蜜柚直播

For biologists and environmental educators Stephanie Jo Bowman and Paul Hamilton 鈥� who lived in 蜜柚直播 before moving onto their San Carlos-based sailboat in 2018 鈥� that makes nighttime the perfect time to snorkel.

鈥淎ll the cute, easy-to-love fish go to sleep, and all the weird invertebrates and other marine life come out,鈥� said Bowman, who is also an artist and former Vail School District teacher. 鈥淥ur special area of interest has always been the creepy, weird stuff that most people don鈥檛 really pay much attention to, or are freaked out by.鈥�

The couple, who had their first date hiking in Sabino Canyon 12 years ago, share a love of overlooked and understudied species, and a passion for getting people interested in science.

In July, Bowman and Hamilton held a series of guided night-snorkel events in San Carlos, about 330 miles south of 蜜柚直播. The free gatherings were open to anyone who wanted to show up on the beach and brave the sea at night.

For San Carlos boat broker Marisa Velasco, who moved to San Carlos from California 18 years ago, night snorkeling wasn鈥檛 about the wildlife.

鈥淭his is about conquering my fear,鈥� she said as she prepared to enter the water with one of Bowman and Hamilton鈥檚 groups on a hot July night. 鈥淚鈥檝e been (scuba) diving since I was 16, but I refused to go on night dives.鈥�

She figured starting closer to the surface, with a group snorkel at a familiar beach, would be a good way to break through that mental barrier.

鈥淚 can do this,鈥� she said, before stepping into the dark water.

Sailing for science

Bowman and Hamilton hope those who attend the night snorkeling events feel empowered to continue exploring nature on their own, as 鈥渃itizen scientists.鈥�

Hamilton founded the 蜜柚直播-based Biodiversity Group in 2003. His and Bowman鈥檚 work with the conservation nonprofit group took them around the world, from Ecuador to Vietnam to Mexico. They conducted research and promoted outdoor learning through a science-and-arts-focused curriculum that Bowman developed. (It has since been taught in after-school programs in the Sunnyside, 蜜柚直播 Unified and Marana school districts, Bowman said.)

In 2018, the couple both stepped down from leadership roles with the nonprofit, rented out their Picture Rocks home and moved almost full time onto a sailboat in the Sea of Cortez.

San Carlos was a natural choice for their home base: The couple has been visiting the Sonoran beach town for more than a decade. Bowman said they were blown away by the unique 鈥渄esert-meets-sea鈥� environment, where one can have the surreal experience of surfacing from a dive and seeing cactus on the shore.

Like the 鈥淪ky Island鈥� mountain ranges of southeastern 蜜柚直播 and northern Mexico, the northern part of the Sea of Cortez is isolated, leading to new species 鈥� like the critically endangered vaquita porpoise 鈥� evolving for that unique ecosystem, Hamilton said.

In the southern part of the sea, 鈥渇or as narrow a body of water as it is, the depth is incredible,鈥� Bowman said. That creates a rich basin of nutrients for large species like humpback whales to feed on.

From here, Bowman and Hamilton say they鈥檙e well-positioned to pursue one of their missions: introducing the public to overlooked species, including strange-looking invertebrates and nocturnal marine life.

鈥淭hose species are what hold the ecosystems together,鈥� Bowman said. 鈥淗umans lose so much by not being connected to the little stuff that鈥檚 so easy to see and to share the world with.鈥�

Finding and observing overlooked species doesn鈥檛 require an epic journey or exotic destination; a kid with a magnifying glass can discover a jungle in the school playground, Bowman said.

鈥淛ust go out in your backyard, or snorkel in the bay right here, to see incredible life that most people just overlook,鈥� she said.

The couple also offers boat rides 鈥� they call it 鈥渟ailing for science鈥� 鈥� on their trimaran 鈥淭riplefin,鈥� the name a reference to the vessel鈥檚 three hulls and a tribute to triplefin blennies, a fish with three dorsal fins that鈥檚 extremely common, yet understudied, Bowman said.

Bowman and Hamilton plan to visit friends and family in the U.S. for the rest of the summer, but will restart their night snorkeling session in the fall, when they return to Mexico.

The 鈥榬ocks鈥� have eyes

On a recent July evening in San Carlos, Bowman and Hamilton spoke to their night-snorkeling group on the beach in front of the Soggy Peso restaurant, near the small Isla San Luis where they鈥檇 be snorkeling.

As the sun set behind them, Bowman paged through a dog-eared copy of 鈥淪ea of Cortez Marine Invertebrates,鈥� describing the creatures to look for, and which to avoid, in the dark sea.

Among the vertebrates to watch for: stone scorpionfish. Disguised as seaweed-covered rocks, they鈥檙e hard to spot as they wait for their prey.

鈥淭heir eyes are like other worlds when you look into them. It鈥檚 mesmerizing,鈥� Bowman told the group. But those eyes should serve as a warning to snorkelers, she said; their spines are venomous.

鈥淚f you go to grab a rock, just make sure it doesn鈥檛 have eyes,鈥� she said.

Sea cucumbers

One of the most important, and imperiled, creatures that snorkelers would encounter that night: the brown sea cucumber.

Sea cucumbers perform a crucial purifying function, cleaning the seas by ingesting sea water and sediment, before excreting clean sand.

鈥淪ea cucumbers are not the prettiest animal, but they have a very important role in the ecosystem,鈥� said Alejandro Olivera, senior scientist and Mexico representative for the Center for Biological Diversity.

But the mostly sedentary creatures are being hunted, dried and salted, and shipped en masse to China, where they are considered a tasty aphrodisiac and increasingly, a status symbol.

A lucrative market has developed over the past few decades, fueling a hunt that is decimating the sea cucumber population in Mexico, including in the Sea of Cortez, Olivera said in an interview.

When they were first listed under Mexico鈥檚 Endangered Species Act in 1994, brown sea cucumbers had 鈥渟pecial protection鈥� status, the lowest level of protection, coming before the 鈥渢hreatened,鈥� 鈥渁t risk of extinction鈥� and 鈥渆xtinct鈥� levels.

Two years ago, the sea cucumber was moved up to threatened status, Olivera said.

Protected species are regulated by the Ministry of Environment who can set quotas for legal hunting limits and create a management plan, but regulation is weak and enforcement sporadic, he said.

Those with legal permits often hunt more than they鈥檙e allowed, and others just hunt illegally, he said. Sea cucumbers don鈥檛 reach sexual maturity until about 6 years old, and many are killed before they can reproduce, he said.

鈥淭here is no management plan, even though they have been protected for decades, and the population is depleting,鈥� Olivera said.

That decline is obvious to snorkelers, Bowman said. Ten years ago in San Carlos, 鈥測ou wouldn鈥榯 be able to look at the bottom without seeing at least several sea cucumbers in your view,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd now it鈥檚 like you have to hunt to find one.鈥�

Shortly before dark, Bowman emphasized to the night snorkeling group that they should not touch anything unless they are absolutely sure it鈥檚 safe to touch.

For example: As long as your hands are free of bug spray and sunscreen, it鈥檚 all right to gently pet a brown sea cucumber 鈥� but do not pick it up, Bowman said. If it feels threatened, a sea cucumber鈥檚 defense mechanism can be traumatic: it spews out its intestines to distract predators.

The sticky sea cucumber is another story: even a small touch could be disastrous. Their long bodies are scrunched up tight 鈥渓ike accordions,鈥� Bowman said, and so sticky that a touch could tear its skin.

鈥淵ou could kill it just by touching it,鈥� she said.

This night, San Carlos resident A de la Maza Perez Tamayo and her son Axan, 9, were out for their second night snorkeling with Bowman and Hamilton.

鈥淚t鈥檚 my favorite type of snorkeling now,鈥� said de la Maza Perez Tamayo, who works in the sociolinguistics field. 鈥淎ll the creatures of the ocean seem a lot more relaxed. The fish are a lot less jittery, they鈥檒l swim up really close to you.鈥�

And the timing is perfect for her Axan, who would rather boogie-board in the day. All his favorite creatures 鈥� the ones that 鈥渓ook like aliens鈥� 鈥� come out at night, she said.

鈥淗e鈥檚 always been incredibly interested in the creepy crawlies,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always liked that he鈥檚 able to see beauty in unconventional things.鈥�

Axan, who wants to be a marine biologist, was on a mission.

鈥淚 want to see moray eels,鈥� said Axan, as he followed Bowman and Hamilton toward the snorkeling site.

Risks of the night

The gentle hum of waves and the cracking of snapping shrimp 鈥� whose powerful, tiny claws snapping shut can be heard up to a kilometer away 鈥� were the only sounds for those out on another night snorkel. This time, Bowman and Hamilton led snorkelers to a beach called Shangri-La, near Marinaterra Beach Club in San Carlos.

The underwater ecosystem was buzzing with life, under the glow of snorkelers鈥� dive lights.

Illuminated in a green cone of light, a finger-sized fire worm floated vertically, its fuzzy-looking body belying the potential for a fiery sting. A red-and-white striped zebra worm, which can expand up to 8 meters in length, was tucked amidst the sea rocks, a living puzzle with no clear beginning or end.

A reef stingray, like a spotted brown pancake, fluttered just above the seafloor, eyeing the snorkeler above. Balloonfish and parrot fish, normally skittish during the day, calmly slept or observed the visitors.

Hamilton gently held a hairy-looking brittle star, closely related to the starfish. Later, a delicate arrow crab 鈥� so thin it looked like an aquatic daddy longlegs 鈥� danced around Hamilton鈥檚 fingers. Then, drawing its legs together like an octopus, it propelled itself away like an arrow.

Bowman even managed to alert her fellow snorkelers to a brown sea cucumber, its plump dorsal side covered with a sprinkling of small yellow protrusions.

Snorkelers who turned off their flashlights saw the electric-green lights of tiny, bioluminescent plankton, whose glow crackled to life with each wave of the hand through the water.

But there are drawbacks to the darkness: It鈥檚 harder to see potential threats. Though wearing a long-sleeve shirt, Hamilton was stung on the neck and wrist by a Portuguese man-o-war, a relative of the jellyfish, at the end of this snorkeling session.

On the rocky shore, Bowman carefully pulled the bright-blue tentacles from Hamilton鈥檚 wrist using the pads of her fingers, where the skin is too tough for tentacles to penetrate.

Smiling despite his discomfort, Hamilton said he was relieved he was the unlucky one that night.

Conquering a fear

After her first-ever night snorkel, Velasco declared victory over her fear of night diving.

鈥淚鈥檓 happy to report that I basically got over it,鈥� she said by phone. 鈥淚t was familiar; it鈥檚 like snorkeling in your own backyard. I was like, 鈥業f I鈥檓 going to conquer this, it鈥檚 going to be someplace where I鈥檓 comfortable.鈥欌��

She had searched carefully for all the species Bowman had described in their prep session on the beach.

鈥淲ithin 15 minutes, we found just about everything she said we were going to find,鈥� she said.

Among her most exciting sightings: the cowrie, a colorful snail that lives in a smooth shell, with a narrow mouth-like opening. In the daytime, the snail is hidden inside, but at night, cowries come outside of their shell and wrap their brightly-colored bodies around it, so that the shell almost becomes an internal skeleton, Bowman said.

A native of the Philippines, Velasco said she previously found day-time snorkeling in this desert region to be underwhelming compared to the vibrant colors of the tropics.

But at night, illuminated by flashlight, the desert colors glowed with unusual vibrance, she said.

The sea at night 鈥渨as way more alive than I was expecting it to be,鈥� Velasco said.

Nine-year-old Axan had an 鈥渁mazing鈥� time, said his mom, de la Maza Perez Tamayo. He saw octopus, a ton of very active starfish and his favorite, a moray eel.

鈥淚 could hear him squeal underwater鈥� when he spotted one, she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 absolutely obsessed with eels.鈥�

Existential dilemmas

Hamilton, a field biologist whose specialty is herpetology, believes most children are naturally fascinated by 鈥渃reepy, crawly things.鈥�

鈥淚 was born interested in lizards,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome of us grow up thinking that鈥檚 not cool, because someone taught us that. 鈥� A lot of that imagination and that innate curiosity is kind of beaten out of us as kids. We need advocates out there who are willing to stand up and say, 鈥楾his is awesome. This is worthwhile.鈥欌��

As a rising tide of anti-science propaganda seems to be moving toward the mainstream, politicizing the debate over crucial issues like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are facing an existential dilemma, Hamilton said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just tragic that we can鈥檛 use facts. We can鈥檛 use sound arguments,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 use much of anything that I would be able to provide (as a scientist). 鈥� Where does that leave someone like me?鈥�

The spread of misinformation as it relates to the pandemic has both a professional and personal dimension for the couple: Bowman and Hamilton both lost loved ones in the pandemic. Hamilton鈥檚 father died of COVID-19 in January, and the recent death of Bowman鈥檚 sister is suspected to be related to the virus.

In May, Hamilton wrote a blog post exploring the existential malaise that arises when one鈥檚 life work sometimes seems without purpose. He recounted a recent experience that helped him cope.

In his post, Hamilton describes how he encountered, and rescued, a humpback whale caught in a massive fishing net in the southern Sea of Cortez. Bowman鈥檚 video of the rescue went a little viral this summer and for a few days, Hamilton had people from all over the world calling him a hero.

It was a privileged experience, he said: the chance to do something 鈥渦nambiguously good,鈥� with clarity of purpose 鈥� a far cry from the often thankless work of scientists in the trenches.

The whale rescue 鈥渨as one hour of work. It was a lot easier than writing a grant,鈥� he said with a laugh. Instead, 鈥渢alk about working for 10 years on something, or one year, and all of these people out here who aren鈥檛 ever going to be called heroes 鈥� including me, the day before that.鈥�

So how can scientists help renew public discourse? Night snorkeling may be a start.

Shared adventures in nature can help transcend political tribalism, leading to conversation and connection, Bowman said.

鈥淲e have so much more in common,鈥� Bowman said. 鈥淣one of us want to see species go extinct. No one wants to see that. So just getting out there together, and sharing some experiences, I think will help us heal some of these divides.鈥�

For those fighting a sense of environmental fatalism, Bowman says the best way to cope is by taking some action 鈥� even something as simple as organizing some friends for a new experience.

鈥淒o something,鈥� she said. 鈥淒o something, even if you can鈥檛 see where that end is going to be. Don鈥檛 just turn on the TV and drink a beer and tune it out, which is so easy to do 鈥� and I do it some.鈥�

Instead, she said, 鈥渏ust get out there and let yourself be moved by the beauty of this planet.鈥�