Submitted by Maddison Alt on the 2022 winter session program in Hawaii sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
This week, we had a lot of different adventures. We went snorkeling at Waikiki Beach, our third snorkel excursion of the program! It was so interesting to compare the three different snorkeling trips we went on while in O‘ahu. At the first snorkel in Hanauma Bay, the fish and wildlife were very used to humans—the huge schools would lazily swerve to avoid a rouge snorkeler, but continue on their way. At the Kaneohe Bay Reef, which was much farther out in the water, the fish were particularly skittish around people. However, we did see MUCH bigger creatures, like a giant sea turtle! At Waikiki, the fish were much harder to spot. The waves kicked up sand, and the schools would scatter very quickly. It was so interesting to compare the behavior of the fish at each location, and I’m very excited to snorkel on the next island we go to!