Heather Spence, Marine Biologist » Stay Tuned Network

Ecological Acoustic Recorder Deployed in Mexico

Heather — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:45:49 +0000

Mexico Bioacoustics Project deployed the Ecological Acoustic Recorder (EAR) off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula! Check out some pictures below!

Thank you to the deployment team, from Project Domino, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the Mexican Government (CONANP), and the many scientists who collaborated with me to get my project this far. More than two years of planning and fundraising have been necessary to reach this major milestone.

This Project, to study the sounds of animals, including crustaceans, fish and marine mammals, is a step toward developing new ways to monitor the health of coastal ecosystems. It is part of my vision to establish an international center for sustainability studies in Cancun, Mexico.

The Bioacoustics Project is made possible by Michelle’s Earth Foundation, in partnership with Oceanwide Science Institute.

You can help!
-Offer your special skills to the project (translation, diving, computer, acoustics, website, etc.)
-Suggest or comment, by email or on my website.
-Encourage others to get involved.
-Make a donation to the Bioacoustics Project through Michelle’s Earth Foundation.
-Listen to your world, tell me what you hear.

The EAR was deployed off of Isla Contoy, an island near Cancun, Mexico that is protected by the federal government as a bird sanctuary. This area is a bridge between the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean/MesoAmerican Reef System – highly diverse, and an important migration route.

Isla Contoy, view from observation tower

Ecological Acoustic Recorder, being prepared for deployment

Deployment team inspects potential deployment area

Moving the mooring for the EAR

Ecological Acoustic Recorder, secured to mooring on sea floor

Returning after successful EAR deployment

Photo credits: Don Hodges, Patricia Gray, Heather Spence

Stay Tuned Network

Heather — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:34:23 +0000

Now there is a facebook group set up for the Stay Tuned Network! I hope this will give us another forum for discussion. Let me know what you think and…. stay tuned.

Stay Tuned Network Facebook Group

STN October 14

Heather — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:23:45 +0000

The STAY TUNED network:
News, events, research, opinions and opportunities in coastal conservation, sustainability, soundscapes, nature, and music

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October 14, 2008

1) Why did the crab cross the road?
2) Invasive species – two wrongs don’t make a right
3) Concerts for causes

WHY DID THE CRAB CROSS THE ROAD?

The crab Cardisoma guanhumi, commonly called “Cangrejo azul” or “Blue Land-Crab,” can be found along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, down to South America. They grow to be pretty big, with their body the size of your fist. When they aren’t out foraging, mating, or migrating, they hide away in their burrows. However, they can be drawn from their burrow to investigate the sound of falling fruit and leaves (C. guanhumi is sensitive to very small vibrations, 10-1500Hz 70dB). While not much is known about their lifespan, they are hypothesized to live longer than other crabs based on the fact that they grow more slowly. (*stay tuned* for more on animal time scales!)

So why did the crab cross the road?
During the rainy season, at the full moon, the females mass migrate to the shore to release their eggs into the ocean. The larvae when they hatch develop in the ocean, and return to shore as juveniles to continue the life cycle. In developed areas such as Cancun, Mexico, roads and other construction block passage of the crabs. So there is a community protection campaign to help the crabs cross the road! Every night during the peak migration days in September and October local kids and their parents go out with buckets and flashlights, helping the crabs. Having just passed the full moon, tonight there should be a lot of crabs!

For the nerds out there, classification of the crab -

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Malacostraca Order: Decapoda Suborder: Pleocyemata Family: Gecarcinidae Genus: Cardisoma Species: Cardisoma guanhumi

(more info: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cardisoma_guanhumi.html; http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Cardis_guanhu.htm)

INVASIVE SPECIES – TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT

Invasive species are bad…. right? So why would we offer them as solutions to environmental problems, such as introducing non-native oysters to remedy the problems associated with the decline in the native oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay? Especially when we have no way of knowing what the long term and widespread impacts would be?

Despite pressures to introduce invasive species, on purpose, as a “solution” to environmental problems – some scientists and conservation groups are making a clear case for, instead, supporting the natural environment and the native species.

Check out this article: http://www.prweb.com/releases/Chesapeake_Bay/Foundation/prweb1471534.htm

Please feel free to post comments and opinions about this issue through my website blog, or e-mail them to me and I will post them (anonymously, if you like)

CONCERTS FOR CAUSES

Music moves people, and concerts are a popular way of gaining attention, and funds, for causes.

On Oct 22, in Cancun, I will be playing with Orquesta Vivace and Coro de Cancun in a concert supporting the Mexican national “teleton.”

In November, I am charged with organizing the music for the inauguration of National Conservation Week. I’m thinking to try to get the kids who wrote songs for earth day to come and perform, as well as bring together various singer and musician friends.
It was, in fact, at last year’s National Conservation Week event that I first got in touch with the community of musicians here, when I talked to the flute player and he said they were looking for a cellist!

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Let me know what you think, and if you know someone who would like to be included in the network.
Thanks!

www.HeatherSpence.net
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“stay tuned!”