Bahamian Reef Survey (trip)
Bahamian Reef Survey
- Volunteer Vacations
8 Days, from $2,250* per person. July, November.
Accommodations: Simple. Exertion level: 4 (7 is most strenuous)
Overview of Bahamian Reef Survey
Coral reefs are at serious risk due to climate change, coastal development, over fishing, and other environmental stressors. One of the first signs that corals are in trouble is coral bleaching, when algae living within the reef organism fail during environmental stress, leaving the coral colorless and leaving area fish without nutrition. Prolonged bleaching kills coral, with drastic impacts on marine biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and shore protection—and bleachings are on a dramatic rise worldwide. Coral diseases have also been increasing with alarming regularity, due perhaps in part to global warming, which may also be making making more and more severe storms, which can inflict their own damage on reefs.
Scientists John Rollino, Dr. Garriet Smith (University of South Carolina at Aiken) and Thomas McGrath (Corning Community College) have the longest-running experiment and data set on coral reefs in the world, with more than 15 years worth of information. While efforts to improve our understanding of the threats to reefs must continue, in recent years Dr. Rollino and his colleagues have also increased their emphasis on testing methods that might allow reefs to recover, from performing underwater “repairs” on some reefs to providing others with artificial materials that might save their underlying struture.
Operated by Earthwatch Institute.
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Locations visited/nearby
San Salvador Island , Bahamas , coral reefs , reefs , climate change , overfishing , snorkel , marine , biodiversity , beaches , shores , earthwatch , volunteer , ecotourism , scientific research , ecology , wildlife surveys , endangered species , wildlife protection , habitats , habitat loss , sustainability , bahamian reef survey , mass bleaching , aspergillus virus
0 testimonials about this trip.
1 testimonial about the provider, Earthwatch Institute:
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Reviewer: L. Reifschneider
located in
St. Louis,
MO
USA
Elephant conservation is what drives my travel destinations. However, I always come home counting the blessings of new friends and an understanding of a culture and way of life I possibly would otherwise have never been introduced to. Through the Earthwatch projects I participate in, I am learning just how big and wonderful this world is.
Disclaimers
*Travel product and pricing information are the travel provider’s base estimates, published here as a convenience to TravelDragon users without verification by TravelDragon. Your actual price will vary depending upon length of trip, travel dates, number of traveling guests, transportation (e.g. airfare, rail passes, etc.), and optional service features such as room categories or individualized food requirements. This base price estimate may or may not include all necessary fees, taxes, government-imposed surcharges. Be sure to confirm availability, total price and trip details with the travel provider using the contact information provided here.
Max group size: 20
Itinerary
Snorkel through the crystal clear waters around a remote Bahamian island to survey endangered coral reefs, document the threats to their health, and help test techniques that might restore them.
You'll learn to conduct a number of ecological field measurements: surveying hard corals and other reef animals and plants, mapping transect sites and taking reef measurements, and testing water chemistry. On land, you'll map corals in tidal pools and monitor beach profile data for changes. You’ll also help refine methods for repairing and even rebuilding reefs that have been damaged by bleaching, storms, run-off, and systemic threats such as global warming. In the evenings, you'll transcribe the day's data, and enjoy films and lectures.
Longtime Earthwatch scientists Rollino, McGrath, and Smith continually receive high marks for their patience, humor, and teaching prowess. In your recreational time, you can scuba dive, go spelunking, see where Columbus first set foot in the New World, nature hike, or just enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
You’ll sleep in shared rooms at the comfortable Gerace Research Center (GRC), a former U.S. Navy base. The rooms are former officers’ quarters and each has a fan, a sink, an adjoining shared bathroom, and showers. The GRC cooks will provide simple, filling meals in their cafeteria. Teams will also have a meal or two out at a local restaurant and finish the expedition with a slice of guava duff (cake) - a volunteer favorite!
San Salvador Island in the Bahamas is surrounded by warm, blue waters full of beautiful subtropical reefs, as is perhaps most well know as the place that Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in this hemisphere in 1492. The island’s interior is mostly uninhabited and full of hypersaline lakes. San Salvador is one of the outermost links in the chain of some 700 islands sprinkled throughout more than 5,000 square miles. While similar to the other islands of this archipelago, it is unique for its history, ecology, inland lakes, and the pressure to develop it mostly undeveloped landscapes.
The harbor remains largely as Columbus saw, except for the Gerace Research Center, which is located on the berm of a beach composed of calcareous sands. Pleistocene sand dunes, sea cliffs, and other unique coastal features can be found within walking distance of the Center.
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