This trip was really special for me this year. The quality of the invited scientists and frequency of presentations and field trips, under water and above, was exceptional. Plus, a whole lot of good diving every day with the Sea Saba crew rounded out the experience. The trip was a bit over-shadowed by not having my great friend Barry along. Barry went along with me on most of these trips for the last 12 years, but he passed away this year. Being a nationally acclaimed brewer himself, Barry would have especially enjoyed the exceptional beer from the new Deep Dive brewery. I certainly did!
Here’s a short review of the presentations and science I participated in.
Dr. Pieter Johnson is a disease ecologist who aims to understand the pervasive yet cryptic role of parasites in pathogens in ecological systems. In the photos above, Dr. Johnson provides an overview of the parasite problem, then leads us in a survey on the reef to count surgeon fish with the black spots that indicate presence of the parasite.
Kerri Dobson is a marine biologist with expertise in coral reef ecology and conservation. Her presentation explained how different types of algae may encourage of discourage the growth of coral polyps. The next day, Ms. Dobson lead us on a survey of algae types on the reef.
Joe Oliver is the Director of Restoration Operations at Coral Vita, a pioneering organization dedicated to revitalizing the world’s coral reefs. Joe lead us in relocation of invertebrates from the new harbor site to another reef. In a previous dive, they relocated many corals to the protected reef. While many divers focused on the queen conchs, I choose to gather up a bunch of hermit crabs and one arrow crab. These small crabs, being a bit more delicate, Joe personally placed on the protected reef. I was surprised the arrow crab made it alive, but it did!
D. Jean Lodge identifies and studies the roles of mushrooms in wet tropical forests of the Caribbean Basin. We learned how mushrooms and other fungus have so many benefits.
And then there was the diving! The thing I love most about diving on Saba is the diversity of the dive sites. Saba has geologic reefs on the leeward side, biologic reefs on the windward side, sea mounts (The Pinnacles), patch and loaf reefs, turtle grass flats, and walls. This means a wide variety of fish and sea life. Here’s some photos taken during my trip from my long time Saba friends Beth and Tom:
One exceptional experience this trip was the sighting of multiple slender file fish on the Tent Deep site. Before this trip, I had only seen two of them my whole life. On Tent Deep I saw six!
Lost two days of diving due to tropical storm Jerry, but that just allowed some quality “island time”. Some of which was spent at the Dive Bar 🙂
Special thanks go out to Lynn, John, Emily, Andrea, and the rest of the team for their outstanding work at Sea & Learn. Thanks again for the wonderful dinner at Lynn and John’s house!
Wish I could have stayed for more than two weeks. I know of nothing else like Sea & Learn anywhere in the world. Where else can an average guy get to attend interesting presentations, citizen science activities above and below the water, and generally hanging out with world class scientists and naturalists. And all for free! Learn more about Saba, the excellent diving, and Sea & Learn at the links below.
The Blog of Tim Schmitz 
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