If current trends in climate change and other environmental stressors continue, coral reefs may be seriously damaged over much of their range. One of the biggest problems is coral bleaching, when symbiotic algae living within the colonial animals are tossed out during environmental stress, leaving the coral colorless and without nutrition. If prolonged, bleaching kills coral, with drastic impacts on marine biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and shore protection. Then there are coral diseases, with new reports up 200 percent in the past 5 years in the Caribbean.

You can help marine biologists Thomas McGrath (Corning Community College) and Dr. Garriet Smith (University of South Carolina at Aiken) in the 11th year of their search for better understanding of the reefs and the causes of coral afflictions. On one of the Bahamas’ outermost islands, you’ll systematically survey the reefs to document how healthy they are and what threats they are enduring. You’ll also monitor corals in tide pools, apparently thriving in conditions of extreme temperature and salinity, to understand the limits of their environmental tolerance. McGrath and Smith will use the valuable data you collect to track multiple factors that may contribute to coral decline.

You’ll learn to conduct a number of measurements while snorkeling along transects: surveying hard corals, gorgonians, sponges, and algae; mapping transect sites; measuring water clarity or testing water samples for salinity and pH. On land, you’ll map corals in tide pools and monitor beach profile changes over the seasons. In the evening, you’ll transcribe the day’s data, clean equipment, and enjoy films and lectures. Long-time Earthwatch biologists McGrath and Smith (former leader of Underwater Meadows) continually receive high marks for their patience, humor, and teaching prowess.

Field Conditions: Since you’ll be snorkeling many hours each day, you must be comfortable swimming in coastal open waters. Tide pool surveys require good balance to navigate slippery rocks. After a day in the sun, you’ll relax at the comfortable Gerace Research Center. You’ll sleep two per room with a fan, a sink, and an adjoining shared bathroom and shower, and enjoy simple, filling meals served by the center’s cooks. Share of costs does not cover charter flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Salvador.