Decked out in snorkel gear and supplied with underwater notebooks, the class fans out to form a line marking the start of a transect. Four days after the initial tagging of lobsters and their home sponges, it is time to see how far these creatures traveled. After finding a steady rhythm searching the sponges, we hear calling and look up to find the professor waving us over hurriedly. We swim over in a wide circle around the professor, careful not to disturb what lays below. Drifting closer, the shadows and shapes come into focus; we’ve found a nurse shark. We are so very close yet it hasn’t moved an inch! There’s a remora fish lying on its’ back, riding the shark in a commensalism relationship. As we watch and wait, the shark makes his move. The shark snaps at something in the sand before turning to swim away. Right as the shark turns, we catch a glimpse of an octopus tentacle trailing out of the sharks’ jaw. We just saw a shark capture its’ prey mere feet in away and captured it all on camera!
Although I have snorkeled at beautiful reefs around the world, I never knew how much I missed with my untrained eyes. Alex, Adriana and Denise pointed out many unique life forms, nearly invisible creatures and explained how each plays a role its’ ecosystem. The vastness and complexity of the ocean demands respect. I wish every student the opportunity to take a hands on class like marine field ecology to experience for themselves the impact of the tiniest organism makes in its’ ecosystem. It has truly been an exciting adventure with many lessons to learn!
