Day 6 • 1 July 2016 • Majuro to Arno Atoll (Geeking over Geckos)

With another early morning start, we anticipated a smooth journey to Arno Atoll, which lies only a few miles to the east of Majuro. Alas, the weather had turned overnight to produce winds and rains, which had barely abated by our scheduled departure time. Wind and rain on the open ocean means increased swells, and certainly it meant a foreboding sky. In addition, we ran into what one local fisherman termed “island time,” with our boat not actually getting to the dock until 1.5 hours after we did!

We eventually managed to load and got on a boat owned by the mayor of Arno Atoll. The boat dock is positioned on the lagoon side of Majuro, and the only way out is through the Majuro Bridge, which connects the town and villages around the capital city to the islet with the airport. At the passage spanned by the bridge, the captain held up for a minute or two in order to observe the oncoming swells, before launching into the open ocean—with immediate and rather spectacular effect on his unsuspecting riders. The sudden experience of fairly substantial swells threw many of us for a loop, literally! While it was an interesting roller-coaster ride across the ocaen to Arno, with all those new to this type of boating (which was most of us) given to spontaneous shrieking and squeaking, we arrived safely at our destination shortly after 10 am.

Two pickup trucks did their eponymous duty—they picked us up—and we drove about a mile westwards to reach our destination, the Arno Beachcomber Guesthouse. Now, THAT’S what I call a guesthouse. One part is a two-story structure right by the pristine beach, upstairs and downstairs with separate apartments each to sleep three, and with the tropical breezes providing an excellent measure of air condition—not to warm, not too cool. The other building in the compound is the main living area, with six additional places to sleep and the kitchen. We divided up the sleeping quarters amicably and got settled in.

Settling in on Arno for some of us meant organizing the kitchen, the food, and the common area, while for others it meant dropping everything on the beds and going snorkeling—and this division of activities was quite by choice. Then, we began the experimental design portion of this class in earnest. Since some of our ideas were related to the quadcopter (= drone) I brought along, we needed to try out that piece of equipment. Should anyone be interested in this kind of technology, we were using the Phantom III Professional.

The first thing to do with a drone is to learn how to start flying it, then to complete some specific tasks. We began our flying lesson in a clearing among the palm trees in the compound by launching the drone and having it turn 360° while filming everyone. It is fortunately very easy to start everything up, but navigating the drone by using an image from the drone’s camera on a mobile phone screen perched on the controller is not so straightforward—especially on a sunny day! So it took a bit of time to advance to research-level drone operation. In the end, we were easily able to send the drone out over the reef, 500 feet off the beach, or 300 feet up into the air to get a bird’s view of Arno Atoll.

Our first self-cooked meal in our new digs, ably concocted by Morgan Lewis, along with several sous-chefs, was garlic-fried spam cubes and cabbage-onion stew over white rice, with a Sriracha soy glaze. After this great feast, we went out to find reptiles around the compound. Even though there is a limited number of species on Arno Atoll, we found some interesting tidbits. For example, among the geckos there is one species (Lepidodactylus lugubris) that is supposed to be unisexual, meaning that only females exist. Well, we captured several individuals for show-and-tell, and one of them was clearly a male! A reading of the literature revealed that Arno Atoll is the only place in the world where this unisexual species coexists with the two species (Lepidodactylus moestus and an undescribed species of Lepidodactylus) that hybridized to produce it! Furthermore, we captured a blindsnake (genus Indotyphlops). These kinds of snakes are also called “flowerpot snakes” because they are commonly transported in flowerpots. Since these types of snakes have not been reported from Arno Atoll previously, this is a nice find all by itself! It appears that we may actually be getting enough data for a short publication!

The distance from Majuro Atoll to Arno Atoll isn't that large, as shown here in this satellite image. However, traveling across any ocean passage can be troubling when the wind kicks in, especially in a small craft. 

With our boat double-docked (it is on the left in the image) due to the boat traffic as a consequence of an ongoing fishing competition, we formed a chain to get our luggage and food boxes across.

Speeding across Majuro Lagoon in a boat belonging to the Mayor of Arno Atoll was quite an experience for some of these landlubbers. It was Mitzia Zambada's first boat ride ever! With Neptune's help (the Greek god of the sea, not a movement from a musical suite by Gustav Holst), we made it across in about an hour. We frequently saw flying fish (family Exocoetidae) jump out next to the boat. From left: Dakota Brooks, Ruby Resendez, Jose Huerta, Morgan Lewis, Amanda Callahan.

This footage was shot in slow motion to allow our readers a better understanding of the way this boat ride unfolded. It's a mix between Kon-Tiki and Moby Dick, and you might have to look those up... Video courtesy of Morgan Lewis.

Amanda Callahan's reaction perfectly embodies the adventure of the trip across to Arno. The hair (flying in the breeze), the terror (fingers TIGHTLY gripping the boat), the mouth (alternating delightful squeaks with terrified screams), and the shades (it's the tropics, dudes). Photo courtesy of Morgan Lewis.

Morgan's selfie shows the effect of wind, salt spray, and a bouncy boat on a research student's countenance. Self control admixed with some serious adventure. Photo courtesy of Morgan Lewis.

The team photo upon arrival at the Arno Island dock. We may be wet and disheveled, but we are happy to be able to take on the world!

Back on land, we once again had to deal with our chattels, this time to load everything onto a couple of trucks for the drive to Arno Beachcomber Guesthouse.

We have arrived! This is the beach house, which sleeps six.

The view of the beach at Arno Beachcomber Guesthouse. This is the view taken literally just outside the front door of the beach house! No wonder that some of the team felt the immediate urge to drop everything and go snorkeling! Can't blame them...

Our first meal preparation. At left, Morgan Lewis and her assortment of sous chefs taking care of dinner, while Amanda Callahan sleeps it off. The boat ride and the snorkeling, that is.

Gehyra insulensis male. Photo courtesy of Kaitlin Rickerl. 

Hemidactylus frenatus, a species introduced into many parts of the world. Photo courtesy of Kaitlin Rickerl.

This is the undescribed species of Lepidodactylus, which is considered to be the paternal species of the widely distributed unisexual L. lugubris.

A specimen of Lepidodactylus moestus, considered to be the maternal species that produced L. lugubris. Photo courtesy of Kaitlin Rickerl.

This blindsnake (Indotyphlops braminus) is the first one recorded for Arno. Photo courtesy of Kaitlin Rickerl.