by Katrina Lohan

Our first sampling site was Punta Caracol. We were able to find three oyster species attached to the mangrove roots at this site, including Ostrea sp., Crassostrea sp. and Isognomon sp. The salinity was about 30 parts per thousand, so well within the acceptable range for the three protozoan parasites that we are hoping to find.

I spent some time on the boat, but I desperately wanted to get in the water. Thus, when we had trouble finding Ostrea sp., I eagerly offered to jump in and snorkel around in the mangrove roots to look for more individuals. While I wasn’t too successful finding that species in the areas I was looking, I greatly enjoyed getting into the mangrove trees to search for them! I saw xanthid crabs, sponges and lots and lots of barnacles! We did eventually find enough individuals from all three species, at which point we headed back to the lab to process all the oysters.

Being in the water was definitely the best part of the day!

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