Programs Blog

Saturday, 28 March 2026

Weather: Sunny, Wind ENE

Docked in St. Croix

Hi everyone!!

Yesterday we had our research symposium, where we presented all of our projects at a local high school, St. Croix Education Complex High School. Emma and I shared our poster on zooplankton abundance and diversity in the open ocean vs. coral reef habitats. Our project involved multiple Neuston net tows at and between islands. Analyzing the samples was one of my favorite parts, getting to look at all the tiny and very cool critters under the microscope in my free time.

One of the biggest takeaways from our research was that zooplankton diversity is higher at reef sites than in the open ocean, which was super interesting to see in our data. There were so many other amazing projects too, ranging from bioacoustics to water chemistry to marine protected areas, so it was really fun to see everything come together. After presenting to the students, we also got to share our work over Zoom with family and friends, which made it feel even more special to wrap up the semester.

Today is our last full day on the ship 🙁 We spent the morning packing up our bunks (so weird to see them empty), played some beach volleyball, and took one last walk around St. Croix. This afternoon we’re finishing up cleaning the ship to get it ready for the next group, and tonight we’ll celebrate with the long-standing tradition of Swizzle. It’s definitely bittersweet saying goodbye, but I’ve met some incredible people, and we already have a reunion in the works—so not a real goodbye 🙂

Shoutouts: Mom, Dad, and my friends—I can’t wait to see you all so soon!! 

Kate Straka, B watch, Cornell University