We survived week one! Our team building was definitely put to the test this week though during the river trip and then even more during the 24 hour sampling study. The St. Johns river trip was an eye opening trip, normally on a boat your just enjoying the ride but this trip really showed how much of the coast is being developed and how this loss of habitat affects so many organisms. The other point of this trip was to test water quality and learn how to use the equipment, preparing us for the 24 hour sampling study.
So the 24 hour sampling got interesting because mother nature was definitely not on our side. We got to the site Tuesday morning and by the late afternoon we gout pounded with storms and were forced to take cover. We waited it out and got back out at night to take another sample but then had to wait until morning. So our data was a inconclusive but we had plenty of team bonding moments while waiting out the storms. All in all it was an awesome experience to take and record our own data and the catch and identify all the different species in the estuary. Its crazy how much many fish look the same at a glance but are completely different up close.
To recover from the 24 hour study session in the storms on Thursday we drove down the coast stopping at different beaches to appreciate the beauty of an undeveloped coast and then witness the affects of development and hard stabilization. Along the way we got to climb on and in some coquina outcroppings and hang with all the tidal organisms.
Onto the next stop down in the keys!
Goodnight everyone
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