Research in Cancun
Along the stunning shores of Cancun, Mexico, my recent research expedition with the dedicated team at Ocean World of Sound was nothing short of a marine biologist’s dream.
Our fieldwork focus for the trip was Punta Nizuc, where The Listener sculpture (art-science project with Jason deCaires Taylor) continues to listen to the growing reef. In collaboration with the Mexican federal marine protected areas (CONANP), we are monitoring the evolving soundscape and coral growth on and around the statue.
That’s me snorkeling above The Listener sculpture as Raymundo Santisteban and Gino Caballero swap out listening devices. While I was disappointed I couldn’t go scuba diving myself (I’m pregnant), it was nice to be able to watch and take in the big picture, and check out some amazing schools of fish.
Critical to the mission of Ocean World of Sound is sharing these amazing soundscapes and ecosystems with the surrounding community. Starting with the boat captain and park ranger on board for our field work, we made sure they got a chance to listen in through headphones to the underwater soundscape at the site.
In Cancun, I gave an interactive presentation to a local arts and design college, exploring options with the students about how the local ecology might inspire their work. There were so many questions we went way over time and are looking for ways to keep the conversation going and create more opportunities for collaboration.
The entire team presented a workshop in Puerto Morelos for locals and tourists in the town square, about their efforts in coral restoration funded by the Ocean Memory Project. This venue allowed us to reach 100s of people, and the passion of the local community in preserving the local ecology is uplifting.
So what’s next? We are working on establishing new listening stations and are starting a new round of citizen science training. Interested in getting involved? Let us know! And if you want to hear some reef sounds, head on over to the Sound of the Month.
