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I recently had the opportunity to spend six days diving in Bonaire. This island in the Dutch Caribbean is known for its passion for protecting marine life. Before you make your way into the water off the island, you are required to attend a briefing that stresses your responsibility in protecting this ecosystem. Those of us who are scuba divers understand how fragile this environment can be. It is constantly under attack. When we venture underwater we get to encounter so many different, mysterious and fascinating creatures. Here are a few of these amazing fish that I saw in Bonaire and who are counting on our protection. One of the more fascinating fish that we rarely encounter is the seahorse. You are hard pressed to call this a fish. These fish are not too big or as colorful as other tropical fish and their odd shaped body seems almost mythical. It had been over 18 years since I last encountered a seahorse. They are sometimes difficult to spot as they blend in with the coral on which they anchor themselves. Their tail wraps around the branches and they sway gently in the water. There is an excitement that comes over all of the divers as they spot a seahorse. We are privileged to be there with them and our desire to protect them is reinforced. Frogfish are another odd shaped underwater fish. These fish come in various sizes and colors and are a master of camouflage as they sit patiently on the coral or rocks. You need to look close to spot their eyes and mouth. They wait for their next meal to swim by and strike with a quick dart. Their surprising speed of attack is at odds with their seemingly sedentary position. Finding a frogfish is not easy. We strain our eyes through our mask to catch a glimpse of that unique shape and once again realize they are depending on us to protect them from the threats to the oceans. And then we have the smooth trunkfish. These small triangular shaped box fish flitter around the reef searching for their next meal. They dart left and right as we approach. Sometimes, they can be a little curious and look at themselves in the dome port of my camera. Their unique stout, lips and body shape always catch my eye. I wonder what they think of me when they spot me swimming closer. Do they know that I am not a threat or are they afraid of what I might do? I want to protect them but those who haven’t seen them underwater might not understand that they need our protection. Bonaire is labeled as “A Divers Paradise” and they take seriously the measures to preserve and protect their tropical reefs. We as scuba divers also take protecting underwater life seriously. That is why, we believe that by developing our youth as scuba divers we help to create this new generation of ocean stewards who will passionately protect our oceans and everything that thrives in this remarkable environment.
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Being dyslexic, I was never naturally good at science and math in school because I wasn’t being taught in a style that worked for me. I am a visual learner and not being able to physically see how what I was learning in my “real life” hindered my academic career. When I got scuba certified in high school, I was given these visual representations because scuba is physics, chemistry, and biology all in one. I remember in a physics lab I had in high school, there was an equation referring to Boyles Law which is a topic related to diver physiology and safety. As a kid, when you see something you are familiar with and recognize, you will be much more confident going into it. Now as a PhD candidate in marine biology and genetics, I can say that the key to succeeding in math and science is simply thinking that you can do it. I was a math tutor at Lincoln Middle School for a while and the biggest problem I saw was kids don’t think they can’t do math. They are then embarrassed to try and fail so they don’t even try, and it turns into a cycle. Scuba became a tool to almost overcome my dyslexia because there’s no “cure” for it. It just takes working a little bit harder and having this passion makes working harder natural. When it came time to apply for college, I knew I wanted to study marine science and wrote my college essay about scuba diving bringing out a personal and academic passion which helped me overcome this learning disability barrier. When I went to the University of Florida, I ended up being a teaching assistant my freshman year of college up until my senior year because they had a 3-credit scuba diving course. Because I entered college as a dive master (someone who can aid in teaching scuba), I was given this experience early on which helped me stand out when applying to graduate school. Science can be hard and especially now that I focus mainly on genetics I’m not in the water as much. But knowing that the big picture of my research is going to help marine conservation, which is protecting my passion, is what pushes me through even the long nights studying. |
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