"the operculum"

The trip was a super time! I really enjoyed taking part in the biological assessments that CEDO would do to keep track of and protect the organisms there. We used a hula hoop to estimate the living things in places along a tape measure from the bottom of low tide all the way to the beach. By logging point estimates over time, researchers can intirperate the long term outlook of the different phylums and classes living in the intertidal zone of Puerto Penasco. We found sargasm, hermit crabs, snails and every once in a while even an octopus would show up if you were looking hard enough. This marine biology class in conjunction with CEDO did an excellent job of teaching the fundamentals of how to think critically when working in the field. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks they would be interested in learning more about the oceans and how to protect them for generations to come. 

Andrew Smith 

Bird Island Scuba Diving-Blog Post 2

I am a certified open diver but, I have been diving well before I got certified in 2009. Bird island was my first time diving in waters cold enough to require a 7mm suit. I was the most excited and giddy twenty-eight year old. We stopped by the suit rental in town before heading to the port. We boarded our vessel and were on our way to Bird Island, a little over two hours away.

The first dive lasted about thirty minutes. My buddy was Andrew. We made a great team! The sea lions encircled us in playful underwater movements. I would compare them to dogs. I must admit initially I was startled when they would unexpectedly wiz by. I quickly got over my fear because it was clear they were just as curious as I was. 

I was honored by Dr. Bennette and Angie as my dive buddies round two. The echinoderms we spotted got increasingly larger and more colorful. The fish swirled by in small schools. The sea lions continued to play jovially near our vicinity.

I was extremely happy to make new underwater friends. 

The dives didn't last as long as I would have liked due to low visibility but this provided an opportunity for me to steer the boat, captain style!

Dorothy, Were Not in Mexico Anymore

So as it seems, I am sure we are all home now and looking through our photos and already reminiscing of all the fun we had.  I cannot believe a week passed by so fast!  I meant to make this post yesterday but sometimes you simply have to immerse yourself in the once in a lifetime experience!  Yesterday was crazy, and that may be an understatement for many of us.

We started the morning with the Least Tern Census count, and I absolutely loved it!  We were able to split into small groups and interact directly with researchers who do the census counts daily.  It was exciting seeing the eggs, scary knowing that the male birds could dive bomb you any second if you got to close, and sad to hear the stories of tagging them with flags and the coyotes eating them.  At the end of the day, it is nature, and it happens.  I could not believe the Wilson's Plover does a dance to distract others from the nest while leading them in the opposite direction of his prized babies.  It just is remarkable how animals develop quirks to protect themselves and their young.

After the census, it was time to get down to the first word of our trip, the s-t-u-d-y in study abroad.  We spent time studying for our finals and working on our group presentations.  Everything went amazingly, and I cannot believe the class and trip are both over!  Presentations seemed daunting but it was a great opportunity to learn about the individual phyla since we just learned general info.  We relaxed after the real work by hanging out by the beach and jumping waves.

The day finally came to a close after authentic Mexican food, a birthday celebration, smokes and a bonfire, pre-cleaning, and finally falling asleep under the stars.  The last part was coincidentally as someone pointed out, the same way we started the first night except less noise.  We had developed so many friendships we fell asleep under the stars chatting for awhile before finally giving into sleep from the hectic schedule.  I cannot believe we are all most likely home, and the trip is over.  It was an amazing opportunity and I thank you all for the memories! 

-Angelica Deliz

Arizona, here we come!

This morning was officially the last day in Mexico. :( Waking up on the dock overseeing the beach, I started to remember all the adventures we had and all the great memories during this trip. I was so blessed to have traveled abroad with these amazing students & professors. I have learned a numerous amount of things during this trip and wouldn't trade it for anything! 

Thank you everyone for being so awesome & now I have many stories to tell all my friends & family back home. Now let's go back to the AZ heat! Whoo hooo :)

Kristy Lopez 

Last full day here in Mexico :(

After a long morning filled with presentations and a quiz, us students were cherishing our last hours here in Puerto Pinasco. Ending the day by placing our bags, having some fun in the sun and a bonfire with s'mores. Can't get any better than that! 

Kristy Lopez 

A video from the estuary

Mexican American Blog post 1

​A twice conquered nation Mexico has always felt so far yet so close to home. My childhood memories are of dirt roads and inexpensive fireworks, followed by a Gansito (mexican pastry). I have spent nearly a week in Puerto Penasco and can vouch that they are all still here. Immersing myself in foreign culture was not as seamless as I had assumed it would be. Technological glitches, email being hacked, inability to call "home", multiple issues with currency, but what is home? What are these "problems", that consumed me momentarily? They are nothing in comparison to the plight of most Mexicans.

I didn't care it was past midnight as I discussed The American Dream with a CEDO anthropologist. Her wide eyes and intelligent inquiries only reaffirmed that this place burns with hope.

And when I say "Mexicans" I am not referring to the homo-sapiens that walk along the land and glide the ocean in their boats, no. I also refer to the Least tern, blue crab and tropical bird. La Vaquita escondida de ti y de mi, quisas nunca la volveremos ver? It is there home and they too are to be respected, taken in to consideration, on their terms or lost forever. 

This trip has awoken the little girl within me that moves her feet along the ground in a rhythmic pattern perhaps subconsciously crying for rain to come. The hot sun doesn't break me. My culture is to be respected and as I learn more I fall deeper in love with the gift I have been blessed with! The gift God has given me, penetrating to the roots.
​I am a Mexican American, a small piece of my heart will remain...until my return. 

Kristy Lopez and Karla Garcia Blog post

Estero Morua is a protected area in Playa Encanto. This is the endangered nesting site of The Lest stern. The mating ritual entails the male offering a fish to the female. She will only accept the largest fish from the courting males, indicating her mate. There are several factors that contribute to this species declining numbers. It is estimated that 70% of the birds nests were destroyed last year. High tides wash the eggs in to the sea. Tourists inadvertently step on the eggs due to ignorance and unfamiliarity with the birds nesting season. Locals can be careless and prioritize their recreational activities over the protection of these nesting sites, an all terrain vehicle can destroy an entire field of nest's in a matter of minutes. Coyotes, are the Lest sterns natural predator. They can be seen patrolling the shore for hatch-ling's and the sand dunes for the open nests. Another unmentioned contributing factor is the way these birds nest. They prefer an open space without shelter from the elements. Camouflage is there only means of protection. The eggs take 21 days to hatch and the hatch-lings can fly at three weeks. Despite these opposing threats to the Lest stern survival we can be hopeful that the valuable conservation efforts supported by students like us can impact in a positive and long-term way.

      

Least tern monitoring in the estuary

Great time today looking for least tern nesting sites. Least terns are an endangered species of sea bird that migrates from California and Peru to here in order to mate and raise their young.
    Dr. C

A Bittersweet Wake-Up

I woke up this morning and it hit me suddenly, this is our last full day and my what an experience it has been. I am excited to participate in the Least Tern Census. While the kayaking and snorkeling are also fun, I favor the activities that are directly related to the research aspect. I believe all of us are starting to thrive in this biological research environment.

I also have enjoyed the activities that discuss ecotourism. I think it's fascinating that they are using the environment specific to them to create awareness and benefit positively. It reminds me of mutualism in fish but extended. When we ate several days ago at the little restaurant after kayaking, the ecotourism benefits both the people and the organisms. The organisms benefit from their habitat having less damage or loss and the people benefit from having the opportunity to become sustainable. All in all I cannot believe this experience is coming to a close. Here's to the last day filled with research, presentations, quiz studying and one last adventure filled day!

-Angelica Deliz

Sent from my iPhone

Trona Salt Mine Adventure!

Yesterday we went to the Trona Salt Mines which was not located underground as I pictured it to be. The Trona Salt Mines is more of a flat surface area with salt deposits underground. The salt deposits underground would slowly crystallized causing them to form into a large Trona Salt rock shape.

Miners would dig up the salt by using car hoods from their vehicles. They would tie both ends of the hood with the rope placing it in the trona, so once the hood collected the salt, the miners would pull out the hood with the salt attached to the hood. Such an interesting way of collecting salt!

Another interesting fact I learned yesterday is that the salt is not edible. This certain salt is usually used to create glass objects and for carbon carbonated medicines. 
Overall, I learned a numerous amount of information today about the Trona Salt Mines. :)

Christy Lopez

Diving at Bird Island

A few shots of nudibranchs and student-branchs under water at Bird Island.

Fin NIbbler

--
God Bless You & Have a Great Day!

Mexican sunset

After dinner view for the study abroad students

Octopus Video

Here is a video from our second day tidepooling in the sandy intertidal environment in Cholla Bay. Octopi are mollusks. They can change their skin color and texture to blend in with their environment, and have beaks on the bottom of their body which they use to eat.
https://vimeo.com/95671854

Isla San Jorge

Yesterday we took a boat trip to Isla San Jorge, also known as Bird Island. The island is made of several rocky islands and is located about 25 miles southeast of Puerto Penasco.

 The tops of these islands from far away may appear to have snow one them. But, the closer you approach Bird Island your nose will tell you otherwise. Each rock is almost completely covered with bird guano (poop). The coat of guano is understandable after seeing the large amount of different bird species on the island. Some of the birds we saw included the blue footed booby, brown booby, and seagulls.

Also, among these birds are a large population of sea lions. About 3,500 sea lions live on Bird Island. During our dive/snorkel we observed the pup sea lions very close. These young pups were very curious about us and enjoyed swimming all around us and some of us were even tugged on by them. Bird Island is the only known place to have a breed of sea lions with blue eyes, normally sea lions will have brown eyes.

There is an abundance of life on Bird Island and now that the island is a government protected habitat. No one is allowed on the island, which helps to preserve the natural habitat for the life on Bird Island. Which is great because it is a very beautiful place! 

Denevette

Snorkleing at Bird Island

Snorkeling was fun awesome, I personally never went snorkeling in the open water, but the experience was terrific. Swimming with the sea lions was awesome, they came two feet in front of my face and just looked at me, while I looked back at them. The sea lions were young also known as "pups", I  got come in contact with some of them while they swam by, feeling their coats and their whiskers. this trip to Puerto Pensco, has been the most memorable trip so far and I plan to take more through Study Abroad.

Bryson

The Trona Salt Mine is located in a protected area of the Northern Gulf of Mexico for this reason mining of the salt must be sustainable. While this makes mining more difficult, there are many reasons to ensure sustainability. This includes placing limits on how, where, and amount of salt mined.

The critical need to ensure the mine is sustainable is influenced by several factors. The mine holds an important economic value for the region; salt is extracted for medicine, glass making, car batteries, and can serve as a saltlick for cattle. Likewise, the protected area of the northern gulf including the salt mine is culturally significant to the tohono o'odham people as this salt flat serves as an area where young men must walk through as a rite of passage. Additionally, the mine and surrounding protected environment are home to a wealth of biodiversity including migratory birds like the Great Blue Herron (which had built nests at the site), coyotes, squirrels, jack rabbits, and other desert animals.

The mine if not exploited is a renewable resource. Estimates say it takes approximately 3 years to replenish areas with mined salt. Formed 1.5 meters under the ground where fresh water from the aquifer is mixed with salt water from the ocean, this process results in the formation of the salt which is mined from the surface. Also found under the ground are small pockets of freshwater which form artisan wells, these wells push fresh water to the surface in certain areas providing food and water for the animals that live in these otherwise harsh conditions.

I enjoyed our trip to the mines learning about this resource and it's role in the economy of the northern gulf was very educational.

Hillary P.

Adventures in Mexico!

Yesterday we took a boat ride out to Bird Island, which is also called Isla San Jorge because it is directly across the Sea of Cortez from the city of San Jorge. I got a little queasy on the boat at first but then settled... REALLY settled, I fell asleep! I woke up as we neared the isles, and immediately the smell of bird guano hit me. The island is literally covered from top to bottom in white bird guano, indicative of all the birds that live on and around the isles (hence the name). We also heard the barking of sea lions. Sea lions are sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and having a sagittal crest and females being smaller with no crest. Everyone had a great time and saw some amazing things diving and snorkling. The sea lions would come right up to us and do flips and turns and nibble fins. After we left the isles, a tasty lunch awaited us. Then, it was another 2 hour trip back to shore, during which I wasn't the only one sleeping this time! We went out for pizza (that was honestly better than a lot of places in the states) and came home after a tiring day to sleep. Today, we conquer the Trona salt mines!

Today we all went to the bird island. Some of us went scuba diving and some went snorkeling. Overall we saw many sea lions & swam with them, we were also able to distinguish some different birds. Ate at the end and came home to rest. Enjoyed today's adventure with everyone. (:                                      Alicia Cabrera Olvera 

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