Sea & Learn what all the noise is about!  Our 5th annual event is being organized now.  This years's guest lecturers will be profiled next week with a preliminary schedule soon to follow. 

A sneak preview of some of the topics include West Indian snakes, seahorses, parrots, whale sharks, orchids, bioluminescence, orchids, chemical ecology on the reef and a presentation about The Saba Bank project (see the news story on this page). 

Scroll down to see what's new with our program.  As well, you can still link to great stories from our prior year programs further down the page.  Stay tuned for bi monthly updates as we work on this year's event. 

--October 2006--  

Sharks are not man’s enemy

SABA—Sea and Learn 2006 came to a close Monday night at Scout’s Place with a final talk by shark expert Dean Fessler to a capacity crowd at Scout’s Place. Fessler is Education Director for the Shark Research Institute and an expert on White Sharks, which he has studied in their habitats around the world.

Fessler said that the “Jaws” movie which came out in the 1970s had portrayed a false picture of the shark’s alleged predatory behaviors In the many slides Fessler  had taken at a well-known white shark area in Australia, he illustrated shark responses that indicate it is only exploring and not functioning as a predator. He explained that the shark first seizes his prey with the lower set of teeth to determine what it is, and then comes down with the upper jaw and the prey is immediately swallowed. In Fessler’s pictures of the open maw, it is clear that the upper teeth are retracted as it acquainted itself with cage bars and boat engines.

New Saba National Marine Park Director Jan den Dulk presented a summary of the month’s Sea and Learn activities and pointed out their relevance to sustaining nature on Saba. He concluded with an outline of the activities and agenda of the Marine Park. 

The evening ended with the awards for the kids’ photography contest, “Focus on Nature.” Several tourists were asked to perform as judges, and all the photographs were shown to the crowd. First prize winner was Tim van der Velde with his photo of a Saba crab. Tim won a digital camera and he will also choose nature books for the public library for Sea and Learn 2006. Second place was shared by Kendrick Lake with his picture of Mt. Scenery’s rain forest and Shaigan Marten who captured a pair of Saba’s endemic Anole Lizard. Third prizes went to Dahlia Hassell and Jelle van der Velde.

Scientist finds fresh-water bugs on Saba

SABA—Scientists David Bass searched Saba for insects in fresh water pools during his stay as a Sea and Learn lecturer—an interesting task since the island has no permanent pools or rivers. Instead, Bass, who is Professor of Biology at the University of Central Oklahoma, collected samples from some abandoned cisterns, small decorative ponds, and a rainwater pool on the Sandy Cruz trail. He was his third research tour to Saba

Bass has added 143 species to the list of fresh water invertebrates documented in the Caribbean, bringing the total to  329. He has visited about 250 sites on 15 Caribbean islands over the last dozen years and published extensively. One of his discoveries was the first documented Caribbean fresh water sponge, found on Barbados.

The object of this Caribbean research is to add to scientific knowledge in an area of scientific study that has been underrepresented, and has no inter-island comparisons. Bass is researching basic questions like insect habitat, their abundance, and reproductive behaviors. 

Bass emphasized that part of his mission was to leave behind useful information in the countries where he had worked to honor the hospitality that enables his research. By a deeper understanding of species and their vulnerability, science can be the basis for island polices on nature protection, for example.

Bass reported to a Sea and Learn audience at the Ecolodge that he had found several known species in the Sandy Cruz seasonal pool, such s a water flea and two types of beetles. He also found larvae in an old cistern in the abandoned village of Cow Pasture. Many of these inspect species play a central role in the fresh water habitat, as they eat algae and bacteria, and improve the quality of the water. “Little things run the world,” said Bass about these minute creatures without a backbone.

Peanut Gallery sponsors Sea and Learn Fund Raiser

SABA—The Peanut Gallery of Windwardside sponsored an exhibit of nature photos with a reception Sunday night in the Lambee Place Court Yard. Local photographers and Sea and Learn lecturers took all photos, and sales proceeds are earmarked for the Sea and Learn Foundation. Sea and Learn is a month-long nature program that brings international scientists to Saba.

Peanut Gallery owner/operator Judy Stewart matted and hung over 50 color shots from 20 naturalists. She said the only criterion was that it had to be a nature shot, which led to a great deal of diversity. Many of the photographers are world travelers, and the exhibit includes scenes from Madagascar, South America, Egypt, South African, and other Caribbean Islands. There were a few landscapes, such as the beautiful Saba sunsets captured by Deidre Chaney, but most were close-ups of plants and animals. One of the most sensational was lecturer Matthew Potenski’s aerial photo of a Great White shark eating the carcass of a huge Blue Whale, which was an interesting contrast to Anne Lane’s picture of the world’s smallest Chameleon perched at the end of a human thumb.

The photos are on exhibit at the Peanut Gallery until November 4.

Saba's Orchid Research Center Updates Sea & Learn audience
Story courtesy Suzanne Nielsen, St. Maarten Daily Herald

SABA—Orchid expert Stewart Chipka of the Saba Orchid Research Center (SORC) updated a Sea and Learn audience Wednesday evening at Tropics Cafe on the Center’s activities.

Chipka recalled that when he first came to Saba in 2003, only 10 orchids were identified in the literature as being found on Saba. Chipka made several subsequent  trips to Saba to investigate further whether there were more orchid, under what conditions they live, and how they are pollinated. He has been successful in flasking and replanting some Saba orchids.  

Chipka became so enthusiastic about his work that early this year, he retired to the island, and created SORC. SORC is currently housed in a Windwardside Cottage. There is a green house and an information center. When the new research building is completed on Chipka’s property in lower Hell’s Gate, SORC will move to that location.  

In the meantime, Chipka has increased the naturalized orchid inventory to 24 orchid species. Chipka has been especially intrigued by the ubiquitous Saba’s Ladies Lash orchid, which he has found in eight different colors. The copper-colored variety is especially interesting since Chipka has determined that it takes it color not from its genetic makeup, but from the chemistry of the lichen to which it attaches. 

SORC’s main focus points  are to continue enlarging the orchid  inventory and create a transect along the All Too Far trail for on-going monitoring. He proposed that this microhabitat might serve to interest other scientists in coming to Saba for research. In addition, he will be working on new pollination studies, and gathering more information on climate and solar radiation. A SORC weather station has already been installed in Windwardside.

Stewart cautioned the public to respect scientific studies. He said that he had tagged 450 plants in the wild for on going studies, but at least half of them had been removed from their site.

Sea and Learn lecturer proposes scientific study on Saba crabs 
Story courtesy Suzanne Nielsen, St. Maarten Daily Herald

SABA—Sea and Learn lecturer Gayle Pugh, from the National Science Foundation, proposed a scientific inventory of the Saba Black Mountain crab to an audience at Tropics Café Tuesday night. Pugh is Science Assistant for the Biological Oceanography Program at the NSF. 

Pugh has specialized in studying blue crab habitat and management strategies in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, After explaining crab morphology to a large audience of tourists and Sabans, Pugh outlined a project in the Chesapeake Bay which targeted increasing the crab population. The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab industry lands 50% of the US harvest and is a huge part of the state of Maryland economy. 

Crabs may also have an economic future on Saba, Pugh proposed. She had occasion to go out in the evening with Sabans who harvest the Saba Black Mountain. At one point this land crab was part of the local diet and occasionally available in Saba restaurants. There are only a few gatherers now, however, amongst whom some young high school students. The crabs are consumed within the family or sold to St. Maarten, with a reported price of $2/per crab. 

Pugh proposed that the local high school undertake a scientific study of the local crab and add to the official knowledge base, since there is very little known about it. She suggested that the information could be posted on the school’s new web site. She explained that Saba crab hunters told her there were crab areas that were untouched because they are difficult to reach at night, when crabs are hunted. Pugh said that if these areas were at all accessible, they would be good research locales since the crab population would be undisturbed. 

The scope of the project would include basic field observations, reproductive cycles, growth rates related to food supply, molting behavior and characteristics, habitat requirements for males, females, and juveniles, and the habitat range on Saba. The study should also include interviews with the stake holders and market survey work. 

Caribbean Grouper aggregation saved
Story and top photo courtesy Suzanne Nielsen, St. Maarten Daily Herald; other photos courtesy of Sea & Learn volunteer Shelley Lundvall.

SABA—Sea and Learn lecturer Scott Heppell, assistant professor of fisheries at Oregon State University, told a packed house at Tropics Café on Tuesday evening of an intervention in the Cayman Islands that saved a Nassau grouper spawning aggregation. The Nassau Grouper is a top-level predator, up to three-feet and length and 55 pounds. The fish come together for the purposes of mating in the during winter months in the period of the full moon. 

Heppell said that almost all of the known Nassau Grouper aggregations in the Cayman area have been depleted by over fishing. Groupers only mate in aggregates, and once an aggregation is depleted, it does not renew.. The Nassau Grouper is a protected species on many lists. 

In 2001 a new aggregation was discovered at the west end of Little Cayman, and about 2,000 fish were harvested that year and again the next. It was estimated that this was about two-thirds of the adult population. Heppell said that so many fish were taken that the small island could not sell them fast enough, and many fish just rotted. 

The Cayman Islands Department of the Environment understood the gravity of the situation and moved to stop the fishing in 2003 for eight years while a study is conducted. Heppell has worked with the Cayman government to conduct a data-gathering study with tracks the fish movements, as well as collecting information on gender, maturity, size, and weight. The project tagged 50 fish with acoustic transmitters so that their exact movements could be tracked around Little Cayman, which was planted with 18 hydrophones. 

This information will be used to persuade governments that legislation is necessary to protect this species, which is a keystone in the health of the entire reef. 

On Wednesday, Heppell went out with the Saba Sea Scouts program on snorkeling trip to identify fish. He will give a second lecture on other aspects of groupers at a lecture at the Eco-Lodge Saturday night, 5:30pm. 

Sorton opens fourth annual Sea and Learn
Story and photo courtesy Suzanne Nielsen, St. Maarten Daily Herald

SABA—With the blowing of the conch by Percy ten Holt, the Fourth Annual Sea and Learn event was opened Sunday evening by Lt. Governor Sydney Sorton. 

Sorton remarked that Sea and Learn was an important vehicle to promote sustainable nature and tourism and thus support the development of the island. Sorton thanked the Prins Bernhard Funds with its donation of NAf 15,000, various private donars, and the many sponsoring island businesses. 

Sea and Learn Foundation President Lynn Costenaro welcomed a crowd of about 90 to the Tropics Café pool area, where the event was held. She said that four years ago there were five sponsoring businesses and there are now more than two dozen. She introduced the evening speaker, Dr. Emma Harrison, who is working as a Research Officer on Statia with the satellite-tracking program for turtles. 

Dr. Harrison introduced the four types of sea turtles found in the Caribbean and how they are captured during the nesting period and the satellite transmitter attached. She pictured the trajectories of four turtles that have been tracked since the program began on Statia. She also showed the results of a similar program in Bonaire. 

The information gathered actually precisely maps the turtles’ geographic range, breading and foraging areas. Dr. Harrison said that the results of these studies is needed to protect the sea turtles, all of which are on the endangered lists. The monitoring information shows that Leatherback Turtles, for example, cross the Oceans for huge distances in areas of heavy shipping and fishing traffic. “When we have data, we can talk to policy makers with concrete facts,” she explained. Armed with this information, governments can work towards providing safer environments for these.

Sea and Learn continues through the month of October. Schedule information is available on www.seaandlearn.org or from 8:30am – 3:30 pm at the new Sea and Learn information tent at Lambee’s Place in Windwardside.

Sea and Learn sponsors youth photo contest
Story and photo courtesy Suzanne Nielsen, St. Maarten Daily Herald

 SABA—Sea and Learn will sponsor a new youth photo contest this year. First prize has a value of $350, and will include a digital camera for personal use and the donation of nature books in the student’s name to the Saba Public Library. Winning photographs will also be displayed in the Library after the contest closes.

The program is aimed at Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) students interested in taking a closer look at nature through a camera lens. The Leos Group of the International Lions Chapter is helping to coordinate the event and encourage students to enter the contest. 

To compete, students must take their pictures during a Sea and Learn nature Field Trip. The Sea and Learn camera will be available for students who do not have their own camera. All photos will be downloaded immediately after the field trip and archived in student portfolios on the Sea ant Learn computer.

Students are not required to attend all Field Trips, but the more they attend, the more opportunities they have to add to their photo portfolio. At the end of the month, students must choose their five best photos, which will be submitted to an independent photojournalist, who will judge the winning photo. 

Sea and Learn volunteer Tom Franzson, a skilled amateur photographers, held a camera workshop for interested students Saturday morning under the Sea and Learn tent at Lambee Place. Franzson showed the young people how the camera works and what subject matter makes for an interesting photo. 

Sea and Learn is the nature awareness program put on every October by local businesses for tourists and the general public. A large component of the program is including both the elementary and high school in various activities and field trips with nature experts who share their expertise. 

Saba featured in travel magazines
Story and photo courtesy Suzanne Nielsen, St. Maarten Daily Herald

  SABA—The island has received coverage in two important travel magazines, “Caribbean Travel and Life” and” Islands Magazine,” just published at the New Year.

  In Caribbean Travel and Life, Saba is the lead article in the cover series entitled, “25 Secret Islands.” Author Bill Belleville was on Saba last October for the month-long Sea and Learn series of nature lectures. Sea and Learn is dedicated to educating tourists and interested parties in the unique ecology of the island by inviting scientists to share their knowledge of specific species such as sharks, butterflies, and plant life. The scientists also conduct research on land and in the Saba Marine Park.

The article on Saba, entitled “Head in the Clouds” recounts how easy it is to become enchanted on Saba. Belleville recounts his adventures with local ecologist Tom van’t Hof on a walk through the island’s elfin forest. “I have traveled widely through the Caribbean, but Saba is inimitable,” says Bellville.

The “Islands” article is in the section “day trips,” and reprises a trip from St. Maarten to the unspoiled queen for a morning of hiking and an afternoon of diving.

Link here to the great stories of 2005 

Enjoy News Stories since Sea & Learn's inception:
Sea & Learn News 2004 & Older

Discovery of new octopus behavior on Saba introduced at Grand Finale Evening
Story by Suzanne Nielsen, The Daily Herald.  Photos by Suzanne Nielsen and Roger Hanlon

SABA—Marine biologist researcher Dr. Roger Hanlon discovered octopus behavior on Saba that has only been observed and documented at one other location – the Pacific -- in the world. 

The Saba octopus disguises itself as a flounder in its shape and swimming habits. The Saba discovery will be analyzed and written up for publication in a scholarly journal and compared to the flounder behavior of an Indonesian mimic octopus, which has no scientific name yet. 

The Saba mimic octopus species is identified as “Octopus defilippi:” In its flounder configuration, it is only about 3-4 inches long. Its coloration and size make it very difficult to spot. “This is a very rare behavior,” said Hanlon, who is senior scientist at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.

Hanlon’s research crew spent over 50 man-hours in the shallow water off Fort Bay hoping to film and photograph the illusive behavior. Last week, the group was rewarded and captured excellent footage of the small creature folding back its arms and moving over the convoluted seabed only one-quarter of an inch above the substrate--just like the flounders prevalent in these waters. This film work debuted to a delighted audience at the final Sea and Learn public session earlier this week. Hanlon’s world-class photography has been used on a Discovery channel nature series narrated by British director Lord Richard Attenborough. 

The Sea and Learn octopus research project involved the Saba Marine Park in the morning and interested locals on dive boats in the afternoon. He also gave public lectures on general octopus camouflage techniques and held several sessions with Sacred Heart elementary school pupils. 

Hanlon’s first trip to Saba in December 2004 served as a reconnaissance trip for his first octopus monitoring work in the Caribbean. He identified five species of octopus around Saba. After hearing Hanlon’s lecture about the Pacific mimic octopus, local diver/photographer Michael Chammaa captured a picture of a small local octopus disguising itself as a flounder. He showed this to Hanlon, who immediately made this the focus of this year’s return trip—to provide the first case of octopus mimicry in the Atlantic Ocean 

Hanlon has alerted local divers and dive masters to watch for these behaviors and to contact him with their observations and eventual photos so that he can add this information to his growing database. 

There's no reason you can't participate as well.  Remember, Sea & Learn on Saba is fun, it's free and it's for everyone.  For more information or a reservation, email:  info@seaandlearn.org or contact one of our sponsors. 

Read more from our previous events in 2004 and 2003: