Bienvenido a CEDO! (Savannah Engelking)

On Sunday we were welcomed to CEDO by their kind staff after a quick pit stop in Gila Bend and Organ Pipe National Monument. We enjoyed a quick lecture by professors Heuring and Cheroske on tide pool safety and then had dinner at El Maracon (The Point).

  

On Monday morning we awoke bright and early to survey the intertidal area at CEDO. I had explored this area many times as a kid and it was amazing to finally learn names for all of the creatures I had wondered about! The intertidal area is the area of the beach that is between high and low tide, and is exposed to the air during low tide. At this location we saw both sand and rocks, indicating it was an “older” intertidal area. Here we were able to observe organisms on the surface of the substrate (epifauna), living in the substrate(infauna), and in-between grains of the substrate (meiofauna); such as sea hares, mollusks, and nematodes. In the field we observed the challenges these organisms face in the intertidal region, such as water loss, varying temperatures, and changes in water salinity due to the constantly changing water levels. 

Later we received our updated itinerary and listened to a lecture on marine invertebrates and marine ecology. We then went shopping in town and had dinner at Sr. Amigo.

On Tuesday we had another morning of tide pooling surveying at Vina del Mar, this was a rocky shore substrate and relatively young intertidal area where we again observed octopi, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea sponges, and various types of sea stars (echinodermata). Later we went kayaking and were given an interpretive tour of Morua Estuary by knowledgeable CEDO staff. We learned about estuarine habitats and their ecological and economic relevance to humans. We then had dinner at Mary’s Seafood where we ate the fresh oysters we had learned so much about at the estuary! 

On Wednesday we made another tide pooling excursion to Cholla Bay and experienced a third type of intertidal area, mud flats. Again we found various creatures, including massive amounts of mollusks, congregating there because of the rich food supply and relatively stable environment that the location provides. We then attended a lecture on the natural and human history of Puerto Penasco given by CEDO staff. We finished off the day with an early dinner at Casa del Capitan, a trip to the new Walmart, and an evening of catching up on homework. 

By the end of this week I am confident we will all be a little better at Spanish, much more knowledgeable in marine biology, and have mastered the weaponization of bug spray! We have an awesome group of ladies (and Dr. C, an honorary gorl)! I couldn’t have hoped for a better group to learn with!