February 18, 2014

REEF interns past and present help assist with monitoring populations of invasive lionfish at research sites.
I arrived back in Florida after ten days of field work participation with the Grouper Moon Project in Little Cayman just in time to swiftly enter the field again to conduct surveys for REEF’s Lionfish Research Program.  REEF has several on-going projects for collecting data about controlling the invasion and measuring the impacts of invasive lionfish.  Over the past week I have spent two days free-diving for assessments on local lionfish populations, as well as diving over three days to collect data for a study monitoring removals.  Part of this data set includes my master’s thesis work, which is measuring the movement and settlement aggregation of lionfish on coral reef habitats.   I am using a tagging method that helps detect new lionfish from previously observed and recorded lionfish at my study sites.  Not only is it a challenge to net these clever, angry lionfish, but holding one long enough to implant a sewing needle through its caudal tail without getting pricked on one of the venomous spines is sporty to say the least.  This week the lionfish team and I successfully tagged eleven-and-a-half lionfish.  I admit, it’s a lot of fun, but these days in field days are long and spent focused on getting a job well done.  I’m just glad the weather has been offering sunny days and warm water near 77 degrees to assist with keeping me productive while I’m out there on the ocean.