MBFE Tuesday 5/7 - A great low tide day at Sunset Bay, Oregon

In the BYU-Idaho Marine Biology Field Experience (MBFE) we try to schedule things so that we first discuss a marine community or ecological principle in class and then go to the shore to see examples of what we have been talking about.  

Today we continued discussing the rocky intertidal zone, and today's field outing was a trip to the rocky shore at Sunset Bay, Oregon, where the students were assigned to collect data they needed to learn how to calculate species diversity index values.

Here's the crew arriving at the rocky shore...

LR: Michelle, Liv, Sam, Matt, Anne, Caleb, Ben, Collin, Hunter, Chey, Mady (back), Jen, Eric, Victoria and Emma

The group were assigned to work in three-student teams, and each team was assigned a different micro-habitat to study.  Here are Ben, Liv and Chey collecting data using their team's quadrat.

Elsewhere, Michelle, Maddy and Hunter are working their location.

As are Collin, Jen and Eric.

And Sam, Matt and Emma.

After data collection is complete, students are free to investigate the new location to see what they could see.  At this place, sea urchins are dominant species of the lower intertidal zone.  

This is the final research team of the day: Anne, Caleb and Victoria.  Victoria has clearly made a new friend.

Here Anne is following a maxim of a former professor of mine, Todd Newberry, who used to tell his students that if they really wanted to see things in the intertidal zone, that they should "put their face where their feet are."  Anne is! 

In this pic, (L-R): Sam, Hunter, Jan, Maddy, and Victoria (background) and Anne (bottom corner) take a look around.

Caleb explores a surge channel while Matt looks on.

And Sam and Eric are surprised by the number of marine critters they already know, even though the MBFE started less than a week ago.

When the work was done and we were ready to head back to the lab, Dr. H surprised the crew when he sliced the ends off of a bull kelp (Nereocystis) and used it to play a tune.  Then several group members wanted a try...(sorry but the video wouldn't load)

And then it was time to head back to the lab in time for lunch in the Dining Hall.

But, the day wasn't done...that afternoon we had a couple of hours of lecture about adaptations of intertidal marine organisms to waves, currents and other water flow forces.   

MBFE - A new week, and back into the field for the MBFE crew

Over the weekend the low tides during daylight hours shifted from the late afternoon to the early morning, so today the students wore their field gear to breakfast and we were on our way to the shore at 7:30am.  Today's exercise?  Plot the profile of a rocky shore, and collect information needed to see how dominant species shifts as you move from the water line to the top of the intertidal zone.

And here they go!

Here's one five-person research team: Sam and Collin (working the quadrat), Liv and Victoria (working the poles and level) and Michelle (scribe), just getting started. 

Meanwhile, the other groups are also underway.  This team features Anne and Matt on the poles, Eric and Hunter collecting data using the quadrat, and Chey as team scribe.

And team three: Jen and Emma on the poles, Caleb and Maddy on the quadrat, and Ben as scribe.  Let's see...which team member saw the camera come out?  Oh, yeah...you know it's Maddy!  :-)

The morning of field data collection comes full circle as the research team of Collin, Sam, Victoria, Liv and Michelle do their last few measurements, with a playlist of Disney movie songs going in the background and them singing in the foreground!  They know how to whistle while they work.

Some groups finished faster than others, but this doesn't mean they are bee-lining it back to the lab...they take advantage of the low tide at a new place to check things out.

Eric cruises the waterline looking for interesting finds... 

...while Matt looks at marine critters, wondering if there are bacteria in there...

And Emma, Matt, Anne and Ben discover their first sponges and are amazed at the number of sea anemones and seastars around the pier's pilings.

At the same time, Maddy and Jen find that the entire surface is covered with marine life.

After about 2.5 hours in the field, the data are collected and we head back to the lab where each group gathers, shares data and works on developing a graph showing vertical zonation of intertidal organisms along their transect lines, followed by a little down time.

In the afternoon we spent another 2.5 hours in lecture discussing rocky intertidal shores, and the challenges and opportunities of living there.

By the way, did I mention that we had a FLOOD in our lab last night?  One of the water flow tubes bringing water into our class' seawater tank flipped over the edge and proceeded to pour water all over the floor, and I mean all over almost the entire floor!!  Luckily it's not the marine station's first rodeo and they were able to bring in industrial strength shop vacs and had the lab slicked up and largely dried out by the time we got back from the field this morning.

And that's another day in the books for MBFE...don't worry, we are headed back into the field in the morning.

MBFE - Days 1-3 We are here! 5/2-5/5

It finally came - BYU-Idaho Marine Biology Field Experience (MBFE) 2019!

After three hours of lecture on our first full morning of MBFE, we headed for the field in the afternoon.  We spent three largely sun-soaked hours at the rocky intertidal zone at Cape Arago State Park, South Cove.  Here is this year's group.  

LR: Dr. Holyoak, Sam, Matt, Eric, Caleb (back), Maddy, Hunter, Michelle, Cheyennah, Collin, Anne, Emma, Victoria, Jen (back), Liv and Ben.  

And this is the way they look when you're usually not looking...and how they feel about being at the seashore.

And so, the adventure begins.  I felt a little like a duck with her little ducklings in a row behind her as we walked down the path to the beach...

Over the driftwood logs and debris that's common along this part of the coast...

And out onto the beach on our way to our destination - the rocky shore at low tide!!!

And after negotiating the algae-covered rocks was when the real fun began!  Data collection.  Today's exercise was a species richness survey using 100cm3 quadrats to compare the tops and sides of rocks in an assigned area.

They LOVED IT!

Collin, Maddy and Michelle...

Anne, Victoria and Emma...

Sam, Eric, Matt(?), Jen and Caleb

Caleb takes a close look in a tide pool.

Emma, Ben (back), Anne, Victoria (I think)

Caleb, Anne, Hunter, Eric, Sam...

Collin (in rock), Liv (below), Michelle, Maddy, Victoria

Chey makes here way over some rocks with samples in her bucket.

Hunter and Eric check out what's in their team's bucket.

And three hours later it's time to head back to the lab to be in time for dinner.  It was a great day in the field.

I'm happy to report that this one day at the rocky shore was enough to alter all of my students' minds sufficiently that they are now unavoidably drawn to rocky areas, even when beautiful sandy beaches beckon.  Ha ha - how do I know?  The next day, Friday 5/3, we were in the field for about 3.5 hours visiting several local beaches doing beach profile surveys and collecting sand for particle-size analysis.  Invariably, as soon as the sand was collected and we had looked at the beach profile, students would bee-line toward the nearest rocky outcropping to see what was there.

Your honor, for evidence I present the following photographs :-)

Students around a rocky outcropping at Cape Arago, South Cove...

Students examining rocks at Simpson Beach (Shore Acres State Park).

And, lastly, students on rocky shelves by the beach at Cape Arago, Middle Cove.

I rest my case.

This actually happens every trip, it just happened faster than normal this time around.

Saturday 5/4 - Yes, May the Fourth, STAR WARS DAY - was celebrated, but not until the evening after students had completed their sand particle size analyses and many of them visited some tall ships that were in the area for a few days.  

Here are the Lady Washington (foreground) and the Hawaiian Chieftain (background).  They just happened to be visiting Coos Bay this weekend, so most of us went and took a look.  They are pretty cool all right!

And we topped off the day with a STAR WARS movie party in the cottage where my wife and I are staying.  

May the Fourth be With You!