Hey everyone,
Here’s an A-Z list describing this cruise (and life on the Alucia) so far!
A: (Dr.) Andrew Babbin (Nitrogen expert and logo creator extraordinaire) (Dr.) Amy Apprill (my advisor, co-chief scientist on this cruise, Coral-microbe aficionado), Dr. Ashlee Lillis (reef whisperer)
B: Bubby (dive master on the Alucia crew)
C: (Dr.) Colleen Hansel (DISCO designer, superoxide advocate), Cuba, Coral
D: DISCO, Delicious food, Dark N’ Stormy
E: Elegant sunrises and sunsets
F: Filtering seawater, Flow cytometry (used to count the number of microbial cells within a sample)
G: Goliath Groupers
H: Helipad (location of nitrogen incubation experiments via Tyler and Andrew), Hydrophones (used to measure sound production on Reefs)
I: Ichthyology (study of fish)
J: Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen)
K: Kalina (MIT-WHOI PhD student, DISCO queen)
L: Leonardo Espinosa (fish survey expert and champion scuba diver), Living the Life aquatic
M: (Dr.) Maickel Armenteros (team leader, Meiofauna Master), Metabolomes, Moonlight
N: Natalie (talented chef on the Alucia), Nitrogen, Northwind (smaller dive boat)
O: Octocorals (prevalent on reefs in Jardines de la Reina)
P: Poker with skittles
Q: Quadrat (survey tool used to describe the distribution of plants and animals in the environment. Maickel uses a Quadrat to complete his surveys)
R: Reefs
S: Scuba diving, Salsa-dancing lessons, Stars, Superoxide production
T:Tyler Tamasi (MIT-WHOI Joint Program student; CRIB expert), Taco Tuesday, Tiburones, Tiki-Toss game, Trichodesmium, Teamwork
U: Underwater
V: Very epic cruise, Vacuum pump (used for SPE)
W: Women in science
X: Xenial relationship between the American and Cuban scientists, the Alucia crew, and the media
Y: Yellowtail snapper
Z: Zooxanthellae (microalgae that live inside corals)
Thanks for reading!