pez maya magazine vol. 1, issue 4
TRANSCRIPT
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magazine
BEHINDTHE
SCIENCE,
TENYEARTEASER
NOTJUSTA
CLEANING
TOOL
SASSY
SPOONBILL
INTERNATIONAL
COASTAL
CLEANUP
THEDIVE
ACADEMY
PADI
ADVANCEDOPENWATER
DIVERCOURSE,
PEZMAYASTYLE
THEWONDERFUL
WORLDOFBCD MAINTENANCE
THESTORY
OFEMPANADA,
PART3
PROTECTTHE
REEFSONG
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ContentsA Pez Maya Publication
Facebook:
GVI Mexico Yucatan
GVI Dive Academy
Twitter:
@gvi_mexico
Instagram:
gvitravel
GVI Mexico App
for iPhone:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/
gvi-mexico/id1014520095?mt=8
Publisher
Andy Ez
Editors
Andy Ezeta
Jodie SavageSam Wilson
Contributors
Andy Ez
Sam Wilson
Friso Dekker
Jodie Savage
Sara Rose Cagle
Eugene Beery
Kerry Passingham
Jim Clark
Steffanie Ransom
Naufrago feat Zack
Photography Editor
and Illustrator
Andy Ez
Photographers
Andy Ez
Luis Miguel Beristain
Pez Maya Magazine
Fourth Quarter 2015
Vol 1 Issue 4
2 You are the Difference
3 Behind the Science, Ten year teaser
5 Not Just a Cleaning Tool
6 Sassy Spoonbill
7 International Coastal Cleanup
8 Creatures of Pez Maya
9 PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course, Pez Maya style
11 The Dive Academy
13 The Wonderful World of BCD Maintenance
15 The Story of Empanada, Part 3
17 Protect the reef song
18 The Pez Puzzler
19 Global Vision International App
The Pez Maya Magazine is published every 3 months by the GVI Mexico - Pez Maya team.This is and always will be a free publication. Copyright GVI.2015
Cover photo by Andy Ez:
The Punta Allen Dive
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you are the differenceGlobal Vision International (GVI) is a multi-award winning social enterprise that runs
high impact volunteer and international education programs.
For more than 15 years GVI has helped thousands of people make a real dierence to the
world they live in while also gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to live and work
in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world.
We began more than 15 years ago with a simple mission: To work hand in hand with local
communities, NGOs and government organisations to facilitate real change on the ground
while also giving our participants the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.
Its an undertaking weve been proud to pursue in over 25 countries, through 450 programs
and by the support of over 25,000 participants and we are thankful to all past present and
future volunteers.
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Behind
theScience By Sam Wilson
Ten Year Teaser
So we have reached the end o a great year or MBRS monitoring, and we almost completed all the sites! So very close.Whats even better is we managed to find time to analyze a lot o our sites rom over the past 10 years o monitoring! Tis
is incredibly useul as we can now start looking at the most important aspects o coral ree conservation, the trends andcorrelations between variables. I know, I didnt make that sound very exciting, but wait until you see our sexy graphs.
For this article we will ocus on the main groups o the ree: macroalgae, hard coral and the parrot fish amily (Scaridae).First off, lets look at the general trends in our 10 meter sites.
As you can see rom Graph 1, we actually have a pos-itive outlook across the 10 meter sites over the de-cade. Most o our sites, along with many other placesin the Caribbean, suffered losses rom the 2004 and2005 hurricane seasons. Tese sites have since showna steady level o recovery, with an R2 o 0.58 we can
assume a significant trend o recovery. R2 values helpus see relationships between data, any value above 0.5indicates a positive linear relationship (i.e. when X in-creases, so does Y). For us, this means that each yearwe have recorded more coral colonies than the last, sothe coral colonies are recovering.
Graph 1. Comparison o coral cover based on Coral Communities (CC) data across 10 meter sites
Coral Communities researchers, or those that arentamiliar with the coral methodology, record every cor-al that intersects with the transect line, even i only adead section o the colony is in contact.
Graph 2 shows comparative percentage cover o ourmost important sessile groups, that is organisms at-tached to the substrate that are not capable o movingposition.
You will probably notice straight off that the coral cov-er doesnt show the same level o improvement. Tiscould be attributed to the difference in the way thingsare recorded within the coral methodology itsel. PointIntercept (the second researcher o the coral method-ology) will not account or the dead sections o a coral
colony as still being coral; they will record the sessilecover as being the algae that is now growing on thatsection.
What the graph does show is still very interesting. Ithelps to concrete the results seen worldwide that showwhat is known as a phase shif. In 2004, coral was themore abundant o the two sessile groups (coral and al-gae), but over the course o the 2004 and 2005 hurri-cane seasons coral cover took a dramatic decline as itwas physically battered by the hurricanes waves.
Graph 2. Percentage cover o hard corals and macroalgae based on point intercept (PI) data across 10 meter sites
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Now due to overfishing o important herbivorous fish, reduction o other herbivorous species such as the long-spined seaurchin due to disease and an increase in diseases across all coral species, the ability or coral to recover rom such extremeweather events has been significantly reduced.
It appears that or our ree the combination o all these impacts was enough to stop the coral colonies rom out-competingthe algal community.
Te importance o collecting long term datasets is also shown here, as not only can we see that coral is still the least domi-nant o the two, but that the proportion o cover fluctuates over time. Tis is very normal in stable ecosystems; percentagecover is never exactly the same year to year, as different groups will always compete with each other.So not only has our ree encountered a phase shif rom coral dominant to algal dominant, but the new proportions appearto be part o a stable ecosystem.
Tis isnt necessarily a good thing, as the corals should ideally be more dominant. Te reduction in over-all coral covermeans the ree is more vulnerable to degradation should another storm hit, or diseases become even more prevalent.
And now or something a little different!
Weve seen how macroalgae has become more domi-nant, and touched on how overfishing has been an in-fluential actor, but how about seeing this influence oryoursel?rick question, you dont get a choice.
On the right in graph 3 and 4, we have once again usedthe percentage cover o macroalgae, but this time wecompare it to the abundance o the parrot fish amily(Scaridae). Scaridae are one o the main herbivorousgroups responsible or the control o algae, and wehave ound that our data actually reflects this relation-ship at both our 10 meter and 20 meter sites.
Lets walk you through it. I you look at spikes in theblue bars (Abundance o Scaridae), you can see thatsignificant declines in macroalgae cover could becorrelated with apparent increases in the number oScaridae recorded or the surrounding years. As al-ways in science it is worth noting that correlation doesnot mean causation. Just because we see changes on agraph doesnt mean they are related, so we will keepworking to see i they are over the coming months.
So there you have it, a little teaser o analysis rom ourten years o collecting data on the Sian Kaan ree.
Let me just say a big thank you to all the volunteerswho have helped us by providing years o good qualitydata or us to analyze. Tese trends are very importantor the understanding how our ree works, and howbest to ocus our conservation efforts to protect it as aconsequence o this inormation.
Graph 3. Comparison o parrot fish (Scaridae) abundance and macroalgae % cover or PP10
Graph 4. Comparison o Scaridae abundance and macroalgae % cover or PL20
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Coral reefs are known for their diversity in fish,
beautifully coloured corals and wide array of ex-
otic creatures. Though one very significant group
is rarely taken notice of. These are the sponges, or
Porifera in scientific terms. Around 10,000 spe-
cies of marine sponges are thought to exist and
they come in almost every shape and colour imag-
inable.
Sponges are among the most basic animals known
and have been around for over 600 million years,
hardly evolving in this timespan and thus very
close to their original form. Their tissues are heldtogether by a skeleton of (in most species) tiny
glass particles, called spicules. They are immo-
bile and lack a nervous and circulatory system as
found in most other animals. They grow asym-
metrically and the shape and size of most species
is determined by external factors, such as depth
and current, in order to have the highest efficiency
of water flowing through the body of the sponge.
As seawater flows through channels and pores in
the sponges tissue, nutrients and small particles
are filtered from it and then metabolized for ener-
gy and creating biomass. By filtering up to 1,000
liters of seawater per kilogram body weight, they
have occupyied a very specific and ecologically
important part of the ecosystem.
Interestingly, some sponges are actually carnivo-
rous. So far, just over a hundred species have been
found to not feed by filtering seawater, but seem
to use sticky threads or hooked spicules to catch
small animals. Very little is known about the pre-
cise techniques these sponges use to catch their
prey but the absence of any water flow systems
in most species indicate that they rely solely on it.
Since most sponges lack physical protection such
as an external skeleton, and are not able to move
away from any danger, they have come up with
different ways of defending themselves. They
have specialized in chemical warfare, creating
many different kinds of so-called secondary me-
tabolites, which are released in the water column
to fend off any predators or nearby competition.
This is why some sponges are actually venomous
to humans, although there have been few known
cases of divers actually needing medical attention.
Some of these secondary metabolites, instead of
hurting people, have shown to be promising can-
didates as medicine for various diseases, such as
cancer and viral infections.
Humans have used sponges for centuries as bath
tools because the tissue is made up of collagen,
which is springy and soft. Since most sponges
have a glass skeleton, only a few species can be
used for this purpose. Dolphins use sponges not
for bathing, but to protect their beak when search-
ing for food on the sandy sea floor. This behav-
ior has only been observed in Western Australia,
where mothers teach it to their daughters, sug-
gesting that it is a recent innovation.
We still have much to learn about sponges, and
research into their species diversity, biological
composition and ecological function is ongoing
in many scientific institutions. In the past, science
has focused mainly on corals and fish, therefore
sponges knowledge will be lacking for quite some
time. This lack of knowledge about sponges and
their role on the reef is reflected by the fact that
the Synoptic Monitoring Program we carryied
out on the Meso-American Barrier Reef System
does not include any particular type of sponge
research, except for the ones overgrowing corals.
We are working on some way to including spong-
es in our research and will hopefully be able to
contribute soon!
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Andy Ez
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Sassy
SpoonbillBy Sam Wilson
The Roseate Spoonbill, not one of our mostcommon sightings for a morning bird survey,but certainly one of our more exciting! Oftenwe see them only in the distance, flying eitherSouth or North depending on the time of year.Recently, however, we have been graced with thepresence of a juvenile that we have named Ced-
ric. We dont actually know if this juvenile is ahim or her, but Cedric is the name we are stick-ing with. Anyway, how about learning a little abit about his/her biology? Well youve startedreading now so you might as well.
While juvenile spoonbills carry the characteris-tic pale pink colour associated with the species,the feathers of the head, chest and back are ac-tually white. It is only the wings and tail thatdisplay the pink/reddish colour by both adultsand juveniles.
The bill, as we all know, is spoon shaped. Thatis, it is slender and flattened along the stem, andwidens at the tip. But it actually isnt always likethat. Juveniles are born with narrow bills thatdevelop into the spoon shape as they mature.
This shape allows them to forage for their preyin shallow pools of water far more efficiently.Havinge a whole bill as wide as the spoon-liketip would be very impractical, as well as heavy.
But with just the tip being wider and flattened,it broadens their range while foraging for food.
To feed, the spoonbill wades through shallowpools, sweeping their head from side to sideas they move, with their bill slightly gaped. Assoon as they sense their prey they snap their billclosed and pull it out of the water to feed on it.
This prey item could vary between crustaceans,small fish, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates oreven the occasional plant matter.
Chicks mature into reproductive adults within3 years, and nest in trees following successfulcourting, which may involve the swapping ofnest materials, dancing and clapping of the bills.
Time for some more fun facts!
The name for a group of spoonbills? A bowl!A bowl of spoonbills. The Rroseate Spoonbillis actually the only species of the 6 currently
known to express the pink colouration. It isalso the only species of spoonbill found in theAmericas. This difference in location means thattheir prey is slightly different, mostly featuringcrustaceans. These shrimp have in turn fed onalgae full of carotenoids responsible for red andyellow coloration.
Last fun fact, their latin/scientific name. Ajajaajaja, spelt the same way Spanish spells laughing!Very strange.
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Im versatile, lightweight, flexible, moisture resistant, strong and inex-
pensive. Im 90% of the oceans trash, Im found on every mile of every
beach and have made my way into every water system. What am I?
Our planet is a blue planet. There are 165 major rivers covering 1% of
the Earth, 117 million lakes covering 4% and 5 oceans cover 71%. Not
one of those are plastic free.
8 million metric tons of plastic make their way into Earths oceans ev-
ery year. Thats the equivalent to having 5 plastic bags covering every
foot of coastline around the world. By 2025, those 5 plastic bags are
going to turn into 10. That would be 155 million tons of trash in the
ocean every year if we don't change our waste management.
This past October, GVI Pez Maya partnered with Ocean Conservancy,
a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, to participate in the Inter-
national Coastal Clean Up (ICC) event. Ocean Conservancy created
the International Coastal Clean Up event in 1986. It started off with
just 12 sites off the coast of Texas and has grown to more than 6,000
sites in over 100 countries. With more than 9 million volunteers, there
has been over 145 million pounds (~66 million kgs) of trash picked up
since the ICC was created.
The trucks were packed up with trash bags and buckets, the volunteers
were wedged into the collectivos, and we started our way down the dirt
road to Punta Allen.
Punta Allen is a small fishing village at the end of the Boca Paila Pen-
insula in the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Around 470 people live in
the village, a 5 block by 7 block area.
Now don't get me wrong, Punta Allen is an absolutely beautiful vil-
lage, but just like many small fishing villages around the Caribbean,
the beach is covered with trash. Most of it is thought to be brought in
by Cruise ships and other Caribbean countries with open landfills. The
trash covered beach is not only ugly to look at, but its very dangerous
for the people who live there and the kids who run around. If you found
broken glass in front of your house, you would pick it up, wouldn't
you? Why don't we have the same mindset for our beaches?
When the trucks entered into Punta Allen, everyone finally understood
we were there for a purpose.
It was a sunny, hot day in Mexico. Hats and sunglasses were grabbed
from bags and sunscreen was being passed around. All the bags and
buckets were taken from the trucks and we walked to meet the Punta
Allen volunteers for the beach clean.
There were around 100 people, a lot more than we anticipated, ages
ranging from 5-65 all eager and ready to get their hands dirty and clean
up their home. Most of them were kids too. A primary school class
and a secondary school class as well. We told them the game plan and
groups were made. Trash goes in the mesh bags, plastic bottles in the
black, bottle caps in the clear, glass in the buckets. The second each
group was made and they had their materials, a competition was creat-
ed. Which group can pick up the most trash?
They started running everywhere, smiles on their faces and not miss-
ing one thing on the sand in front of them. I have never seen anyone
so happy to participate in a beach clean. They were excited to find a
plastic bottle and place it in the bag. Maybe it was because they could
see first hand the effects of cleaning up since this is their home. Or
maybe it was just because they are kids and they made it into a game.
Either way, with the help of everyone, 270kg of trash was picked up
and thrown away or recycled in just one hour!
At the end of the clean, sweat was rolling down faces, cheeks were
rosy, and eyelids were starting to droop. But deep inside of everyone,
you could see the accomplishment. The mass pile of trash in front of
us was the reason why we came to Punta Allen. The appreciation we
received from the locals was thanks enough.
So back in the cars we went, all tired from our long morning in the sun
but so happy that 270kg of trash would never make its way back into
the ocean.
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Creatures ofPez Maya
Thespidae
This peculiar creature,
found in the surroundings
of Pez Maya, is a grass
mantis part of the Thesp-
idae family. This partic-
ular insect resembles thetwigs of the trees among
which it lives, helping it
to camouflage itself from
its prey.
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PADI ADVANCEDOPEN
WATERDIVERCOURSE,
PEZMAYASTYLEBy Eugene Beery
For those of you that arent familiar with PADIs Advanced Open Water Diver Course here is a quick breakdown. The
course is the second level of the recreational diver ladder following your Open Water Diver certification. It consists of 5
individual dives that focus on specific fields or aspects of diving as opposed to the Open Water course which focuses on the
basics of diving as a whole. The individual dives pertain to an array of possible fields including deep diving, navigation,
wreck diving, enriched air diving, search and recovery, peak performance buoyancy, night diving , underwater naturalist,fish ID and many many more. Each of these dives also has a correlating chapter in the PADI Adventures in Diving manual
which acts as an introduction before completing the practical in water skills. To obtain the certification you must complete
5 of the adventure dives, two of which are mandatory, Deep Diver and Underwater Navigation, and three of which are
elective so you can choose what best suits your needs or interests. You complete each chapter in the manual pertaining to
the dives that you have chosen. Upon completion you are then certified to dive as deep as 30m and youll have expanded yourknowledge of the various types of diving.
In Pez Maya we have selected the 5 dives that best suit our volunteers needs and what will help them progress most during
their time with us as a diver and conservationist.
The dives include the following:
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Beneficial to beginner or experienced divers. Test your buoyancy and im-
prove it through a series of underwater skills and games including swim-
ming through hoops without touching them, hovering upside down, main-
taining buoyancy while hovering and passing various weights in a circle
from diver to diver, writing a short story while hovering and many othergames. All of this is accomplished without using your hands and focusing
solely on your breathing to control your buoyancy. In addition we work
on different finning techniques and adjustments to determine your perfect
weighting and trim. These skills are key to being a good diver but essentialto monitoring the coral reef as we do here. This is one of the most fun
dives to participate in and teach as well.
Underwater Naturalist
The Underwater Naturalist dive has been chosen because it is excellent
preparation for the main focus of our program which is monitoring the
coral reef and to do this our divers need to be able to identify differentspecies underwater - which is the focus of this dive. We take you through
different techniques of how to identify different species underwater and
then for the dive we select 5 fish, 5 corals and 2 plants. The students have
to write down the defining features of the species and when back on land
utilize our identification books to find the specific coral, fish or plant that
we had selected. In addition during the knowledge development portionyou learn the key differences between the terrestrial and aquatic worlds
and how to dive and interact with aquatic life responsibly and with the least
impact possible. Not only does this dive prepare you for your science train-
ing but it gives you the knowledge needed to be a role model diver for the
protection of the marine environment.
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Underwater Navigator
This is one of the mandatory dives required by PADI and it is so for areason. The skills and knowledge in this portion are vital to becoming an
independent and aware diver that knows how to plan a dive pertaining
to conditions and location and follow that plan accordingly. This is very
important on the road to becoming an expert diver. You learn differenttechniques for navigating including utilizing natural references and using
a compass. To put your skills to the test we have our students learn how toestimate distance underwater and using that knowledge navigate a recip-
rocal heading of approximately 40m and then a 30mx30m square using a
compass and returning to the starting point. To finish the dive we have our
students guide us through a portion of the reef and return to the starting
point using nothing but natural references. During the knowledge develop-
ment you learn how to navigate in different conditions taking things suchas visibility, currents and topography into consideration. These skills are
important to make the most of your dives, make your air last and minimize
stress which is always a plus.
Search and Recovery Diver
This is one of our more technical dives that we do here on base. This por-
tion focuses on teaching divers the techniques and knowledge needed to
search for small to large objects that have been lost underwater and need
to be recovered. Youll learn about which search patterns to use depending
on the object you are looking for. From expanding square patterns lookingfor large objects such as a treasure chest, or using a line and reel to execute
an expanding circular pattern to locate the smallest of items such as a ring.
During the dive we also have our students rig a lift bag to a heavy object
using one of the three knots they learn during the course and then safely
bring the object to the surface while adjusting buoyancy for themselves andthe lifting device. We also discuss various other search patterns, the haz-ards involved and the dive planning required to do a search and recovery
dive safely. This dive shows a very different aspect to diving from the norm
and really challenges our students by performing complex tasks under-
water. It is also excellent preparation for your PADI Rescue Diver Course
when it comes to searching for a missing diver.
Deep Diver
This is one of the most popular and sought after fields of diving and is also
the second mandatory dive of the Advanced Open Water course. Just the
shear fact of going to 30m is amazing in itself but it is not the only point
of this dive. Our students learn about the physiological effects of diving
deeper and how to plan accordingly. They learn how to deal with gas nar-cosis, managing air supply and what additional equipment may be needed to
execute specific dives. To finish this training we then go to 30m to explore
the deeper reefs here at Pez Maya. We see things like black coral and the oc-
casional nurse shark, and along the way we may even present certain games
to test your motor functions and cognitive skills at depth as opposed to the
surface. We also bring along various objects to show you how the increasedpressure effects different materials and objects. Finally all of our students
are given a colour chart so they can witness colour change at depth and
note which spectrums penetrate deeper. All in all this is definitely a favorite
and also an important skill to have while progressing as a diver.
So as you can see the PADI Advanced Open Water Course is an extremely fun and beneficial experience for any diver. In
general the course is challenging and fun but at Pez Maya its just that much better. As with all of our courses, because our
volunteers stay with us for extended periods of time, we not only introduce and assess these advanced skills but we have theopportunity to continue to refine your skills and provide feedback until you are a safe, confident and independent diver with
a new arsenal of skills and experience.
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The DiveAcademy
By Kerry Passingham
In October 2014 GVI launched their rst ever Dive Academy inpartnership with XTC Dive Center, a PADI 5* IDC Resort, in Mex-
ico. There are multiple Dive Academies around the world oer-ing similar internships but none that combine the dive training
with such a strong focus on marine conservation.
For several years GVI have run internships worldwide that takevolunteers up to the rst level of professional dive training ofPADI Divemaster. Since the GVI Dive Academy launch in 2014 GVIMexico are now able to oer internships developing volunteersfrom Open Water Divers all the way up to PADI Instructors. Thisnew agship program is called the MSDT Internship.
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For those of you who might not be in the know, allinterns spend their rst 12 weeks here at the PezMaya base on the Yucatan Peninsula progressingfrom Open Water Divers to Rescue Divers, gainingtheir Emergency First Responder and AdvancedOpen Water Certications along the way. Volun-teers are also certied as PADI Coral Reef ResearchDivers (CRRD) which they obtain after gaining ex-perience monitoring the health of our coral reefthrough the collection of data on sh or coral spe -cies. As well as proving their buoyancy and diveskills in water, they attend lectures and completeknowledge development sections to be worthy ofthe CRRD certication. These lectures consist oftopics like threats to the reef and the intercon -nectivity of coastal ecosystems.
The volunteers have opportunity to be involvedin all the dierent research programs at Pez Mayawhich include studies on bird biodiversity, ma-
rine debris, and invasive Lionsh populations anderadication. To add to their conservation learninginterns are set environmental based assignmentsto increase their understanding of the work thatis done at Pez Maya and scientic research tech -niques worldwide. In addition to the dive and sci-ence training interns are also given presentationson leadership skills and styles, and given the chanceto work on these skills during leadership days andchallenges.
All volunteers experience how to use a compressorto ll tanks, how to operate the marine radio and
emergency oxygen administration. During the lastfew weeks on base interns are provided with theirDivemaster materials and given presentations onbasic dive theory so they are more than ready toocially start their training when they arrive at XTCDive Center.
Now for the NEW stu!! Those interns moving allthe way up to PADI Open Water SCUBA Instruc-tors (OWSI) will spend their nal 18 weeks of theprogram at XTC completing their professional leveltraining. Schedules will vary depending on whenPADI examiners are available for the Instructor Ex-aminations, but the Divemaster component mostoften takes 12 weeks to complete, with the nal 6weeks of training being dedicated to the InstructorDevelopment Course and Instructor Examinations- before beginning training for the Master SCUBADiver Training (MSDT) preparation program! At theend of the MSDT internship interns are certiedPADI OWSIs with the ability to teach 5 specialtycourses. They are then free to nd jobs worldwideand gain experience teaching to enable their MSDTstatus.
During their time at XTC interns will have expe-
rience using a modern compressor, customerservices and sales, and equipment maintenance- alongside all other standard components of theDivemaster and Instructor courses. A focus onmarine conservation is kept throughout, provid-ing interns with several environmental workshopscovering topics such as Shark Awareness, ProjectAWARE, CONANP (Mexicos main environmentalgovernment agency), and experience especially onthe invasive Lionsh eradication.
Interns who gain their PADI Divemaster and Instruc-tor status through GVIs Dive Academy come awaywith a lot more than certication cards. They comeaway with a strong understanding of life in a ma-rine conservation base, practical coral reef healthresearch monitoring experience, an increasedknowledge and awareness of local and global con-servation issues, as well as an understanding of thelogistics and day to day runnings of a successfulPADI 5* IDC Dive Resort.
If you have already been a volunteer at Pez Mayayou will have experienced most of the elementsexplained above rst hand but we thought youmight want to have a bit more of an in depth un -derstanding of the internships that happen hereand the added components the interns completewhilst on base and at XTC. Oh and of course giveyou all the juicy details about the new MSDT In -ternship. If you have already got the marine con-
servation experience you can jump directly to theDivemaster or MSDT programs, just contact ourCountry Expert in the oce and they will give youall the information you need. But you are alwayswelcome to come back to Pez Maya and help outon the monitoring of the coral reefs!
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The wonderful world
of BCD MaintenanceBy Jim Clark
Your Buoyancy Controlling Device or BCD to all of those in the diving world, is an extremely important piece of equipment. Anyone with
their own equipment will know how essential it is to take care of it, and how vital it is to ensure that it is maintained and cleaned properly,
to make them last as long as possible.
The first thing you need to know for looking after your BCD is what to do with it once you have been on a dive:
- Always wash your BCD with fresh water after every dive, inside and out, and make
sure to never use solvents that could damage the equipment. Ensure that this is done
immediately if you have just been diving in chlorinated water as this can break down
rubbers and plastics quite quickly.
- To prevent mold growth and bacteria you can use salt water, this will inhibit the
growth of mold/fungus. However once the water has evaporated you will be left with a
BCD covered in salt, this might seem irrelevant but these crystals can do major damage
to your BCD bladder and can tear or rupture it.
So now the extra bits, this only takes a few minutes and is essential for extending the
life of your BCD, it is how the clean the inside of your BCD. You need to hold down
the deflator button while having a good flow of fresh water up into the mouthpiece,
so that it goes inside the bladder of the BCD. Once it is full, slosh the water around to
make sure every part of the inside gets a good clean, then you can dump out the water
through the inflator hose to clean the last bit. Hold the BCD with the hose at the lowest
point, so all the water drains out. You can repeat this step again, but you should be fine.
- Then you need to inflate the BCD through oral inflate or a tank, a good amount needs
to be in there, and this is to ensure that the internal bladder does not dry stuck together.
As this could cause big problems when you come to use it again, and potentially tear
the bladder.
- Finally leave it to dry in a shaded area, if putting it away for the night, put a bit of air
into the BCD while in storage ready for you to dive again, hopefully the very next day!
So that is your guide to general maintenance of your BCD, now we will look into the problems that can occur with a BCD, how it affects
your dive and how they can be fixed.
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Problem:BCD is self inflating
Dive? If you notice it self-inflating before a dive, try to switch it out with another
if available. If you are on a dive and it starts to self-inflate you should end the dive
there, however if you are confident enough with your skills underwater, you can
disconnect the low pressure inflator hose. This will stop the BCD from inflating,but you will then have less control with your buoyancy as you will not be able to
use the inflator hose.
Fix it? This problem can happen from a few things, the inflator button can be cor-
roded and full of salt, small adjustments done during a dive or pre-dive check can
cause the button to stick and slowly inflate. Also the O-rings in this mechanism
could need lubricating to ensure a smooth movement. This can be fixed by yourself
or taken to a technician.
Problem:BCD not holding air
Dive? Usually this is noticed before a dive on buddy checks, and is due to shoul-
der or kidney dump problems . If it is one of these two then it can usually be fixed
before a dive so it is safe to continue into the water. If this happens during a dive,
then you should ascend to the surface, but be aware that you will have difficulties
staying buoyant on the surface, so stay close to your buddy for help.
Fix it? For shoulder and kidney dumps, if they are damaged or have been knocked,
they might not make the seal which holds the air inside. For both of these you can
actually unscrew the dump, inspect the rubber seal has no cracks or foreign objects
around it, and then put them back on, ensuring that the threads are matching up , as
this is one of the most common reason for leaks at these sites. If the leaks continues
to happen take the BCD to a professional to have a good look at it.
Problem:Small leaks on the body of the BCD
Dive? Small leaks can be very common, small bubbles, no troubles does get
thrown round quite a bit. Before or during a dive, they should not be a big enough
problem for you to not enjoy the underwater world, so get in the water , but keep an
eye on it, or have your buddy watch it!
Fix it? Small bubbles, no troubles however a lot of them from different places on
the BCD can start to be a bit worrisome, these are small holes in the bladder of your
BCD which is leaking out. A damaged bladder, should ideally be fixed by a profes-
sional or you buy a new BCD a very easy thing to say but, not always practical.
If it is just a small hole there is the option of using a commercial seal: aquatic seals,
aqua glue, lots of different names; but all do the same thing, patch a little hole to
extend the life of your BCD.
These are the main problems that can occur with a BCD. Proper care of them and annual services will ensure that they will last a bit
longer, because lets be honest these pieces of equipment are pretty expensive, so the less we spend the better right? Keep enjoying the
dives out there. You now have a bit more knowledge to continue in the fantastic world of diving!
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The Story of
EmpanadaThird part
By Steffanie Ransom
As he started to swim,
the waves felt much rougher,
the current was strong,
to get further was tougher.
Living in the Mangroves,
the water was calm,
and even in a storm,
there was no need for alarm.
The trees and the plants
would protect any fish,
it was the easiest of lives
if that was ones wish.
But Empanada was not now
the pup he once was,
he felt strength surging through him,
and he knew it because
his curiosity was piqued
by the lessons hed learned,
and there was now nothing for him
if, to the Mangroves, he returned.
Pulsing through tides,
timing them in and then out,
his fins became giant
and his head lost all doubt.
Once he was through
the worst of the surge,
he adapted to salt water,
the fresh he could purge.
He looked all around him,
he felt he had grown,
both in body and in mind,
his voice lower in tone.
And something else he noticed,
as he closed in on the reef,
his stomach was growling,
he had so many teeth!
He felt so ashamed
and scared of his hunger,
the reef was so beautiful,
hed never want to plunder!
But what good was that,
when each fish that swam by
looked moist and delicious,
he just couldnt lie.
And just as he thought
the temptation too much,
a turtle swam by him,
muttering angrily and such.
Hes a scourge to the reef,
if I did it Id fail,
but its for the good of the
Ow!
And swam into his tail.
The turtle reversed
and gaped, wide of eye,
the size of Empanada
made her fear she would die.
No please dont eat me,
I have more yet to give!
My names Furtile Myrtle,
the guys need me to live!
Empanada blinked
(or he would if he could),
He wouldnt eat Myrtle,
he explained he was good.
Calm down my friend,
my teeth wont deploy;
I just couldnt bear it
if this reef I destroy.
Now Myrtle blinked
(she actually could)
But you cant be serious,
you totally should!
Not me, of course,
now that were friends,
But this reef needs sharks,
on them it depends!
But what do you mean?
Look at all this!
If I gave into my hunger,
its not just fish you would
miss;
Id eat turtles and rays,
Id take over the town,
If this reef had a king,
Id take the crown!
Well thats presumptuous,
Said Myrtle, quite right.
Theres plenty other sharks
with a much bigger bite.
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But do you see the abundance
and diversity of life?
Without corals and fish,
thered be nothing but strife.
Empanada agreed,
but did not understand,
why this turtle would say
that the reef would withstand
if he and all sharks
ate everything,
from the head to the tail,
each fin and each wing.
You dont feast all day,
but you do do your part,
to make sure theres balance
to this reefs central heart.
Empanada nodded,
slow to be sure,
So if we didnt eat fish,
thered be too many more?
Exactly! Thats it!
Furtile Myrtle did shout.
Coral reefs need balance,
thats what its about.
The coral need plankton,
and the fish eat the coral,
and you guys eat fish,
its nothing but moral.
Empanada smiled,
licking his lips,
And theres further good news,
if youre looking for tips.
The cool thing about sharks,
a fact rarely told,
is that you euthanize
the sick, the weak and the old.
You keep our gene pools strong,
and hey on that note!
Theres a turtle you should meet,
Hes over there by the boat.
You see, hes too old,
and a danger to us,
Hes perfectly ready,
hell go without fuss.
Wait just one second,
let me get this straight,
youre leading me to a friend
so hell meet his fate?!
Lets not throw around friend
so fast and so loose,
this is the circle of life,
not a swim to the noose.
Even though that metaphor
didnt quite hit its mark,
the Turtle had a point,
after all, hes a shark.
From the small and safe Mangrove
all the way out to sea,
Empanada became
the conscientious shark he would be.
He knew every purpose
for of each part of the reef,
he knew of the seagrass,
and of the Mangrove relief.
And as he chomped on that turtle
and others watched on with glee,
he caught the eye of a female,
as yellow as he.
With an urge that was new,
and a satisfaction for life,
he felt the strong inclination
to take a wife.
So with the best line he had,
he swam up to she,
So I know this little Mangrove
And the rest was history.
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By Naufrago feat Zack
Come gather round peopleWherever you roam
And admit that pollution
Around you has grownAnd accept it that soon
Youll be poisoned to the bone
If the reef to you is worth savin
Then you better start preserving or youll be diving alone
For the reefs they are a-changin
Come divers and trawlers
Who profit from the sea
And hold back your nets
Youre causing a disease
And dont fish too soon
This path do not chooseFor theres not telling how it is ending
The winner now, will be later to lose
For the reefs they are a- changin
Come presidents,ministers
Please heed the callDont stand in the hallway
For he who turns blind
Will be he who has sinner
Theres an ocean outside ragingSoon shake your windows
And rattle your wallsFor the reefs they are a-changin
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And dont leave behind
Plastic choked sandYour sons and your daughters
Must understand
The ocean is rapidly fadin
Please recycle and use eco brands
For the reefs they are a changin
Our limits are known
The science is clear
Carbon dioxide
Should make us all fear
An ocean of acid
Is fast coming hereThe order is rapidly fading
For the chemical imbalance
Is abundantly clear
For the reefs they are a changin
SINGALONGTOBOBDYLAN`S
THETIMESTHEYAREA CHANGIN
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The
PezPuzzler
The rules of the game are simple:each of the nine blocks has to
contain all the numbers 1 to 9within its squares. Each numbercan only appear once in a row,
column or box.
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With this app you'll be able to:
Learn about GVI Mexico's main objectives.
Follow our Facebook Feed and give us a Like.
Have a better point of view of La Pennsula de Yucatn Region with the interactive map and find all our projects,initiatives and locations of interest.
Read interesting articles about the region and about our projects with videos and galleries in our Digital Library
made just for you.
ANY PROBLEMS? SUGGESTIONS?
We'd love to hear from you. Please contact us: [email protected]
Hope everyone enjoys our app made with love for our volunteers.
-GVI Team, Mxico.
Global Vision International
App for our Volunteers
in Mexico.
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