For a quick recap...field work we have done so far included a zonation study in the rocky intertidal zone, a species richness study at the Charleston Harbor mudflats, tide pool species richness surveys at South Cove, Cape Arago State Park, data collection for species diversity index calculations at the rocky intertidal shore at Sunset Bay State Park, Church on Sunday at the North Bend, OR, Ward, and a day spent surveying and collecting sand samples from seven different beaches for particle size analysis.
In addition I estimate that we have already spent about 24 hours in the classroom. That's equivalent of about 8 weeks in the classroom if we were meeting 3x/week on campus. And on top of that students are spending time mostly during the evening identifying specimens from the field and tossing around ideas for research projects. For some bizarre reason they (and I) are weary, but we happily press forward. Like one class member replied when I asked if they thought I was pushing them too hard, "This is why we are here!" Nice attitude!!
The group is gelling well and are getting along nicely. They help each other and support one another like champs.
This is a pic from a group that went on an outing on Sunday.
(L-R) Wyatt, Darby, Janae, Darren, Emily, Harrison
And so...on Monday we spent our field time collecting sand samples from various beaches between here and Cape Arago. Here are a few shots from that day:
Our first stop was Bastendorf Beach, about 1 mile from the lab. It's a beautiful 1-mile long beach. Here the group gets some instruction from Dr. Holyoak about beach morphology and sand particle size - exciting like crazy, I know! (L-R Jay, Ashley, Dr. H, Stephen, Katie, and Bri (others in the background). This was a fun stop where we found LOTS of mole crabs.
Our next stop was Lighthouse Beach, at least that's what I call it. It takes a little local knowledge and effort to reach this beach.
Here's the crew heading down a somewhat hidden beach access to Lighthouse Beach.
Here we are at Lighthouse Beach, and you can seen why. Cape Arago Lighthouse is in the background.
Like budding marine biologists do, they shunned the sand for a few rocky outcroppings covered with marine critters. Don't get me wrong, the like the sand just fine, but they have a new-found appreciation for rocky areas and the animals they support. (L-R) Emily, Darren, Courtney, Bri, Caitlin, Darby, Jay, Janae, Harrison, Stephen, Ashley and Katie. Wyatt in the meantime was scouring nearby tide pools in the hopes of finding octopus.
We weren't done, but we were done at Lighthouse Beach, but not before the BYU-I MBFE put their particular brand of awesomeness on it!
(L-R) Courtney, Caitlin, Emily, Bri, Wyatt, Ashley, Katie (back), Janae, Jay (front), Darby, Stephen, Darren, Harrison and Rob.
Our next stop was to collect more sand at Sunset Bay. It is as you can see a protected beach with the usual beautiful Oregon green surroundings.
(L-R) Jay, Courtney, Stephen, Katie and Bri
After one more stop at Cape Arago where I sent volunteers to collect sand at Middle Cove and South Cove we were done for the day.
Here is the South Cove sand collection team, viewed from the overlook (is it any mystery why I sent volunteer teams? :-) This crew was Darby, Courtney and Janae. In the meantime a group of guys went down an unimproved trail to Middle Cove that's just as far down there.
So what do you do with all that sand? We have a stack of sieves with progressively smaller mesh sizes. Once the sand samples are all dried you pour your sample into the top and shake and shake and shake the sand down. You can then weigh each fraction of the sample for each sieve grid size and figure out how big the particles are. Particle size is a function of wave action so this is a way to quantify wave exposure on a beach. Yep, that's pretty neat!
And that's all for this entry. Stay tuned...
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