This season has been different for me because even though I've been the youngest naturalist on staff all three seasons I've been here, I became the most senior naturalist in September with another naturalist's departure. I also knew from the outset that this year would be my last, so I did what I could to focus my efforts on training my replacements. My first two years I didn't really have a game plan. I figured I'd work until something else came along or I didn't want to work anymore.
Of course with my departure from CAOS comes my departure from the island. As I write this, I have just over 50 hours left on the rock. To be honest, the intense heat and humidity of the past two weeks are really helping relieve the separation anxiety. Still, this has been a pretty cool place to live. Frustrating at times, insufferably hot at others, and full of problems left and right, it's still a beautiful island. I've loved having the opportunity to truly get to know the reefs and the mangroves. They are so different from anything we have back in California. Majestic and fragile and colorful and busy and silent; every snorkel or dive I'd look for something new or unusual and never come up empty. With such regular visits over only two and a half years, I've watched the growth of the mangroves and the decline of Governor's Reef. I've seen the same stingrays come back year after year and greeted the new generations. New buildings have gone up all over the island as it continues to recover from past hurricanes and brace for future storms, last week's national elections brought in a new government, and the island is astir over what to do about the growing mountain of trash behind their capital. Still the natural world around them continues its quiet cycles of birth, life, and death. I'm glad I had the chance to see even such a small glimpse.
Brain coral.
Star coral.
Vase sponges with brittle stars and sea anemones.
Tarpon in the caves of Eden Rock.
Sea cucumber.
Rope sponge.
Hogfish.
Feather duster worm on Eden Rock cave wall.
All sorts of organisms on Eden Rock cave ceiling.
On Monday I start my new job at the Aquarium. To be honest, it's more or less the same job as I had in CAOS, but with significantly colder water. After a summer of Aquarium work and travels to Canada, it'll be time to start grad school for a couple of years. After that? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm making this up as I go.
