruises from San Diego, CA to Hawaii, starting at the end of February, just six days after I was to return from a 25-day rafting trip down the Colorado River. Sound crazy? My family and closest friends might call it typical. Having to prepare nine hour-long slideshow presentations in the two weeks spanning between graduation and heading to the Grand Canyon, of course I was stressed beyond belief. But I knew (or at least everyone else believed) I could do it, and it would be worth it. 

Thanks to my incredibly encouraging support system of people around me, was it ever!? The Grand Canyon experience was unreal and its wisdom continues to reveal itself more than seven months after coming off of the river. Those first cruises were an amazing learning experience and allowed me to fully realize my passion for teaching. To share with so many people the joy that I experience in so many natural features of Hawaii, CA, and the Eastern Pacific that lies between was so rewarding, it overwhelmed me. 

As if the cruise ship position hadn't been enough of a chance happening, my job this summer was even more of a coincidence. After one of my talks about Humpback Whales on a ship in April, I was approached by a woman who was a retired ranger of the CA State Park system. Long story short, I would be the next intern in the interpretation program in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and that woman, I am now honored to call both a role model and a close friend. My summer in Big Sur was one of endless exploration, unconventional learning, and pure bliss. It reinforced my feeling that I want to continue on a career path of educating people of all ages from a variety of backgrounds through experiences with their natural surroundings. During the course of my internship, I was asked to return to the Hawaii cruises this Fall, as well as to work various other itineraries through the following September. 

Two days from now, I will be flying to Hawaii for a few weeks to reorient with the islands before my next two months onboard ship. If I regret anything, it is that I did not document more during this series of events that feels like five years worth of experience, but has blown past as if it were only last week that I started my final year of college. I can't attempt to recreate what I felt during those many chapters that have lead up to this point, but can only commit to dedicating what I've learned into future (MUCH more frequent) reflections on the adventures that are surely to come. Oahu ... here I come!

Fun on the Forereef

Things on the backreef have been in full swing the past week, and now the focus is on the forereef! For the first run, I was once again directing while free diving... which was an adventure in itself. 

Placing algae segments on high points of
bommies on the forereef

It was absolutely beautiful both days that we were on the forereef, and we took full advantage of the sunshine on the boat between deploying and collecting algae! The parrotfish, actually most of the fish, on the forereef are HUGE and super active! 

This morning, I was able to dive, and I think it was successful! We are looking at how/if feeding rates change near and away from structure. Unfortunately, there isn't much "structure" since the cyclone hit Moorea last year, but we have made it work! As of this afternoon, the weather has turned for the worst, with high winds and high seas. Here, they call it a "maramu" when the winds from the south get really bad, making it almost impossible to get back into the bay with a boat once you've left it! The wind is pretty incredible to experience, but hopefully it passes, so we can continue our work!

Around the World, and Beyond

Lunch stop half way "around the world"

Where do I even begin? Saturday, we went "around the world". Well, we just went around the whole island by boat, and collected algae from each of six LTER sites that have been monitored for the past five years. It was a gorgeous day, and was awesome to see different parts of the island from the water! We took turns collecting from the back reef, the reef crest, and the fringing reef at each site. For lunch, we stopped at a shallow back reef, where the water was so insanely clear! It was a long day, but was so nice to explore other reefs on the island.

This view never gets old...

I am still waiting for the corals to spawn... the new moon is tomorrow, so it's looking like they will not spawn this month, but we will see!
As far as herbivory goes, my assays have been going really well! The wind has finally calmed down this week, and has made it much easier to go out and do things by myself. The past few transects have been in a part of the reef, where apparently all of the exciting creatures like to hang out! Some of the group have suggested that I am the "mega fauna whisperer". I don't know about that, but I do know that I have seen some amazing things!!

Sunday was just the beginning... as I swam to set out a new transect, I could hear an odd grinding sound and saw a cloud of sediments in the pavement between some coral bommies. I thought at first that it was just a bunch of goat fish stirring up the rubble, but was soon completely breathless as I found myself watching a round sting ray as it was feeding!!! That explained the grinding, and it seemed to be not the least bit concerned with my presence, as it continued to dig in the rubble while I watched in awe! Later, I saw two huge sea turtles, which I had yet to see in Moorea, and are rare on the back reef! I also saw huge triton trigger fish, snappers, and hundreds of needlefish. I didn't think things could get any better, but I was so wrong!

School of convict tangs from my camera left out to capture grazing

Yesterday was probably the best day EVER! Again, I encountered the triton triggers and black tips, and thought I had seen all that there was to see on the back reef. As I was finishing collecting my algal setups, I looked up to see two dark shadows coming toward me. They were too large to be reef sharks, and too dark in color to be round sting rays. As they came closer, my eyes focused through the suspended particles, and I froze... not with fear, but in utter amazement! Swooping in right in front of my face were two of the biggest eagle rays I have ever seen!! I didn't even know they could get that big! The largest one had about a four foot wingspan, and a body like a tank! They were so beautiful, and I was blown away by how gracefully they glided through the water. I never would have expected to see eagle rays in the back reef, let alone so close, and so huge!! It was incredible to watch them, and they came so close! I wish I had had my camera, but it is something I will never forget. Today, I ran into another turtle, and must have really spooked it because I swear I had no idea turtles were capable of such speeds! I see at least three black tip reef sharks every day, and they have now become no more threatening (possibly even less threatening) than the reef fish. I can't believe I still have almost two more weeks!

Facing Fears

This week has been exhausting! Who knew swimming to the reef crest and back five times a day carrying three bags of coral rubble could take so much energy!? It's all been worth it though, because we are getting data!! :) Each herbivory assay seems have one obstacle or another.... One morning, I was out on the reef at 7am, starting to put out my algae segments. Thankfully, the wind was minimal, and so I felt relatively comfortable being out there by myself. I almost had everything out, and was planning on setting out a new transect for an afternoon run of the experiment while I waited to collect them again. I was at the reef crest when a surge came and knocked me into a coral bommie. I banged my knee pretty good, but it didn't hurt too bad, and didn't seem to be bleeding much, so I didn't worry. Between the reef crest and boat however, I had very close encounters with four black tips, which I thought was an unusually high number of sightings over such a short period. When I got back to the boat, I realized that my knee was actually bleeding quite a lot. I'm pretty sure none of them would attack, but to avoid attracting any more than I already had, I decided to stay out of the water until it scabbed over before collecting.

The next day, instead of doing a run on the back reef, we decided to check out the layout of the forereef, so that I could decide on how many set-ups I would need, how far apart to put them, and how long to leave them out. Normally, the forereef requires diving, since it is about 30-50 feet deep. However, for some reason we were unsure if I was cleared to dive yet, and so it was decided that two people would dive, and I would snorkel and observe from the surface. Can you say shark bait?? Basically we're talking the open ocean, and me floating/flailing vulnerably at the surface. I was terrified, but told myself that I had better suck it up because I didn't have a choice. If there were any giant barracudas, lemon sharks, or tiger sharks around, I didn't see them. I forced myself not to look around, and only to focus on the divers below. I made sure to stay directly above the diver making the largest bubbles, in the ridiculous hopes that being surrounded by a cluster of bubbles would somehow make me look larger and scarier. Sometimes I could see myself in the large bubbles, and was afraid that in the next bubble, I would not be alone in the reflection. Anyway, it was the longest half hour of my life, but I survived!
The past couple of days have been really windy, making boating (particularly for a beginner) a bit difficult. Yesterday, I tried to go out at 7am again, somehow managed to anchor before getting blown onto shallow coral bommies, and sat for about 20 minutes contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to be out there by myself in such conditions. I went back and forth telling myself to stop being such a baby, but the uncomfortable feeling in my gut eventually overpowered my stubborn will not to give up, and I went back defeated. However, it was not to be an unproductive day, as one of the grad students graciously volunteered to come out with me. We did two full runs! This morning I watched some corals for spawning, but nothing yet. We'll see how it goes over the next few days.

Still the Storms Come

The storm approaching...

I have officially done two full runs of my experiment, and it's been exhausting! The weather all week was perfect and calm, but today, just as I was setting things up, a storm rolled in. It was amazing to watch it approach, and know that I would still be out in the water by the time it hit. It turned out to look a lot scarier than it actually was, but did manage to produce enough of a current to make things challenging for me. I lost several of my set ups throughout the course of the morning, and had an exceptionally difficult time finding the ones that I had set out the reduced visibility in such turbid conditions. We left the dock at seven, and when I came back to the boat at about eleven, I had probably swallowed about a liter of seawater. I decided that although things did not go as well as planned, that the day was not over. I had been having a difficult timing finding the algae that I have been using for the herbivory assays, and as I was almost out, was hoping that today would be different. After spending the afternoon searching, with no luck finding algae (although I have been finding Fungia corals that I'll watch for spawning around the new moon next week), I was getting a bit worried that I'd have to expand my search beyond the north shore. Around four, Anya suggested that we check once more on the fringe reef closest to the station, which is the only place that we had found any before. We thought we had found it all, but it was worth another try. Well, despite all of my frustration from this morning, we found it... a ton if it!! Who knew I could get soo excited over algae!? So, it looks like the experiment will continue after all! ... and hopefully the ocean will calm down for the next few days :).

sooo excited we finally found algae!

Acanthophora spicifera up close

Trial and Error

It's amazing how even the simplest of experiments can be soo complicated! I attached algae segments to weighted clothespins to be placed in five microhabitats within three different zones along a transect extending from the reef crest through the back reef. Monday evening, a grad student from CSUN helped me to deploy a pilot experiment. Everything was going great, the sun was getting ready to set, and I was about to head back to the boat  when I stopped dead in my tracks. I had absolutely no idea that it was possible for an eel to get four feet long, and to be almost the width of my thigh. Well, it is. Eventually, when I am setting things out by myself, I really hope that we do not meet again.

The next morning, we spent 45 minutes snorkeling around what we thought was the transect, and eventually gave up. The set-ups were very inconspicuous, which is great for the experiment, but not so great for us. We started over, this time marking the transect every few meters with flagging tape, and placing the algae in the vicinity of markers. By the evening, when we went back out to collect, we had a much better idea of how to go about setting things up, and successfully located all but one. Our pilot experiments have given us some interesting preliminary data, but finally I think I am ready to put out the first full run tomorrow morning.

searching for target algae
Acanthophora spicifera in
the eerie bay waters

The weather has been absolutely beautiful all week... mild wind, calm seas, and clear skies! I have basically spent the majority of every day in the water, and am now cleared to take out the boats and set things up by myself. Every day (and with each run-in with a black tip reef shark), I get more comfortable doing things on my own, less surprised by the assortment of creatures in the back reef, and my boating skills get better every day.  The CSUN group I am with is awesome! They have been really helpful, lots of fun, and more than happy to tell me all about the research that they are doing. I feel so insanely lucky to be back here, and have already learned so much! Hopefully over the next few days of my project, we start to see some patterns.