Sedentary Sediment

Well we started today off with a rip-roaringly adventurous time. Sorting sediment. How does one sort sediment, you ask? One sorts sediment by picking through each and every large sample with tweezers, separating rocks from coral bits from shells from live animals from calcareous algae flakes. We're still not done after three and a half hours working at it, but we decided to mutiny at that point and go have lunch.

After lunch and a nap (the whole island takes two-hour siestas every day, by the way - the schoolkids even get bussed home for lunch and a nap, then bussed back to school at 2pm), the class decided to go snorkeling. Our site ended up being the same site a few of us had found on our own when we had hijacked the truck, but whatever. And here come the pictures:


A cushion star at the base of a large coral.


Here's the shot of the bottom side of the very same cushion star.


Here's my best picture of a rainbow parrotfish my buddy and I tracked (chased) for a while.


Proof that Finding Nemo was really quite accurate. This is an anemone fish facing off against a damselfish in its living home.

This evening we heard a lecture from one of the most accomplished coral researchers in the world, who happens to work at a research station in Oponuahu, the next bay over from ours. He talked to us about his research methods in the study of coral growth and reproduction and how they are affected by temperature. He was really interesting and amazingly smart and knowledgeable about the reefs.

Tomorrow we're headed out to the motus, two islands on the northwest corner of the island that were formed by the buildup of coral and sediment. There are rumors of possible turtle action, so both camera batteries will be making the trek with me.