Today was a super long day! We went to an area in Cudjoe Key where we visited last year and ran into an octopus. No octopuses this time, but the area was a prime place to practice a multi-person transect. We lined up and swam together scouting our “lanes” for lobsters in sponges. This proved to be quite difficult. Not the spotting of lobsters and sponges, but staying in our “lanes.” As a result, observations were missed. We completed this type of transect several times to get the lay of the land and of course to practice doing a transect properly. Reading methods in a scientific article is one thing, but to actually perform those methods is another world altogether.
Marine Field Ecology Course – Rutgers University 