If you have ever seen coral reefs in pictures or even in the ocean, you know
that they look like big rock formations. Those formations are covered with
animals. Corals are small animals that look different from the animals we usually
see, like dogs and people. That’s because the animals with which we are
familiar are part of a small group called vertebrates. The term vertebrate means
that these animals have backbones. Corals, and most other animals in the
world, are invertebrates--spineless, if you prefer.
If you look closely at a coral reef, you can see tiny little coral animals called
polyps. A polyp usually looks like a small circle, surrounded by tentacles--like
a miniature, upside-down octopus or jellyfish. In fact, corals are related to
jellyfish. It looks like corals sit on top of the reef rocks, but the truth is that they
build the reefs! A coral polyp releases chemicals that harden in sea water and
form large limestone formations over time. Coral and reef growth is slow, so
damage to a reef and to the ocean around it can mean disaster for the reef.
Why should we care about corals and reefs? Ask the animals that live there!
Crabs, fish, worms, and other animals use the reefs as homes, hiding places,
and feeding grounds. People also love coral reefs. Why? Reefs are beautiful
and different, and they house many animals. In fact, many people visit the Turks
and Caicos Islands just to see coral reefs. These people bring money into the
islands through tourism, but if the reefs are damaged by visitors, fishing, or
pollution, the local economy suffers as much as the corals.
Research Update: Juvenile Lobsters
Kathy Feasel
My semester-long research project consists of finding out where lobsters spend
their time as juveniles. If we know where this takes place, then we will be able
to protect these areas. As you might already know, part of the reason that we
are on South Caicos Island is to help figure out ways to manage the lobster
fishery. Many of the people on the island fish lobster and conch for a living. If
they fish too many, then they will deplete the resource and not be able to fish
the next year. This would put them out of a job. Therefore, it is important to
protect the juveniles so that they can grow up and be fished. This would
support the local economy. It is also important not to overfish the lobsters,
because they are important to the aquatic community. Everything in the world is
connected. If you remove the lobsters from the sea, the things that feed on them
will go hungry. It is important to make sure to keep a balance in the ocean.
My project is to go to a place called Bell Sound. It is a small inlet of water that
is only about 3 feet deep at its deepest. What we do is snorkel around the area
looking to see what is there. It is known that lobsters tend to grow up in
shallow waters, so we want to see if they do it here. Since lobsters mainly
come out at night, we look to see if the sound has the types of food they eat
during the day. This lets us know whether or not they could survive there. Soon
we will be snorkeling at night using big underwater flashlights. This will be really
exciting, especially if get to see some lemon sharks at night. We hope to see
lots of juvenile lobsters, too. If we do see these, we will know that they do use
this area as a nursery. After we get all of our information we will then write up a
report and make plans to protect the lobster.
