MBFE - Days 17-18 - More on MBFE research teams and experiences

I guess the main thing to report is that research projects are underway and ongoing.

Here are the research groups in action:

(L-R) Katie, Emily, and Courtney

This team spent the morning collecting more sea anemones from the base of the OIMB pier. They are studying the effects of varying intensity of light on on bleaching in sea anemones.  While out there they found some interesting things...first was a 7-armed Pisaster ochraceus (purple seastar, see below).  The entire class is learning from first-hand experience that there is a lot more natural variability out there than they originally thought.  For example, though these sea stars usually have 5 arms during the MBFE we've spotted individuals with anywhere from 4 to 7 arms.  Life rocks.

They also found juveniles of the same species.  This is a good sign.  Populations of this species along with several other west coast species of seastars were hammered by a virus back in 2013 causing populations of many species to crash.  It's good to see at least some species showing strong signs of recovery.  We still hold out hope for others that have not yet done so.

The next team is Rob and Harrison.  They are asking the question "Is there a difference in competitive ability between different clones of green anemones?"  To answer their question they are are carrying out pair-wise battles between members of different clones.  The results?  Stay tuned. Data are still being collected.

Darby, Wyatt and Janae chose this location as one of their field sites.  They are collecting data showing how often the black turban snail is attacked by crabs and survives.  

Here are members of this team (L-R) Janae, Darby and Wyatt.

The next team is Caitlin, Ashley and Bri.  The photo below shows the location of one of their studies. They are working on a digital field guide to the rocky area at the south end of the beach between Yoakam Point to the north and Gregory Point to the south.  Locals call this Lighthouse Beach (for good reason).   It's kind of a locals only beach...others would not know easily to access it.  

Yeah, it's kind of a dump as far as scenery goes, don't you think?  Just kidding.  The southern Oregon coast is absolutely dripping with scenic ocean vistas.

This team is (L-R) Ashley, Caitlin and Bri.

The next team is studying the effects of varying seawater acidity on the development of sea urchin embryos.  Embryonic and juvenile forms of marine invertebrates are often the life stages that are most susceptible to variations in physical conditions such as pressure, salinity and pH.

This team is (L-R) Darren, Jay and Stephen.

Each team is discovering interesting things about nature, the nature of research and themselves as they progress through this experience.  Like Jim Carrey as the Grinch says, "But that's what these tests are for!"  

Stay tuned for more updates!

MBFE - Days 15-16 - Research continues

The days are starting to fly by.  Now that we are done with our class field trips, teams of students are engaged in their research whenever they are not in class.

Speaking of class...the past two days have been real crowd pleasers.  Tuesday was "Shark Day."  We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon discussing sharks and their relatives.  I mean what student who signs up for a field marine biology trip like this one doesn't like sharks?

Then today we returned to our overview of marine communities and we spent our time thinking about life in the deep sea open water environment.  This meant that we discussed topics like marine snow, bioluminescence, and daily vertical migrations.

Yesterday morning and this morning students spent time in the lab and in the field.

A couple of groups spend a few hours doing field work back at South Cove, Cape Arago.  Here are Arianne, Kelly, and Jessica making their way over the drift logs at the bottom of the trail down to the beach.

Later Devon, Joseph, and Luke (far right) arrived to do some collecting while Isaac and Shannon collected specimens and data (far left).

The crew is really getting into their research, though some of the groups are still working to get their research feet under them.  All in all though, things are going great.

Student research teams were also out working this morning's nice low tide.  Here are Jennifer (left) and Eileen (right) getting ready to collect data they need to investigate population genetics of shell color in a common mussel.  The large rock is near the OIMB and is their research site.

In the meantime Luke, Joseph, and Devon work the low tide at South Cove as they collect data on the the population vertical distribution and size frequency distribution of little animals called chitons. They are also hoping to observe the development of these animals under different levels of water acidity.

The animals they are working on are not familiar to many people, but they are related to snails.  They have 8 shell plates and are some of the nicest animals you are likely to meet (see below).  

Stay tuned as the MBFE adventure continues.