Vester Marine Station

   This last week at Vester marine station was filled with a diverse schedule combined with a unique environment. The weather was perfect everyday and I think we were able to really maximize our time. My favorite experiences were doing some basic archaeological sampling at mound key and shark fishing. While we sampled on Tuesday, we were especially lucky this week because Thursday June 4, 2015 was the 502 year anniversary of Juan Ponce de León's first encounter with the Calusa Indians at the very site we were sampling. There were reporters taking pictures for an article in the paper and a short video of our work, it was almost too good to be true. The weather was overcast enough to keep us out of the heat and our samples were full of shells, some I knew about from our trip on the weatherbird some I had never seen or identified before. We learned about the use of the lighting whelk as tools and some quahogs may have been used for bowls or cups. It was amazing to pick up shells that the native Americans were using for everyday purposes 502 years ago almost to the day. My particular group sampled at the bottom of the mound and worked our way up to the top. There were tons of oysters and shell fragments but we found some banded tulips and drills as well. Overall this site was probably one of the most informative and interesting places I've been in my life.
  Shark fishing was also great even though we didn't catch any sharks. I personally love any chance to go spend a day on a boat, especially if it's fishing. Like the day at mound key, the weather suited our needs almost perfectly. There was a nice breeze, light chop but no white caps, and a very typical amount of beaming Florida sunshine. We learned how to use the drum system of shark sampling where a twenty-five pound weight was dropped to the bottom with 900 lb monofilament line and a 16/O circle hook baited with various dead fish or fish parts. We set out 5 lines at two different times of the day but didn't catch anything, I was slightly disappointed but still enjoyed myself.
   Growing up in Tampa bay, estero bay was very comparable. They are both large estuaries that have tons of mullet, dolphin, and an array of shoreline birds. I think the biggest difference I saw between the two systems is the general flow of water. From my short trip and observation the seemed to be more of a bottleneck effect in estero, there were "intrepid waters" or fast moving currents. I particularly liked this week in general because it felt like I was in my natural habitat but there were slight variations that make me appreciate them both even more than I already had.https://www.dropbox.com/s/gjkqz95a44wzs5p/rimg0774.jpg?dl=0