Paradise Island, Bahamas 5/15/08
Paradise Island, Bahamas 5-15-08
by Mr. Miller
Today was an exciting day. It was the first day for the sub to take samples in the deep. Everyone got up around 6:30 to get ready and wish the scientists and pilots luck. As the sub went down everyone jumped and cheered. While the sub is below, those of us on the ship needed to prepare for their return. Gathering cold water, preparing and labeling buckets, and setting up aquariums where just a few of the many tasks needed to be done before the sub returned to the surface. We worked so hard we earned some down time so many of us gathered our snorkeling gear and headed to Paradise Island. The ride on the boat was amazing. The waves were high and the mini boat kept leaping in the air and crashing into the waves below. It was like riding on a fast loop-to-loop rollercoaster! The water was warm and a great retreat from the hot Bahamian sun. So many creatures live in the sand and eel grass bed around the island. Deep red sea biscuits slowly cruised the bottom looking for algae, silvery sand dollars swayed in the tide, and helmet conchs lurked in the shadows waiting for the next tasty meal of urchin tartar.
Once the snorkelers and the sub returned we looked in wonder at all the interesting creatures that live at the bottom. Many scientists where looking at urchins that live in the deep and studying what they look like as they grow. Ms. Wolf and I decided to dissect one of the urchins to see what it looked like on the inside. When I looked in the gut, a frilly worm an inch long shimmed out of the intestines. This worm lives in the urchin’s intestines but no one really knows what it eats or how it survives. We are going to run experiments on these worms in order to find out how they survive in this unique habitat. Well, I am really tired and it is going to be another fun filled day tomorrow so I should get some sleep.
Study hard, listen to your teachers, and have fun. See you in two weeks,
Mr. Miller