By Nicole Maleski:
​​Before even boarding the plane to Granada we were expected to be able to identify 18 different fish that are common in the Caribbean, and by the 5th day in Union we were expected to be able to identify 90 different fish species. For fish data collection we didn’t need to know all the species, but it was still tested on. The important fish families on the reefs were all we needed well collecting data such as Surgeonfish and parrot fish for their important herbivore behavior and Groupers and snappers because they are fished for food. From above on the boat the sea was just many shades of blue, but as soon as we submerged under the waves it was a whole other world. Schools of brown chromis and creole wrasses from our earlier test swarmed around us like we were not even there, Cautious groupers peaked out under rocks. Each dive site was full of fish and other aquatic life of all sizes. Even with the 90 fish species we needed to memorize there was still many fish like lizardfish and squirrelfish that could be found at almost every dive site. Once back on the boat the schools of sergeant majors disappear bellow the blue waves and once again the beauty and diversity were hidden from our eyes.

By Alexis Madrid:
​The Union Island Gecko, Gonatodes daudini, is a critically endangered species whose population can only be found on Union Island. This elusive lizard is generally tiny, roughly 3 cm full-grown, with a dark-colored body and jewel-like markings. There are less than 10,000 Union Island Geckos in existence, these declining numbers are mostly due to reptile poachers capturing the gecko for the exotic animal trade. The people of Union Island understand how precious these species are to the island’s unique biodiverse ecosystems, so in 2015 The Union Island Gecko Initiative began to conserve the remaining gecko populations and prevent extinction. On June 10th, our class joined the wardens from the Union Island Environmental Alliance on a guided hike through Chatham Bay Forest Preserve. We had the opportunity to observe several species of reptiles and birds native to the island while hiking to the highest peak in the Grenadines. Although our class didn’t find any geckos on the way up the mountain, one of the park wardens found one for us to observe. My first impression was that the gecko seemed much smaller in person, and I can’t imagine how difficult they were to find throughout the dense forest. Being able to see the Union Island Gecko in person was an experience of a lifetime I will never forget. ​

By Mackenzie Miller:
​Union Island is one of the smaller islands in the Caribbean chain. Because of this, the island has a very strong sense of community. The island functions much like a small town in America where everyone knows everyone, greeting each other and having brief conversations as one passes. This strong sense of community also translates to them caring for their local environment. Union island has many conservation efforts taking place on the island including things such as water retention and recycling programs.
One major conservation effort is taking place in their local government agency regarding the queen conch. A common source of income for many people on the island is to free dive and SCUBA dive to catch queen conch. This species is an expensive luxury in most places in America. Yet, the divers here must catch up to 200- 300 per day to make a living. This causes a couple of problems. The first is that to increase profit, the divers will use various breathing tactics to increase their bottom time and catch more conch in a shorter amount of time. This can be very dangerous as it increases their odds of getting a gas embolism or running out of air underwater.
Another issue caused is that the queen conch is very vulnerable to overfishing and is considered endangered in many tropical areas, such as the Florida Keys. To lessen both of these effects, the government is trying to increase the price of conch to a set price so that there are no fluctuations based on market demand. This set price will hopefully lessen the amount of conch being caught per day while still allowing the divers to make a livable wage. This will overall put less strain on the conch population, their underwater environment, and the people of Union.
The picture attached below is one of the many piles of conch shells around the island. These piles have developed over the years as the fishermen would dump them all in one place after they harvested the animal. No matter where you go on the island, there seems to be an empty conch shell nearby.

By Lily Orton:
​Union island is a beautiful island with many treasures like the crystal-clear waters, beautiful forests, and their very own endemic gecko. These treasures make Union island’s income rely heavily on tourism. However, because Union Island is so difficult to get to and the cost of importing materials is so high no other industry has truly profited in Union. Although for a community relying on tourism for their daily revenue can really benefit when tourism is high, which for the islanders is the winter months. When tourism is low, during the summer months, people struggle to make ends meet. When I asked Vance, a local divemaster, how he thought tourism affected everyone on Union he told me during summer months businesses often shut down because no one is coming in, it is extremely hard for everyone on the island.
The summer months are rough for everyone when your entire community is reliant on tourism, now add the pandemic into the mix. For two years Union Island has been closed off due to the pandemic, within that time many individuals and businesses struggled to survive. And with a population of 2,000 people is it very easy for one person to get infected and the entire island then have COVID, which with the limited access to vaccines the disease can very quickly spread. Additionally, Union Island is not only more susceptible due to the small population but also because of the influx of tourists that can transmit the disease.
The increasing climate change problem that is spreading throughout the world has particularly affected Union Island and the influx of tourism. Union island is current plagued with massive amounts of sargassum around the beaches and shores of the island. As sargassum population increases because of climate change, which are warmer waters and increased nutrient levels due to fertilizer runoff and upwells, numbers soar. Furthermore, the Tradewinds push all the sargassum onto these pristine beaches that many tourists want to come to relax not to smell hydrogen sulfide which is being released by the rotting sargassum. Due to the hydrogen sulfide creating a rotting egg smell along the beaches this sargassum has also had an effect on the influx of tourists coming to Union which in turn decreases the revenue made.
As Union’s economy is based upon tourism, they have taken many hits the past couple years with the pandemic and the effects of climate change. With the world opening back up as we reach the tail end of COVID-19, travelers are more willing to travel to Union, the economy of Union is starting to get back on its feet. In terms of climate change Union Island is attacking the climate change problem with their organization Union Island Environmental Alliance. However, climate change is a problem that everyone no matter where you are from can work on and participate in making the world a better place for everyone to live.

By Delaina Ross:
Feeding 20 people simultaneously on a small island has been a challenge. Organizationally, one must remember that we are living on island time- 12:30 means 1:15 and that just must be okay.
Breakfast has been fried dough balls, cinnamon bread, onion and cheese and meat enclosed in bread made by a woman who runs a shop right across from the hotel. On weekends we do fresh baked bread with peanut butter, Nutella, and Jam. On top of that everyone has been to the outdoor market area to stock up on mangos, bananas, and starfruit all grown on Union throughout neighborhoods and yards. We keep it light and simple before loading on the boat for our two survey dives.
The first 4 days of lunch was the same local dish, Roti. A tortilla with large chucks of potato, curry, and chicken. Though it had to be dissected to remove all bones.
Despite being surrounded by the water the main part of each meal is usually chicken, occasionally ribs. The style here is bone-in everything. Kill, pluck, spice and cook without much else done to it. As per usual for most places around the world, rice is always a side dish.
For those who don’t eat meat, we’ve been getting whole fish. Eyeballs, spine, tail, fins, some scales. It’s been a learning process to remove all the tiny, needle-like bones.
The island has no central water system. They rely on cisterns to collect rainwater and use it for all needs. It’s advised that because we are not accustomed to it, we boil the water before drinking it, but I just drink it straight from the tap and don’t have any complaints. Usually with meals we get various locally made juices.
Some have embraced what the island has to offer more than others, but we are all happy to buy snacky foods from the small shack vendors on the main street. This is the slow season and the people have been very happy having us come by to get our fill of snacks.

By Stephanie Medo:
​Scientific Diving is scuba diving with the intent to work underwater to pursue scientific knowledge. If you choose to become a scientific diver with USF it can be very rewarding and allow you the opportunity to see beautiful places and creatures. Not only will you get the chance to travel but you collect data for scientific research and help make a difference in conservation or build knowledge. However, it can also be stressful and dangerous, you need to ensure that you understand the safety measures of scuba diving and take them seriously.
Let’s begin with the basics; to become a scientific diver with USF you must be, at minimum, an open water scuba diver. Once this is complete you will need to pass a series of check out dives and swim tests with USF’s diving safety officer. USF does a great job of laying out the details of becoming a scientific diver in the following link:
https://www.usf.edu/research-innovation/research-integrity-compliance/ric-programs/boating/scientific-diving/forms-templates.aspx
The website provides you with a checklist, PowerPoint presentation with step-by-step directions, waiver, health documentation and more. I’m going to be honest, I was very overwhelmed when first presented with the information. I was wondering if I would have enough time to complete all my certifications, would I be able to pass the swim test? Or would I even enjoy scuba diving? I was presented with two options, complete all the certifications on my own or take a scientific diving course with USF. There are two scientific diving professors on campus, Dr. Chantale Begin and Dr. Jason Gulley. The course provides you with all the books to read on scuba diving and every certification you need, plus more. Throughout the course you will become First Aid and CPR certified, Nitrox certified and can eventually become a Rescue Diver. The course will involve diving throughout the semester to master basic scuba skills. Once this is complete you start to add on more tasks to be able to conduct different surveys underwater. Adding small tasks underwater may seem easy but comes with added pressure, literally. A small task like navigating to a certain coordinate can seem simple at the surface but once underwater you are not able to communicate with your buddy and need to always remain calm, even if you are lost. Scuba diving is tolling on the buddy, it may not seem like it when you are swimming around looking at marine life, but you are always excreting energy, especially once task loaded.  
USF offers many additional research programs that allow you to continue to scientifically dive and use your certifications. This is such an amazing opportunity that USF offers, and I am so grateful I get to be a part of this. I highly recommend it to any avid scuba diver or anyone looking to get started. I’ll see you underwater!

By Helena Johnson:
​During the first four days that we have lives on Union Island, we have dived a total of six times, and we were able to assess the health of some of the corals in the area. In most locations the coral is healthy and expanding. Although there was a pattern of healthy coral, as of today, when diving in a location called Petit Tabac we were given a view into some of the sicklier coral in the area.  
Some common coral ailments or disease known to affect Caribbean coral include bleaching, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), and the black band disease. Bleaching is the process by which corals are exposed to abnormally high temperatures, causing the animals to expel their zooxanthellae, leading to the striking white appearance. Black band disease, caused by Phormidium corallyticum, kills the coral flesh and is usually found during times of high stress for the coral. SCTLD is a disease is caused by unknown means but is a quick killer and treatable through amoxicillin paste.  
Particular to the area, it appears as though the majority of the unhealthy coral were affected by bleaching. This means that the corals still have a fighting chance! They are likely still alive, particularly in areas that have recently lost their coral. In the end, this should give us hope for the future of coral, that they still have a chance at coming back stronger than before.

By Johneil Ferguson:
During the short time we've been here, I quickly realized that Union Island is a close-knit island with beautiful flora and fauna. Despite their amazing wildlife and friendly people, the island is clearly nothing like the USA. Trash on the island is a huge problem though. While on the docks the last few days I've seen a lot of plastic in the water that washed up to shore, plots of land with scraps and trash and gutters on the road filled with food wrappers. Keeping things sanitary here is a major problem but, there are people on the island who are trying to make a change to the cleanliness of the island. On the other side of the island, small organizations here have made giant strides to help this pollution issue by providing trash pickup to areas that have struggled with trash pollution. Steps like this are slowly but surely leading the island to towards better sanitation and an even more beautiful island!

By: Evan Worden
​Since arriving in Carriacou, I have been amazed by the sloping mountain sides and great hills that cover the Island chain of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The ferry we took offered great views of the deep sloped mountains here. The island chain itself is all made of igneous rock, or cooled magma that arose from the sea floor. This is evident in the many layers that are seen in the mountain sides, a product of many eruptions over multiple years piling on one another into neat lines. 
The magma source responsible for all these islands lies under the Soufrière volcano. As tectonic plates move land southward, new islands are formed by the unexposed magma vents. Eventually, the older islands will corrode and succumb back into the ocean. A lot of this is visible on the islands, many of which have gullies and streams formed by erosion. Thankfully, the Soufrière volcano is still very much active and producing the next generation of islands to explore and appreciate. Union island, being one of the farthest South in the chain, is one of the older islands in St. Vincent and Grenadines and has begun to lose its land mass and give way to sloping hills over tall mountains. It has been a pleasure exploring the islands and learning about their rich natural history, and I am excited to know more! 

By Allison Charland:
​​Union Island, a small part of the St. Vincent and Grenadines islands, is not easy to get to; however, upon arrival the mesmerizing view makes you forget the difficult trek. Starting in Grenada, the first ferry to Carriacou was a few hours and required lots of Dramamine. The large ship rocked back and forth after leaving the main island of Grenada due to the influx of trade winds. Yet, we were still granted with a breathtaking sunset unlike any other I have experienced. After leaving Carriacou to head to Union, we were faced with another ferry, but luckily this one was much smaller and did not rock as much. It was about an hour ride, which passed by quickly because of the many views we were granted.
      After going through immigration once again, Union Island was immediately worth the trip. Locals are beyond friendly and helpful, not to mention the island’s dogs that are always willing to join in on a walk. Although their beaches are strongly affected by the brown macroalgae called sargassum, it does not take away from the island’s natural beauty. Unfortunately, as it rots, it gives off a strong odor due to hydrogen sulfide, but this can easily be ignored as you adjust to the island. Aside from this problem, their waters are crystal clear and offer several activities. From scuba diving to kite surfing, there is something for everyone!