The Late Night Brittle Star

Here in Puerto Penasco, I got to see many different sorts of marine animals. Crabs, sea lions and sea stars were on the list of animals that I was able to see.  One of my favorite animals that I saw on this trip was the Brittle Star. The first day of the trip at the rocky intertidal was where I saw my first brittle star and got to hold it as well.

                Brittle stars are echinoderms, so of course they have spiny skin that you can feel as they move around in your hand. They are fast moving creatures that can cover a good amount of distance fairly quickly, especially considering how similar they look to sea stars. The movement patterns of brittle stars are probably the coolest thing about these animals.

                Later during the week, we took a trip to the beach at night and we saw a super cool looking brittle star missing most of a leg. (Don’t worry, it will regenerate it and be good as new!) Experiencing the beach during the middle of the night was another unforgettable experience. Exploring the rocky areas showed us way more species that only come out during the night. We saw a higher number of crabs and fish all over the place as well as the brittle star. Definitely glad we decided to check out the beach at night.

-Justice

MCC's marine mammals

At least for a short time, Dr. Glenn Bennett and a few of the marine bio students joined other marine mammals underwater at Bird Island.

Last day in Mexico

We have reached our last day here in Mexico. I'm sad to have to leave so soon. I have learned so much about the history and culture of Purrto Penasco and the Sea of Cortez. The people of CEDO have been so kind and willing to teach us about anything and everything that we want to know about the Ocean. We went to a trona salt mine. Trona is mined primarily for sodium carbonate. Trona also is a common source of soda ash that is used to manufacturer glass, chemicals and detergents. Jason

 Today was our last day at C.E.D.O, and I have to admit that it was a pretty relaxing day. This morning we got to semi-sleep in (7:15 which is a treat since 5 am has been our wake up time since we got here) and we ventured out to the Trona salt mines in Rocky  Point where we learned how not only do humans use the salt for manufacturing but there are lots of different species of animals like freshwater fish, burros, coyotes, Blue Herron, and some killer ants that all live in that one area. After our four hour tour we took the trek back to C.E.D.O where our whole group took our finals ,then decided to go hang out on the beach till the amazing cooks made us a delicious homemade dinner. After dinner we had a little rap/karaoke battle and then we went on a scorpion hunt and roasted marshmallows. It was pretty great. Well we have another super early morning planned for our trip home, so i probably should go pack my suitcase that is sprawled across the floor! 

Goodnight! 

-Shelby 

In preparation for my trip to Puerto Penasco, I got my scuba certification. This was easily one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life as it allowed me to experience the ocean at a whole new level. There is no feeling comparable to being completely submerged under and engulfed with water for an entire hour. The feeling of breathing underwater is absolutely amazing and just being in an environment that is not meant for humans is what makes it so memorable.  While I was on my dive at Bird Island, I encountered many different species of animals ranging across all the phyla we learned about on the trip. Many crustaceans and echinoderms layered the sea floor and lurked under rocks in all sorts of places. Platyhelminthes such as the flatworms, were freely swimming about and riding the currents. My favorite thing that I found was an echinoderm known as the pencil slate urchin. Luckily I was able to get a picture with the remains of this fascinating creature.  The diving at Bird Island was by far my favorite part of the trip and I will definitely be trying to dive as much as I can for the rest of my life.

Justice

Sadly today we had our last adventure to the Trona Salt Mines! We had Daniel tour us through this very interesting area in Mexico! There was salt everywhere! There was huge salt rocks, salty dirt, and even little salty pools all over the place! What was very neat was that these salt pools were pink color because of the bacteria living in these salt pools and it was a beautiful landscape! He explained to us the history behind the salt mines and what they do now to protect and save these salt mines. I really enjoyed listening to him explain how important these salt mines are for us and you can see his dedication about these salt mines! It was a great way to end this perfect trip!

5/21/15

Today we had a nice relaxing day, we got to learn about marine mammals with Paloma, who is an instructor here at CEDO, and she told us about the Vaquita who is an endangered porpoise here in Mexico.  It was interesting to learn about how the Mexican government is trying to help the Vaquita survive by putting restrictions on the fisherman and in why area that they can take the fish from. A huge reason Vaquita is endangered is because when the fisherman fish; they use gill nets and since Vaquita is a marine mammals, it needs to breathe air and by being trapped in the nets it can't get the oxygen that it needs to survive. Over the past 5 years Vaquita's population has nearly dwindled from 400 to only 97 in the whole ocean. It was cool because we learned how we as the next generation biologists (in semi-training) can help and make changes in the world that we live in. 

   Tomorrow we are getting up pretty early to make a track out to the salt mines to Check it out! Write more tomorrow!

Shelby

Hasta la Vista Mexico

It was a slow-paced day which started out with a lecture on marine mammals from Paloma, a staff at CEDO. The lecture revolved around marine mammals, particularly the ones who are native to the Gulf of California. One of which are the Vaquitas Porpoises(Phocoena Sinus), the smallest and rarest of the Cetaceans. Vaquitas are endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California, and face a threat of extinction due to many factors. Gill nets, habitat damage, and pollution contribute to the endangerment of these beautiful mammals. In response to this problem, CEDO along with many other organizations have shifted much of their focus and efforts toward Vaquita Conservation; One method is to reduce the fisheries impact in the upper gulf of California, and the other is to implement a temporary ban of fisheries within the vicinity of the upper gulf of California and Colorado River delta. After our educational session came a period of relaxation and final evening out in town which consisted of shopping following an oceanside dinner. It was a bitter sweet moment on the balcony of the restaurant while the group and I watched the glistening sun slowly sink into the horizon as the waves crash into the rocks below.

Lisa

 

Los Lobos Marinas de Sea de Cortez

One of the most memorable memories on the study abroad trip was being able to snorkel with the sea lions. I was able to see one large male sea lion as well as two pups. It was really neat because the sea lions were very playful and got within arms reach of me! The pups were very playful with us by blowing bubbles in our faces and spinning in circles all around us! I saw all of these amazing creatures at Bird Island, also known as Isla San Jorge. Also while snorkeling I saw many fish, sea stars, and sea anemones covering the sea floor. It was so amazing seeing tall these animals in their natural habitat without disturbing them.  The experience of swimming and playing with sea lions was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will cherish forever!<3

5/18/15

Hey everyone!

Today we had another early morning, which consisted of scavenging the soft bottom intertidal of Cholla bay, to find any kind of cool organism. To our luck we started off by finding cool shells and small fish but as the day progressed and our determination grew, we began to find bigger and better organisms; such as Fitch octopus, sea stars, flatworms, eels and even a cone snail. The octopus were pretty cool to find because they actually find two shells and pull them together to create a safe haven for their young. Chelsea, Audrey and I decided to venture off on our own, and to our surprise we found a cone snail! ( which can be one of the most deadly snails in the ocean and has a proboscis which shoots out a harpoon to kill their prey) and it was the size of our hands, it was awesome day to say the least. Tomorrow we are getting up bright and early to go out to bird island, so I am so excited to swim with the sea lions! 

Write more tomorrow! 

Shelby

Female Fitch's octopus with babies (the 2 dark spots on the lower shell)

Study time in CEDO library!

I have been spending most of my time in the CEDO library doing homework when I am hiding from the sun. I worked on a presentation about the phylum Arthropoda with my amazing group. I think we made it very interesting and entertaining. Also I have been working on the blogs, a comparison paper, and studying for our quiz. I have also been keeping very busy with my scuba certification. I had to do knowledge reviews for PADIs fish identification and underwater naturalist specialty courses. I completed these dives while being here in Puerto Peñasco. I am officially an advanced scuba diver! All this studying has been totally worth it. The early mornings and late nights have been easy to do with all these amazing excursions. I am so glad I got to come learn here! :)
Monica Erwin

About Time to go to Bird Island

We went to Isla San Jorge, also called Bird Island, and I had a lot of first experiences. First we went on a sail boat and started our voyage. About an hour into the ride, we were leaking oil. So we had to call another boat to come get us and take us the rest of the way. When the boat got to us, it was named: About Time. Both boat rides to the island were awesome. When we got to Bird Island, I got to scuba dive in the ocean for the first time. I was surrounded by sea lions and all sorts of aquatic life. I tried taking pictures underwater for the first time as well. I took this picture of a Cortez Angelfish and also got a Rock Wrasse in the background. Not bad for my first time. It was an amazing day of first experiences!
Monica Erwin

Sent from my iPhone

Mexico

Yesterday we went to an estuary and participated in a census for the Least Tern. The Least Tern is a bird that migrates from South America to Puerto Penasco and San Felipe. We were able to see a few nests with eggs. We also saw 3 chicks running around. In the afternoon we returned to the estuary by kayak. In the estuary we saw fiddler crabs. It was easy to distinguish the males from the females due to the males one giant claw. Today has been a relaxing day. It was the first day we have been able to wake up late. We had a lecture on Marine Mammals given by CEDO. We learned about the Vaquita and its struggle to exist due to getting caught in gill nets. The Vaquita is a porpoise and the world's smallest cetacean. It is endemic to the Gulf of California. The Cetacean order includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The work CEDO and other networks including local fishermen are doing to save this species is wonderful. Unfortunately their numbers continue to dwindle. There is now below 100 living Vaquita today. Jason Adams

The song of the Vaquita

Well let me tell you,

Today has been such a relaxed and easy going day. We were able to sleep in and I woke up to bacon!! Cooked of course... Best morning ever! After, we got ready to hear a lecture about marine mammals from a representative at CEDO. We discussed many things from the orders of all the different mammals to the endangerment of the native porpoise, the Vaquita. This specific species has a critical biological number of 100 which means if populations fall below this number it may not be brought back from extinction. The sad part is, today's population is estimated to have about 97 individuals left. Conservation efforts are trying to prevent extinction but it is very hard to cut off fishing networks, which is the main cause of their endangerment, since fishing is a huge part of this areas social and economic life. This made me very upset. Unfortunately, the environment that these porpoises live in so unique that they are unable to survive in captivity and they do not believe location is a testable theory at this time due to low numbers. The reproductive rates of these creatures are very slow as well which leads to less populations. Hopefully, relief efforts can be made quickly or this animal will be gone forever. 

Chelsea

Yesterday was a lot of fun kayaking through the estuary! It could not of been more perfect weather! Slight breeze and slightly cloudy! I never kayaked before so I got to double up with Dr. C! I hope I didn't splash him too much with my paddle! When we stopped to see what kind of critters we could see we mainly only saw the fiddler crabs! The male crabs have one claw that is so big that it can't even pinch! They get the name fiddler because the males one big claw resembles a fiddle. These little guys only defense is to stay close to where their hole is to run and hide in. Once again I have posted a picture of me and one of the crabs! They are so cute I want one as a pet! 

Ali 

A few other pics

A study abroad selfie with our CEDO intern, Marco

On our way to Bird Island

Yo yo yiggity yo!

Today has been full of many adventures! We began our morning strolling down the long, sandy peninsula in search of least tern nests and eggs. Helping CEDO conduct their census on this bird, we went about walking and identifying nests with or with out eggs.  We than documented if eggs found outside the nest were broken/eaten or if the wind had simply pushed it out of its home. It was important to accurately record the numbers because this species of bird is near endangerment. Later that afternoon, we kayaked to an estuary. Boy was it an arm work out! Good thing I doubled up with Glenn so he took most of the beating. ;) Once there, we sunk our feet (literally) into the squishy mud flat. One of main critters in the area was the fiddler crab. You can tell a male from a female by looking at the cheliped. Females have symmetrically sized pinchers while males have one much larger than the other. This serves no function for pinching or eating but it does help attract the ladies! After the rigorous ride back we got some dinner and chilled the rest of the night. I did get so sunburnt! Sorry mom....

Over and out,

Chelsea 

Hey All, Having a great time in Peurto Penasco Mexico. We have been able to identify and touch several invertibrates living in the intertidal tide pools. Marco,the intern resedent at CEDO,Has been teaching us the history of the Sea of Cortez. It was interesting to learn how big a role the Colorado River played in developing the ecosystem in the Sea of Cortez. The river brought nutrients and seeds of trees and shrubs that help feed the creatures of the Ocean as well as giving shelter for birds.  While I was aware of the ongoing struggles with water rights that affect us locally in Az I was surprised to learn how much the river is needed here. The Colorado River flowed into the Ocean here for the first-time in over 50 years a short time ago. Marco said the impact of that water release has already been seen. Jason Adams.

Bon Voyage!

The trip to Bird Island was one of the biggest anticipated highlight of this program, at least in my book. Excitement filled the air as we boarded our sailboat then set sail off of the docks of the Marina. About an hour or so later, after our boat had taken off, I was the only one to be greeted by a lovely wave of sea sickness (I don't know how sailors do it). Do you know the part in movies where people are stranded in the middle of the sea then predictably get swarmed by a school of sharks as the jaws theme song is playing in the background? Well, that happened to us, all except the sharks part. Speaking of which, some how, as if by the wrath of Poseidon himself, our little sailboat became dysfunctional (something to do with an oil leak), and stranded us in the middle of the ocean. Help came about an hour later by a bigger boat, dubbed "the party boat", with the phrase painted on it's exterior-"It's about time," (this is no joke). Getting sea sick, abandoning our dysfunctional sail boat, and conquering my fear of swimming in the open waters of the vast ocean has been well worth what was next to come. They say that growth starts at the end of your comfort zone and I have certainly witnessed this today. As we approached bird Island I felt another wave-of joy (and this time not sickness). The rest of the adventure was spent scuba diving for some of us, snorkeling for the majority including myself, and lounging on our party boat. Some of us had been lucky enough to have swam alongside and get into close contact with sea lions while they shy'd away from others. As we got back to CEDO our adventure had concluded with pizza and late night blogging accompanied by cookies and milk. What a day!

-Lisa

Fun facts:

*Isla San Jorge (known in English as "Bird Island") is located just 43 kilometers from Puerto Penasco Señora.

*Bird Island is best known for housing a colony of about 2,500 sea lions, and as you approach you can hear the sounds (barking) made from them.

*Bird Island is part of a group of island protected by the Sea of Cortez.

Goin' on a bird hunt...

This morning we woke up with the sun, and drove to an estuary to participate in the least tern census. The least tern is the smallest of the terns, and this morning we all helped count eggs, birds, and even a few chicks. Populations of this bird are endangered in some areas mainly due to the impact humans have on beaches. Taking a count of these birds lets us know usually how well the population is doing. We paired up and lined up in a grid to make sure all the ground was covered. At the beginning, walking through the sand and shells, Chelsea and I had no luck, just a bunch of empty nests. Towards the end, however, we came across a few nests with eggs in them! Shortly after, everyone was called over to check out a baby chick Professor Bennett saved from the water's edge. We all got a chance to pet the tiny chick, and then we attempted to put it back somewhere safe. Now, everyone is resting and working on their projects. Later today, we get to go kayaking in the estuaries. I'm ready for my upper body workout!

Heyyy! Today we went to explore and observe least tern birds! We paired up and made patterns looking for any nests, eggs (broken or not) and any live chicks! We ended up finding three baby chicks there, which I have posted a picture of myself with one we found! The least tern birds are an at risk species. Sadly many eggs will be out of the nest due to winds, tides, or ate by coyotes. These birds migrate from both north and South America where they can meet up in Mexico. It was an awesome experience and pretty neat seeing how the mother birds would react towards us when we got close to a nest!

Ali

Excitement underwater

I'll let the students post their impressions of our island adventure today but here are some shots from underwater.
     Dr. C

A Day Out At Sea

5.19.2015

Today was a looooooong day. We got up super early(again), and headed down to the marina. After boarding onto a nice sailboat, we ventured to Bird Island. We hit a hiccup about one hour into the ride. Our boat was leaking oil, so our guide, Erica, had to call another boat to finish taking us to the island. After a few long hours of waiting, we finally made it to the island. The small island is a light white-gray color, and not because of the rock type, because of the bird poop! I heard the seal lions before I saw them. Their loud barking is definitely recognizable! Once we anchored, the scuba divers headed down into the chilly waters. As I watched, a small group of sea lions were playing in the area that the divers went down at. Now, most people mix up seals and sea lions, or use the names interchangeably, but truth is that they're definitely different. Seal lions have a visible ear flaps, while seals do not. Also, the way they get around is different. Seals have small flippers that can only point backwards, whereas sea lions have much larger flippers that they can rotate and walk with. It was really fun getting in the water and snorkeling with them. We had a large male spend a lot of time in our area, and almost scared us half to death while swimming underneath us. After a while, it started to get cold, so we all swam back to the boat and got ready for the long boat ride back. Once back at CEDO, we feasted on pizza, then everyone crawled into bed. I chose to sleep inside tonight, because my face is already covered in bug bites! From now on, I'll be sleeping away from the mosquitos, and in my warm sleeping bag!

Audrey

Hola!
Yesterday was our first adventure in Mexico by exploring the rocky inter-tidal! One of the many things we found were the Star fish!  Star fish are part of the Phylum Echinodermata,along with sand dollars, sea cucumbers, and also brittle stars! Star fish have pentamerous radial symmetry with five parts along its central axis! I learn that Star fish eat by everting their stomach! They can eat small fish, bivalves, and barnacles!

I loved being able to go out and explore new things in the ocean that I didn't know were there right under our feet, literally! I can not wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store for us!

Ello poppets,
On today's adventure we shuffled through the soft sediment of Cholla Bay in search of any critters lurking in the dirt, under rocks, or any other place they could make their home. Amongst the blue crabs and several octopuses, we came across a beautifully slimy sea hare. It's large muscular foot was attached to huge rock along with another entity which looked liked spaghetti. Come to find out, the spaghetti like structure was actually a secretion made by the hare which held thousands of tiny little eggs. I have a new found love for this lady hare! Not usually found in the intertidal, she exposed herself to the stresses of higher temperatures and salinity. I am grateful however that she was able to withstand these imbalances so that I may observe and touch this squishy mollusk.
    Chelsea

The phylum mollusca includes three major classes, one of which is the cephalopoda class. The major defining characteristics of the cephalopoda class are a visceral mass, a mantle and a muscular foot. All of which can be seen on the Fitch octopus that our group found today in the soft bottom intertidal Cholla Bay. Seeing one of these creatures was absolutely amazing. I even got to see it shoot its ink! I have never even thought about what it would be like to have one of these in my hand, but today I got to experience it and it was awesome. Hopefully as my time in Puerto Penasco continues, I will get to see even more of the amazing creatures.

OCTOPI!!!

Today was totally AWESOME!!! This morning we drove down to La Cholla to check out the soft bottom intertidal. My mission for the day was to find an octopus, not matter how small. Fortunately, one of the first rocks I turned over had a little Pygmy octopus underneath! My mission was already complete. As we ventured on, we found sand dollars, snails, and Fitch's octopus. About halfway through our journey, I came across a pretty large cone snail. If this snail detects fish, it will extend its proboscis. The proboscis contains a venomous harpoon, which is shot into the fish when the proboscis makes contact with the fish's body. The venom from the harpoon enters the fish and instantly paralyses it. This was a pretty cool find. Tomorrow, we head out early to snorkel with the sea lions (not seals) and hopefully see some other neat creatures along the way! 

Audrey

Living' Life On The Edge

Perhaps Patrick the starfish left behind the mundane in Bikini Bottom for more exciting life at the Rocky intertidal ecosystem of Vina Del Mar. On day 2 the Marine Biology crew and I spent the morning exploring and learning about all of the diverse organisms that thrive in this challenging environment. I'm not sure Patrick realizes what he has in store. In this marine zone, at the juncture of crashing ocean waves and rocky shorelines, a world of extremes await. Living' life on the edge is as extreme as it sounds; those that reside in this environment face difficult factors such as emersion-exposure to air, lack of living space, and intense waves that crash into the shoreline. Like these organisms, Patrick will have to learn to adapt to these challenges.

Lisa

Intertidal at Viña del Mar

Sunday morning AM bright & early, beautiful day, wonderful balmy breeze just enough to make comfortably cool. We're departing CEDO and heading to do  the rocky intertidal excursion behind the Viña del mar in downtown Puerto Peñasco. The tide is down by approximately 21' and the water is calm and glassy...a very peaceful and calming sight
After a brief introductory lecture by Dr C we split up and head  out towards the water's edge gently turning ovrt some of the smaller rocks we begin discovering bristle worms (aka Fireworms), brittle stars, sea stars, sea cucumbers, porcelin crabs, gorgonias, sponges, mollusks, chitons, limpets, small juvenile fish (very quick & well camoflaged), a blue jelly (aka jellyfish), tunicates and green, brown and red algae.  All in all, a good morning for the first day.

Glenn Bennett

Hi! Today we went to la Choya! I have posted a picture here of myself holding an octopus we found hiding out under a rock trying to find protection until the high tides came in. If you didn't already know an octopus is a cephalopod mollusc. They like to collect shells and other objects to construct fortresses around themselves for protection. Out there today we placed a sea shell near it and the octopus clasped on to it and brought it right in. We were also able to see how the octopus uses its line of defense to change its colors to match that around itself. Another defense we got to see was when it squirts out ink, which makes it hard for others to see it get away. Today has been very fun and sight full of new things! Can't wait for tomorrow! 

Ali

The world is your classroom!

Marine biology students learning about the natural history of Puerto Penasco from staff at CEDO (Center for the study of Oceans and Deserts).

Marine biology blog

Today we hungout in rock mania. We searched around in the rocky intertidal for little critters. We saw many different animals from the phyla: Arthropoda, Mollusca, Annelida, and Echinodermata. A few of us found an octopus trying to camouflage itself in a little tide pool. Dr. C moved a brittle star out of the way and as soon as he did, the octopus inked and went away.
*Dr. C got some new ink from the octopus:)
       Monica

Made it!

A smooth trip down through Organpipe national monument, away from the clouds and rain of Arizona to the sun and beaches of Mexico. We got settled at CEDO and even had some time left for some impromptu tidepooling where we found the object seen in the picture. Who can guess what it is??

Most students are now sleeping under the stars in the deck and getting a little sleep before we head out for the low tide tomorrow morning where other discoveries await.

Dr. C

Only a few days away!

While all of us are deep into finals right now, very soon we'll be leaving on our adventure to south of the border and under the water!


Keep calm and swim on!
        Dr. C