After my wonderful trip to Cocos Island with the Undersea Hunter Group I was fortunate enough to spend some time at the Universidad de Costa Rica, learning more about the marine research carried out through CIMAR: El Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (Center for Marine Investigations and Limnology) is an interdisciplinary research centre bringing together biologists, oceanographers, physicists, chemists, statisticians, and geologists to gain a broader knowledge of the aquatic environment.
During my stay I helped the Caribbean Coast Marine Productivity project (CARICOMP). The aim of this project is to gain long-term data about various sites in the Caribbean to compare ecosystem production and track changes over time. My tasks mainly involved sorting samples of bot sea grass and mangrove litter to measure biomass. Samples are collected every two months and I was able to accompany the team on a fieldtrip to Cahuita National Park on the Caribbean coast. After a three hour drive and 1 hour hike, we made it to the site. Here we collected core sample from the shallow sea grass beds and environment measurements. It was great to see the Caribbean coast for the first time, with it’s sunny sandy beaches lined with palm trees. This was a stark comparison to the Pacific coast and San Jose, which are currently in the middle of wet season.
CIMAR is in collaboration with the Undersea Hunter Group and the Deep See submersible. The pilots of the submersible collect video during their dives which provides the research centre with valuable information that would be impossible to obtain otherwise. With this, I spent days sorting through video from Cocos Island. I sat in awe of the immense rocky seascapes 200 metres deep; somehow even more dramatic than those that I witnessed diving at the island. There was Jellownose fish, antennariid frogfish, batfish, devil rays, whale sharks and prickly sharks. It was fascinating watching these creatures that not many people have had the opportunity to witness. At the end of each long day I went home dreaming of the deep sea and wondering what else there is to be found down there… a lot, I am sure!
At the Museo de Zoologica (Zoology Museum) of the University, I met Tito Sancho. Tito works with Echinoderms; primarily irregular sea urchins. Tito lives and breathes echinoderms. His passion and enthusiasm for these little creatures was inspiring. He taught me about the basic biology and ecology of Costa Rican echinoderms and added the odd interesting fact. The most intriguing is that there is one species of urchin that brood their young! He also gave me an afternoon session on identifying different echinoderms. I had no idea how difficult this would be. We were looking for small differences in the intricate scaling patterns, the fragile spines, the complex mouth parts. I found it fascinating looking at the specimens under the microscope and Tito’s enthusiasm soon rubbed off on me. I am now quite the echinoderm fan!
Highlights of my stay were the opportunities to meet with the people who have helped organise my visit. Dr Jorge Cortes gave me a wonderful insight into the workings of CIMAR and the research that is and has been carried out at Cocos Island. As the main coordinator of the centre, he is involved with many elements of research and education. He advises the government on environmental issues concerning Costa Rica’s rich and diverse oceans. This was particularly interesting to me as this shows that CIMAR and the University itself has a voice in the country.
I was also able to meet with Shmulik Blum, of Deep See. He told me all about the submersible and the work that they do. He is a real life explorer; with four years as a sub pilot and future expeditions planned with the sub to far reaches of the pacific. I asked him what his most memorable experience at Cocos has been. He went on to describe a rebreather dive at Alycone (South East of the island) where a school of hammerheads passed overhead. ‘Coming out of the water after that, it was like a religious experience’. I could relate to this feeling, as that was the spot where I witnessed the same incredible scene.
During my stay in Costa Rica I have been fortunate enough to visit the Eden of Edens, Cocos Island, and well as learn a great deal about the research at the island and enforcement of the no fishing laws of the National Park. I have also had an overview of the research that is carried out by CIMAR and have found out about the gaps in knowledge that offer potential areas for my future studies.
‘The most important thing in life is to have questions and time. If you have questions, you will find answers’ – Tito Sancho.
Pura Vida!
