This morning Jennifer Keck gave a lecture about RIMS coral restoration efforts. She described how they create trees and hang fragments of staghorn and elkhorn coral using crimps and monofilament. These trees are anchored in sandy substrate just outside of Anthony’s Key Resort.

We got to interact with these trees on our first dive of the day. Jennifer gave us gloves and a wire brush to clean the coral trees. The goal was to remove as much algae and unwanted organisms such as shrimp and fire coral as possible. It is important to maintain clean coral trees to prevent pathogens from infecting the fragments. This was our longest dive here at Roatan - we were cleaning coral trees for 75 minutes!

After this dive we had lunch then went out for our second dive of the day. We are all starting to brainstorm possible project topics. I am particularly interested in the interactions between coral and sponges. 

After this dive we all went to the resort fiesta. I had the opportunity to speak with Jose Carlos who oversaw the coral relocation project in the port of Roatan. We spoke about his responsibilities managing environmental impacts in ports, as well as the differences he observes between Roatan and his home country of Mexico.

- Cadet Kaia Coday

Professors Stephen Kielar and Ariel Setniker contributed to this blog entry.

Check back often and follow the adventure with our blog series that gives the latest news from the International Experience summer 2024 program traveling through Morocco and Honduras prior to returning to Vallejo on May 27, 2024.

Stay tuned for updates to the Follow the Adventure blog.