{"id":63,"date":"2018-09-04T10:54:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T10:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/?p=63"},"modified":"2022-05-21T18:53:36","modified_gmt":"2022-05-21T18:53:36","slug":"palau-day-4-snorkeling-in-the-mangrove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/2018\/09\/04\/palau-day-4-snorkeling-in-the-mangrove\/","title":{"rendered":"Palau Day 4: Snorkeling in the Mangrove"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

On our second day in Ollei, our class snorkeled through nearby mangroves. A mangrove is a tree or group of trees and shrubs that grow in saltwater. They provide many ecosystem services to coastal communities such as: protection from storms, regulation of water quality, provision of breeding and rearing habitats for many species, and supply wood and other forest products to local populations. Mangroves are also a source of energy for nearby ecosystems such as seagrass beds and coral reefs. They also act as a major carbon sink.<\/p>\n

Below is a photo-diary of todays events!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The mangrove forest we went to was a short hike from our campsite along the North shore of Babeldaop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The path we took to our destination during low tide. In a few hours it would all be underwater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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During low tide it is common to see small organisms traveling across the sand. Above pictured is a mudskipper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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At various spots along the hike to our snorkel spot, Bryan, Scott, and Ann stopped to give us more information regarding mangrove land use and ecosystem services.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This is the sprout of a mangrove tree that drops when its ready to be planted. The top brown piece helps it float farther away and eventually pops off, allowing the sprout to sink and form a root.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pictured is the roots of a Bngaol Mangrove, most common in the area near our campsite. These crop roots shoot our horizontally and spread far and wide from the base of the tree.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Some mangrove species have an interesting adaptation that locals call a “sacrificial leaf”. Living in salt water can be tricky for plants since they require fresh water. Mangroves can send the majority of the salt they take into a few select leaves. These leaves turn yellow and eventually fall off the tree and back into the ocean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pictured above are students snorkeling in the seagrass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Above is a crocodile fish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Portuguese Man o’ War seen while snorkeling. It was scooped up in a mask to prevent any stinging.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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On the way back to the village after snorkeling, we found some discarded net. We brought it back with us so that it was not littering the mangrove anymore.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After we returned home from snorkeling we had lunch. After lunch, most of us hopped on our kayak’s and a raft to return to a mangrove and learn more about women’s fisheries, specifically clamming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After clams have been successfully harvested, they are brought back home to be cleaned, shelled, and prepared to eat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Some of the days events were cut short due to inclement weather. Sudden winds and heavy rains are common in tropical environments and it served as a learning tool for how mangroves can provide shelter during storms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stay tuned for the next blog post!<\/p>\n

– Nathan Hakzen and Jesy Rodriguez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On our second day in Ollei, our class snorkeled through nearby mangroves. A mangrove is a tree or group of trees and shrubs that grow in saltwater. They provide many ecosystem services to coastal communities such as: protection from storms, regulation of water quality, provision of breeding and rearing habitats for many species, and supply … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Palau Day 4: Snorkeling in the Mangrove”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111508,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","hentry","category-palau2018","category-fw391palau","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/palau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}