USC Beaufort Natural History of Bahamas Blog 2024

    My name is Loren Quintana, a senior student at University of South Carolina Beaufort studying coastal ecology and conservation.       Ever since I solidified my spot on the Natural History of Bahamas course I found myself googling "How to fend off Barracudas", which was comical yet still a real cause for concern, as I've heard through the grape vine that they are creatures not to be taken lightly if encountered.      The Sphyraena barracuda    is a magnificent, shimmery silver fish donned with black spots along the  belly with its strikingly tubular body and famously characteristic prominent jaw filled with razor sharp teeth. The great barracudas find their home to many patch reefs spreading throughout the world as well as mangroves and seagrass beds, which was basically everywhere we snorkeled on the beautiful island of San Salvador, Bahamas!      My first encounter with the  barracuda(s)...

  Hello!  My name is Taylor DeSilva and I am an upcoming junior here at USC Beaufort . I am a student of the   USC Beaufort Marine Biology Program , and have taken the Natural History of the Bahamas maymester course this May, led by Dr. Kim Ritchie and Dr. Joe Staton! This course has been the highlight of my student career so far and it’s a trip that I definitely will never forget!  We did many great and exciting things on this 11 day trip but one of my favorite activities was going out to the drop off. The “wall” or “drop off", is essentially an underwater cliff face that drops a few thousand feet where all you see is the deep ocean blue below you. For some, this might be a living nightmare, but for me it was so incredible to witness. It is quite a swim to get there as the wall is a little under a mile off shore, but there were many fun things to occupy the time and distance along the way. We saw so many fun creatures such as Jaw fish , Queen Conchs and S and dolla...

My SCUBA Background My dad got me a SCUBA diving open water (basic) course voucher for Christmas in 2023. I then waited almost 3 months to utilize it, getting my certification in March; Partially because I am huge procrastinator but mostly because I did not want to swim in freezing lake water in the winter. I did not know what to expect. I had heard SCUBA diving was awesome, and being a natural explorer I was curious to try it. In hindsight I am so glad I did it, because it is my favorite thing in the world. I had about a month to complete a booklet on the "rules"; Mostly how to not kill yourself underwater. After this lengthy period - prime for anxiety buildup - the weekend for swimming finally arrived. First, a classroom lesson early in the morning (even earlier for me, because I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to drive there from campus in Greenville, SC). Later that day, we headed to the Y to put on all of our gear and jump in the pool. We learned some basic skills, t...

The Laughing Gulls of San Salvador Island By Campbell Crum One of my absolute favorite parts of the whole USCB trip to San Salvador Island had to have been the wildlife itself. Not surprising, given that I'm a biology major, but still I've taken so many photos that my MacBook's storage was genuinely shrieking half the time I was there. Thankfully now that I'm home again, I've had the time to look through my photos and reexamine them properly. Here are just some photos from one encounter: A pair of Laughing Gulls. This was at the dock of Harbour Park, which was only a short walk away from the Gerace Center campus.  At first I'd assumed that it was a juvenile gull begging it's mother for food, but since I later saw them mating...I decided to do a google search. Turns out it is common amongst gulls and terns for mating to involve something known as a "feeding ritual."  For some species, telling the sex of an individual bird can be almost impossible, b...

  North Point of San Salvador, Bahamas: In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and landed on one of the richest islands in the Caribbean. San Salvador, unlike any other in the Bahamian territory, remains untouched by large developers and commerce, yet it boasts a rich and thriving ecosystem in many ways. Across its 63 square miles, you’ll find flourishing sea grass beds, mangroves, coral reefs, hypersaline lakes, and rocky keys that contribute to the island's unique natural beauty. One of the most beautiful and diverse parts of the island is northernmost point of the island, which Columbus documented in his journal. Sea grass beds can be found all around the island, but one of the most thriving beds is located along Graham's Harbor. On the surface, it may appear as just a broken dock, but beneath the water, it has become its own habitat for many local species, known as an artificial reef. Within the rubble, you’ll find phototrophs like sea turtle grass ( Tha...

 Welcome to our Blog! Hello! I'm  Dr. Caroline E. Sawyer , Associate Professor of Communication Studies at  USC Beaufort ! This week I'm tagging along with the  USC Beaufort Marine Biology Program  to the Gerace Research Center in San Salvador Bahamas! This course, titled The Natural History of the Bahamas, is lead by Dr. Kim Ritchie and Dr. Joe Staton. The students in this course are Campbell Crum, Taylor DeSilva, Piper Davis, Loren Quintana, Liza Jones, and Rohan Preis. So far, my favorite experience has been learning how to snorkel, learning all about the fish in the Bahamas, and hanging out with these amazing students! Be sure to subscribe and follow along with us to find out all about our adventures!!