Exploring the Caribbean – MSc Thesis on Saba
Hey there!
For my MSc thesis, I had the unforgettable opportunity to travel to a teeny tiny rock (13 km2), in the middle of the blue – Saba. Though I had never heard of this gem before, I am super grateful to have gotten the chance to do my MSc thesis here. It is part of the Dutch Caribbean and hosts the highest point of the Netherlands, called Mount Scenery, and other beautiful parts of nature that you won’t find so easily in the European Netherlands.
What did I do, what kept me busy? The answer is sea urchins! Maybe you’ve heard about them before; the spikey balls you’d rather not step on. And in the news, they are more often portrayed as the invasive bad-guy devouring kelp forests than our lost hero. But in the Caribbean, we are desperately looking for ways to repopulate reefs, as sea urchin populations crashed after mass mortality caused by a Scuticociliate. Up to 99% of the population dies within weeks after infection. But ecosystems need these urchins to stay in balance, because they are important grazers on coral reefs. Since these die-offs, grazing pressure has decreased tremendously, and algae outcompete corals.
“As a result, there is a whole shift in the ecosystem, from coral to macro algae dominance, with all its cascading effects on the whole ecosystem.”
They are now working on cultivating sea urchins in the lab—starting from gametes, to larvae, then juveniles, and finally adult urchins. But while they grow under controlled conditions, these lab-raised urchins are pampered like royalty, which leaves them poorly prepared for life in the wild.
“Within just a few days of being restocked, nearly all of them—talking hundreds —are eaten, and none survive.”
In an attempt to increase the survival of these princess and princesses, we trialled a “caging period,” giving urchins time to toughen up before entering the real world. Think stronger spines and better sheltering behaviour.
For this experiment, we went into the water quite often, mostly by boat. I had only dived in Dutch waters before, making this a whole different experience. Saba is known for rough sea conditions, which made going in and out of the water quite a challenge on its own. I even had my first puking incident while diving – hooray! But that did not stop us from going into the water as often as possible. The work we performed was diverse: data collection, coral nursery maintenance, restocking urchins and urchin monitoring on reefs.
Something that I will never forget is when we dropped cinder blocks into the water (which functioned as anchors for our cages) and had to relocate them on the seafloor. For this, we took off our fins, picked up the cinder blocks and started walking over the seafloor. It felt as if I was walking on the moon! It must have been silly to watch. On one dive site, there was also a super curious nurse shark – Tammy – well known among the frequent divers. Tammy was always there to check out what we were doing, and if Tammy got the chance, he would bump into you with his snout.
But besides that, you may wonder what life is like on an island that small. And though it is only 13 km2, I did anything but sit still.
“The island is rich in diverse habitats, and nature is stunning, both underwater and above water.”
It hosts 13 trails and 30 dive spots around the island, all with their unique characteristics. I quickly made friends with other interns, and every week we went hiking and snorkelling. Most of our time was spent outside, with occasional wild camping. This really made us experience the island on another level. Besides diving for the project, we also made some fun dives. My favourite dive spot was Man ‘O War: two stone pillars formerly formed by volcanic activities. It is overgrown with corals, sponges, and loads of animals that call this place their home.
Because of its rocky cliffs and absence in beaches, there is no mass tourism, keeping the island pristine. It was a blast to bond with locals and hear their stories about life on Saba. Everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming, making me feel part of the community in an instant. It was not too difficult to meet them, as hitchhiking was our main way of transport, bringing you in contact with new people every day (don’t tell ‘m, but when hitchhiking with the police, I did not wear my seatbelt hehe).
“Grocery shopping was also a way to get to know others, as fresh produce was only delivered once a week! Making the supermarket the hotspot that day.”
There is so much more to say about this beautiful spot, but for now, the pictures will tell a 1000 stories. If you want to know more about what it is to do a thesis here, feel free to reach out!
– Lotte Dings
