Operation Wallacea in Madagascar: Day 14
Day 14 – Nosy Be 26/06/24 – Wednesday
On Wednesday the reef ecology students did two dives and had some lectures and workshops. On our first dive all 4 student went down with kat, the dive master, to do some fish ID practice. We had learnt about the diffent fish we would see and how to differentiate them in yesterday’s lecture. We would mark down and identify the fish pointed out to us by Kat on our diveslates. After our first dive we had a lecture lecture on threats to the reefs by Fliss, the other dive master. In this lecture we learned about many threats like pollution and overfishing, as well as the threat of algae to the reefs.
while algae is part of the economy as many fish feed on it it is also a competeter to the coral as they grow on the coral stopping the zooxanthelly from preforming photosynthesis. Additionally they grow on top of the calcium carbonate skeleton of the coral stopping new generations from building on them. So to much algae is quite bad for the reef and algae tends to thrive in stressful conditions for the reef mean it can exaggerate the struggles of the reefs.
After our first lecture we had a tanset workshop. The dive masters had set up a obstacle course of sorts using the tables and benches in the commen area to simulate the coral reefs. We got in buddie teams and using the tanset tapes practised laying down a traset try to simulate the conditions of under water transfer laying. It’s important to be very careful when doing this as corals are very fragile. For that same reason it’s important that we have very controlled and good buoyancy when doing it.
On our second dive we put into tractice the skills we had learn in the workshop. One of the buddy teams got to lay two transits while the other did one. When laying the transit one of us swimming ahead and recalling out the tape while the other follows behind and tucked the tape into the coral trying to stay s close to the bottom at possible. Kat, the dive master, when over the transit and would correct any mistakes or problems with us to help us learn how to do it better. After having payed the transfer we then had to reel it back in while genially untucking it from the coral. Throughly the whole process we did our very best to be genital and aware of our surroundings to make sure we didn’t damage the reef. The transit we payed today were practice for the ones we will do tomorrow.
After our last dive we had a lecture on the importance of mangroves. We learned about blue carbon and different threats to mangrove treees in addition to any diligent facts about the trees.
Meanwhile, the open water divers were having a blast finishing off all of their skill tests in the morning water with anticipation for the fun dives in the afternoon for the lucky ones. Over the course of the day many marine animals were spotted such as the renowned invasive lion fish and sting rays! The open water lectures covered topics such as types of coral and their functions which provided insightful detail into the marine environment we are grateful to be exploring.
As evening fell the Malagasy Independence Day roared to life with festive music and lively whistling heard late into the night. Unfortunately for us, this meant that the previously anticipated early night was not to be.
Lea-Sophia, Isabella, and Rhia
