Bahía Brillante, Vieques Vibrante: First Week / La Primera Semana

Job #1: collecting water samples with Mark Martin, my boss and the director of community relations and field research at the Vieques Conservation and Historical trust (VCHT). After an exciting drive down one of the bumpiest roads I've ever seen, we arrived at Puerto Mosquito, the famous bioluminescent bay. We unloaded the boat off Mark's car, and set out under the half moon across the water with the chorus of a million chirping frogs cheering us on.

Puerto Mosquito is one of the brightest bioluminescent bays on the planet; as Mark said, the bay contains just the right broth for these organisms to survive due to the way they bay is shaped, the mangroves that surround it, the water quality, and relatively low development in the area.


Pyrodinium bahamense (Source: http://www.kayakingpuertorico.com/pages/biobay.html)

Pyrodinium bahamense is a type of phytoplankton, which are single-celled organisms that (generally) photosynthesize like plants and are too small to see with the naked eye.


The biobay to the far right, just down the road from the town of Esperanza. / La bahía bioluminescente a la derecha, cerca del pueblo de Esperanza (Source: http://gonewiththewindonsafari.blogspot.com/2013/11/moving-on-spanish-virgin-islands.html)

The bad news is that the bay went completely dark in January 2014. When we went, I could just make out the bluish sparkling flecks of light when I swished my hand through the water, but the bay is still far from its previous glowing capacity.

In such a peaceful space, it was hard to imagine the controversy that surrounds the bio bay right now. The issue is extremely complex, but one dilemma I have noticed seems to be between running responsible, profitable tours of the bay, and avoiding potential human-inflicting damage until more is known about why the bay went dark. Eco-tourism is not simple, but as the bay directly and indirectly brings millions of dollars to the island, finding a way to enjoy it and preserve it is essential.

However, scientists do not know whether the darkness was caused by human interaction at all. In fact, there are many possible natural causes of the prolonged darkening event. Some of the factors affecting bioluminescence include:

- hurricanes
- extreme rain
- extreme tides (caused by the moon)
- wind direction if blowing from the bay to the ocean
- climate change (sea level, temperature, pH/ocean acidification, etc.)
- ecotourism, as mentioned; the bay sees about 500 visitors per night during peak season, which could bring extra sediment, debris, and light pollution.

It really is complicated. No definitive conclusions have been drawn yet, only theories, which is why the trust is involved in so much research and in raising awareness about protecting the bay.

The very next day, Puerto Mosquito showed up on my news app--the article made the front page of the New York Times.

A surprise in the New York Times on my phone / Una sorpresa en el New York Times en mi celular

Link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/us/puerto-rico-debates-who-put-out-the-lights-in-a-bay.html

I've been saying for a while now that I'd like to pursue conservation biology. But now I'm really getting my feet wet (pun intended), and getting to learn from and get involved with a real-life conservation issue!

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The first week at the trust, I started getting to know the wonderful people who work here and learning what the VCHT has to offer to the local community, visitors, scientists, and the natural and cultural resources of the island.

A super quick tour of the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust:

A little gardening work / Cuidado de nuestro jardín

The courtyard / El patio

Murals in the courtyard / Murales en el patio

"The Smallest Aquarium in the World" / "El Aquario Más Pequeño del Mundo"

The Bio Bay room, for presentations on bioluminescence / El cuarto del Bio Bay, para presentaciones sobre bioluminiscencia

That week, I also got to help out with the Mini-Manta summer camp (ages 5-8). One of the highlights was snorkeling with the kids, right across the street from the trust. We collected some cool animals for the aquarium, including a poisonous scorpion fish--Mark caught that one!

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What else did I learn week one?

1) The island is absolutely stunning at sunset, which I saw from the deck of a sail boat with some friends. I also learned to tack into the wind, and that Blackbeard made an appearance on Vieques once upon a time.