Alice Springs (The Outback)

6/24/09- I am now in Alice Springs, which is part of the well known Australian Outback. It is located in the center of Australia where desert landscape dominates. Our first stop was Desert Park, where we went on a bush walk with our tour guide Doug who showed us the plant species that dominate the area such as spinifex and Bloodwood. It was interesting learning about how the aboriginal people would use the landscape and plant species; for example, they used the red sap of the Bloodwood as a skin anesthetic.

Out next stop was Angus Downs where the land was just recently (6/10) signed over to the aboriginal people. We met up with aboriginal elders, one woman and her brother-in-law & they told us how they planned on fencing off some of the land to keep out feral animals, such as the camels, but . They showed us pictures of how camels affect the landscape & it was very dramatic. They do a lot of destruction when they trample on the land & virtually little to no plant life can grow where the roam regularly. The aboriginals also informed us how they plan to create a wildlife sanctuary, nurseries for plant species, and emoo reserves.

The Rundown of the Past Few Days

Here is a rundown of the past few days.

As part of our coursework, we were required to collect data to measure the health of coral reefs on Little Cayman. Such was done by laying down 30m transects and noting the percent coral cover half a meter on either side of the transect. Also, one m2 quadrats were placed at random points on the transect and the percentages of coral cover, substrate cover and algal cover were determined.

The project that I was involved with required us to monitor the growth of juvenile corals over a four year period. This monitoring project had been started in 2005 and I had analyzed the data of coral growth over that period of time. The coral growth data obtained at Little Cayman seems to be far more optimistic than at other parts of the Caribbean. Just to give you guys a heads up, coral reefs across the world are in imminent danger of collapse due to coral bleaching, coral diseases, over fishing and nutrient enrichment. I prepared a poster of my findings and will present it to soon.

We were also taken on a field trip to various sites on the island and our instructor explained the geological significance of the sites. We also fed banana peels to the Little Cayman Rock Iguana, which is endemic to Little Cayman. However, a conservation photographer who was with us during the time was quite upset with us baiting the iguana to get pretty pictures. We also went diving and jumping off a dock with a lot of us showboating our most acrobatic diving maneuvers. On our day off, we went to “Point of Sand’ which is an absolutely gorgeous beach, for a barbeque and some much needed relaxation. We also were quite excited to go the hermit crab races where we were allowed to name and race our own hermit crab.

Pictures will be up soon.
Nick

Little Cayman

Hello everybody,

I have been here in Little Cayman for about two weeks now and I should have written something a little earlier. Nonetheless, below is a rundown of the exciting adventures that I have thus far had on Little Cayman.
On the first day of the trip, our instructor had us identify and learn the names of well over a 100 species of corals, algae and fish. To add salt to the wound, we had to memorize the scientific Latin names of the coral and algal species. All the same, we snorkeled to the reefs in order to the reefs to gain some practical experience in species identification. The reefs of Little Cayman are absolutely immaculate and pristine; much due to the reason that the anthropogenic effects on this island of 200 residents is scant. The reefs and lagoons are inundated with fish species of all colors, patterns, sizes and shapes thus making it an exceptional diving and snorkeling destination.
Lowell, the dive master at CCMI (Central Caribbean Marine Institute) on Little Cayman, took us on a turtle walk in search for turtle nesting sites. We were able to see a couple a turtle nests which are located by spotting turtle tracks on the beach. On a side note, we were also allowed to get coconuts off trees which made for a delicious treat.

Will write soon.
Nick