We get paid to do this!

A great day at the pond on Saturday.  In addition to seeing the new baby ducklings, we also rescued a small puffer fish that was disoriented and in a bit of a bind on the kuapa.  And the interns got in a whole lotta research.

Teamwork - Arthur, Tiana and Leila

Getting it done - Chris, Martin, and Sawako

Creatures of the Limu Pt I: The Sea Cucumber

Martin Guo shows off his find.

Here's an exciting invert found around Kane'ohe Bay: Opheodesoma spectabilis, a somewhat-modile, fluid -filled inhabitant of reefs and Gracilaria canopies alike. O. spectabilis is a Holothuroidian, a sea cucumber (or weli, in Hawai'i), and unlike the darker, "meatier" sea cucumbers found around Hawai'i, lacks tube feet on its ventral surface. Instead, it has tiny spicules all over the surface of its body, giving it a sticky texture (try detaching one from your wetsuit!). It is a filter feeder (hence the frilly mouthparts, above), and common in Kane'ohe Bay and Pearl Harbor.

Nice to meet you guys on this blog

Hi everyone,
How are you doing? I just want to say it is really awesome to work with you guys in the fishpond. I really have learned a lot of valuable sampling methods. See you next Tuesday, and have a good weekend.


Martin Guo

Working out the details

On Tuesday, our interns started testing some methods.  Megsie, one of our graduate student mentors, is trying to understand the impact that the invasive mangrove forests may have on the invertebrate and algal communities in the pond (and hence food webs).  She is going to take measurements on the sediment depth, diversity of organisms in the sediments, and algal cover in areas around mangroves and areas that have already been cleared.  So yesterday was a day for the interns to practice the techniques - water depth, sediment cores, sieving for organisms, and algal quadrats along transects perpendicular to the wall. 

Auntie Donnie's