On Friday the class was treated to a special guest, Dr. Robert Cowen. He gave a lecture on the rocky reefs and kelp beds fish use as habitats. After the lecture the class discussed two papers related to the English sole. These papers gave the relevant background information needed for the field trip Monday. Following the discussion about the papers the class worked to develop a testable hypothesis and methods. Data gathered from the field trip will be used to determine if there is a difference in size and population density among differing parts of the estuary. The remainder of the day was spent at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. At the aquarium the class was able to see many different fish species even those found in deeper regions of the sea. Each student picked a single sub tidal fish which they are using to complete a report on sub tidal fishes. The report gives the class practice for searching scientific literature to find facts on the ecology and history of a fish. Tomorrow the class will begin the trawling field trip.

End of Algae, Start of Fishes

This week on BI 450, we are finishing up the last two days of the algae section, and starting the marine fishes section. Our Monday started off with all of the treasure taxa presentations on algae, many different alga species were represented in a power point, including information on that alga and the studies that were conducted.  To debrief last week students went to Boiler Bay to conduct a short study on certain alga species, studies were diverse and very interesting (although a lot of the results were inconclusive).  After that we all gathered in the lab and set up our group's stations for algae identification cards.  Groups presented their beautiful algae pressings along with some useful information, along with many yummy snacks.  After that was grind time for studying, as the lecture and lab exam was the next day.  After exams were over we moved onto the marine fishes section with Dr. Su Sponaugle

Atherino affinis (botom) and Oncorhynchus kisutch (top)

On our first day we went through some introductory lectures and learned about the different families of fishes and their anatomy. We got to know Su and prepared for our field trip the next day. We went the Yaquina Bay and used a beach seine, we geared up with our waders and got in the water.  We pulled this net through the water and caught many juvenile fish on the estuary floor.  The first few catches we had mass amounts of Leptocottus armatus or the staghorn sculpin, after a while we got a lot of  Parophyrus vetulus or the english sole, a few salmonoids, and some other cool diversity species. Pictured below are two fishy friends in the lab, the topsmelt (Atherino affinis) and what we think is a coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).  The species were counted for abundance and some were measured.  It was a lot of fun wading through the cold water and frantically grabbing fish with our hands and throwing them into buckets. We read up and discussed about juvenile English sole, which is a flatfish found in Yaquina bay.  As adults they live in the sea, and broadcast spawn in the ocean but the juveniles and larvae travel inland to grow in estuaries.  Through the two studies we've read about they prefer the sedimentation and cold temperatures. A larval sole has not yet fully developed, but a juvenile is just a small adult.  We caught many juveniles in Yaquina Bay from seining, one of the English sole's from the lab are shown below.  Next week we are going out on a boat to trawl the waters and count the abundances of English sole in different areas of the bay.  Everyone is conducting this study and we will go out on two boating trips to gather data.

Parophyrus vetulus

A week of algae

Monday we started off the week with a new instructor, Sarah Henkel, and a new topic; algae! This is Sarah’s first year teaching the algae section, and we are all having a great time. There was a lot of material to cover in the first day so we hit the books with plenty of interesting lectures, learning about the morphology, diversity, evolution, and ecology. We also spent time in the lab getting to know the different algae specimens provided by Sarah and our TA, Miram.

Tuesday was our first day in the field looking at live specimens! We went back to Boiler Bay and both Miram and Sarah walked us through the different tidal zones pointing out and providing us with tips and tricks for identifying different types of algae. We then collected our own specimens for our projects! But this was a little different than when we went out and collected invertebrates. We went around in a group identifying species and talking about different wave exposures in the area.

The class climbing down the steep entrance to Boiler bay

Once we got back to the lab we learned how to properly deherbivorize our collected specimens by removing amphipods, isopods, worms and various snails. We also got instruction and practice using dichotomous keys in order to identify different algae species. We started our species key assignment by keying out Acrosiphonia coalita '18 and Ulva blade '18.In lecture learned about green algae, Chlorophyta, and brown algae, Phaeophyta.

Wednesday was spent learning all about the red algae on the Pacific Northwest coast and keying more specimens for our lab identification assignment. This helped us learn general information about every group of algae and really get comfortable with keying everything out. As a lecture break we went to our second doughnut break with the staff of Hatfield Marine Science center and interacted with them learning about ongoing research and other cool things that are going on at Hatfield. Then it was back to the lab to finish keying out our 10 species that took a lot of work, but was good for understanding small differences within different taxa.

Acrosiphonia coalita '18 under the compound microscope.

We did not get to go out and exploring but by the end of the day our minds were full with loads of information by the end of the day.

Thursday we went back out into the field, to a Seal Rock State Park that we had not visited yet. We spent the morning there with Annet, who was the previous instructor for this section. A former BI 450 student who is currently working at the marine studies initiative joined us for this trip as well. We were able to find many types of algae not found at Boiler bay on Tuesday including; Codium setchelli '18, Constantinea simplex '18, and Callithamnion pikeanum '18.

BI 450 student at sealrock with Egregia menziesii 2018

After spending time identifying our collected species, instead of having a lecture on the ability of sea grasses to handle stress we went to a seminar given by Jim Kaldy, a researcher with the EPA who is studying how dissolved nitrogen levels and warmer waters affect on the eelgrass Zostera marina. There was even coffee and cookies! To finish off the day we learned how to make pressings of algae, which we will be displaying for the presentations we give next Monday.

The highlight of the day was that the squid eggs we have been keeping for the past week and a half started hatching. The first squid hatched at 1:32pm, it had lots of spots and was too small to weigh. By the end of the day 2 squids had hatched.

Baby squid, about 10 minutes old

Friday morning started with going out into the field to conduct our research projects. Data collection seemed to predominantly consist of using quadrats for most groups.

BI 450 students collecting data along a transect using a quadrant

After spending a few hours collecting data it was back to the lab to perform cross sections and prep specimens! At this point we were pretty much done with lectures. Instead we were given time to work on our presentations and research projects. Our last lecture of the algae section was on invasive species, which, even though they are the second largest threat to biodiversity across the globe, there is not much research focusing on how invasive species are impacting the ecosystems they invade. Our lecture included discussing Zostera japonica, which is an invasive seagrass in our area. There have been strong actions taken in California aimed at eradicating it, as it is listed as both a noxious weed and an invasive species in California. In addition Washington has also indicated steps toward removal, as this grass is listed as a noxious weed in state waters, however, in Oregon there has not been much action taken toward removal because it does not seem to be a local problem. One of the reasons that Zostera japonica has not been a problem along the Oregon coast is that our native sea grass, Zostera marina occupies a different part of the inter tidal than Z. japonica.  Z. japonica lives in the higher inter tidal while Z. marina lives in the lower inter tidal, which has allowed for minimal competition between the two species. Now as we head off into the weekend we are all studying hard preparing our presentations for the beginning of next week, and the wrap up of our algae section.  

Week 2: Crunch Time

Monday 9 April 2018
We kicked off invert's finals week by having a really neat guess lecture, Sylvia Yamada, come by and present about Carcinus maenas or the European Green Crab. As we learned from her, this species is invasive and came to our coasts by means of transporting shellfish from Europe to the Americas. They love to eat soft-shelled clams and have declined its population dramatically on the east coast. It is also heavily destroying many of the eel grass beds by snipping at the beds looking for food. This effectively made the surrounding habitat a barren and non-productive ecosystem. When these crabs came to our coasts, many researchers began to study why they would be so successful and how their populations move up from Oregon/Washington into British Columbia. Their success is attributed to El Nino and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation patterns: warm weather, strong currents, and down-welling. They've been found to easily move from coast to coast in the British Columbia by means of ocean currents. Because of the 2015 El Nino event, the 2015 year class and the subsequent year classes, will persist and produce larvae until 2023. However, with La Nina's and POD's pattern, this 2018 year class will have a smaller population.

After the lecture, we went to collect these crabs off of the mudflats surrounding Hatfield. We caught 30-40 C. maenas and collected a few other crab species including Cancer magister, Cancer productus, and Hemigrapsus oregonensis. We then collected data on C. maenas and peacefully froze them to their deaths (for science and for the environment!).

A few C. maenas (2018) caught by the mudflats surrounding Hatfield

Tuesday 10 April 2018

After some lectures on Tuesday, we went to the Newport docks in the rainy spring weather to hopefully collect some cnidarians or ctenophores. We came up seemingly empty for the most part, save a dead pyrosome and a hydrozoan. But, we gave them a look under the microscope and the view was still pretty impressive. On what seems to be some seaweed are some goofy looking skeleton shrimp (Caprella alaskana ‘18) bowing to own another. And what they were using their sharp claws to cling on to, what we thought was seaweed, was actually a type of cnidarian called a hydrozoan, which is related to a jelly fish.  

                             One of the many C. alaskana (2018) found clinging to a hyrdrozoan at the docks as seen from under a dissecting microscope.

Wednesday 11 April 2018
Wednesday morning started with learning about Phylum Echinodermata, all the urchins, sea stars, and sea cucumbers. It was also our first Donut Wednesday! We had 30 minutes to go and introduce ourselves to the top scientists and staff at Hatfield and get to know who's all here. Once we got there, we went straight for the food and kind of awkwardly stood around waiting for an encounter... I personally stood around with a few others sipping my coffee till (thankfully) Itchung came and had a chat with us. Then he graciously introduced us to Rick Brown the programs manager at NOAA!!! This was suuuper awesome; we had chatted away until our TA, Rebecca, had to come and tug us away back to lectures... :( 

After our final inverts lecture on Phylum Chordata, we all buckled down on getting our notebooks finished, studied for our exams, and getting ready for the 13th Annual Marine Invertebrate Presentation and Dessert Extravaganza. My group including Caroline and Beth decided to do our favorite invertebrate on a local ctenophore: Pleurobrachia bachei. To represent our favorite jellies we had our classmates make their own ctenophores using jello! Not only did we get donuts and jello, but Sally also brought some cheesecake!

Our cute P. bachei

Class picture with their own cute ctenophore

Thursday 12 April 2018
Thursday was an intense day of sticking it out in the library to study. Pretty much everyday since Monday we had studied and a few us stayed up till the late hours studying away for the lecture exam and the lab practical. The Guin Library is so perfect for nights like these! Equipped with multiple whiteboards, colorful markers, and lots of space, we went HAM. Shout-out to the Guin librarians for letting us steal ALL THE WHITEBOARDS for our notes.

All the invert species ID'd and organized in preparation for the practical

Group study is the best kinda study!

There are so many types of invertebrates with so much diversity to learn about. It’s crazy to think that Sally taught us so much in such a small period of time.  So much so that some of us were in the library until 2 am. 

Friday and Saturday 13/14 April 2018
Thus the fateful day, and to make it spooky, it was Friday the 13th. Staying up so late didn’t stop us from waking up early again to get the last few hours of studying in before our 12:30 exam and 2 pm practical. We had done all we can and in we went... and I think we all did pretty well! And so the marine invertebrate section came to a close. It was stressful having to learn the 50+ Latin names of the invertebrates we collected but everyone had studied so well the last few days . It was so gratifying to finally be able to identify these animals. Now that we know this information, we will hopefully be able to use it for the future. We just need to remember that to identify a shore crab, we need to check to see if it shaves it legs. If it does, it’s a Hemigrapsus nudus. If it keeps its legs hairy, like a hipster Oregonian, It’s a Hemigrapsus oregonensis. It's that simple! Kind of...

It may not look like it but we were cleaning up the lab in this photo.

These past two weeks were challenging but rewarding in that we've learned so much more and got a better grasp on how each section will be. Next week we start on the marine macroalgae section. We've all already said it in person, but we want to give them a shout out on the blog: thank you, Sally and Rebecca for being amazing teachers!

Before we dive into the algae, Saturday was the annual Hatfield Marine Science Day! I got to volunteer with Scarlett Arbuckle who is head of the Marine Team. We had an awesome time talking to visitors about fishing and sustainability with a really cool activity.

Scarlett Arbuckle and the sustainable fishing activity!

Week two has been a blast and we are looking forward for what's to come with algae this week! 

Closing off the marine invert section with a happy crab!
(Gif by Chris Jones, Dribbble)

Week 1: A Wet and Muddy Welcoming

Monday, April 2, marked our first day towards becoming professional marine biologists. After meeting, our class was toured around the campus, and shown all of the little details that make the Hatfield Marine Science Center so awesome. Rooms filled with fishtanks, presereved animals, and dried algae were not a rare sight as we went through the campus. After a little break, our professor, Dr. Sally Hacker, explained to us why marine biology is important not only to the scientific world, but to the general population as well. Likewise we also learned about some of the important physical processes that make the Oregon Coast so special. For example, did you know that the Oregon coast has some of the largest sand dune flats in North America? Finally, after a walk up to safe haven hill where we would go in the case of a tsunami, we all met up for some pie and ice cream on campus to get to know each other a little more, and talk about what we would be looking forward to in the weeks ahead as well as our dream jobs, which ranged from scientists, to comic book editors, to even professional ice cream tastors with golden spoons. It was a great way to get to know each other a little more, and it's obvious just by the first day that this term is going to be awesome.


Tuesday was our first packed day. We met up at 7:30 in the morning and headed for our first field day at a site called Boiler Bay, locate just north of Depoe Bay, Oregon. This field site is unique because it sits as a bench stretched far out into the surf allowing unique organisms to settle that we wouldnt see in a more protected area. We spent around two hours here collecting a wide range on invertebrates from crabs to chitons to seastars, all to bring back and study in the lab. We had fantastic weather and truly could not have had more fun outside. Once we were back we took a lunch break, and met back up to cover more about what exactly it means to be an invertebrate. On the same note we continued lecture talking about sponges which are in the taxonomic phylum porifera and has some of the oldest invertebrates on the planet. Then we took a quick break and spent the next three hours in lab talking about, and identifying the animals that we had collected during the field trip. By the end of the day, everyone was completely exhausted but excited for what was yet to come.

An image of a giant boiler which was part of the ship that wrecked here in the 20th century

Wednesday began with another great field trip to a site named Tokatee Klootchman recreation area. While the forecast looked spotty, the weather held and we were able to run around the intertidal without getting too wet. We saw many different animals from those at Boiler Bay, including a Grey Whale that a few of us saw just shy of 100 yards into the surf! Once we arrived back at Hatfield and put our new critters into tanks, we learned all about cnidarians and ctenophores, which are basically jelly fish and anemones. Both of these groups of animals make up quite a bit of the marine wildlife one might see on the Oregon Coast, and it was exciting learning about these animals that grow right in our backyard. After lecture we once again had a three hour lab, followed by the beginning of some studying, hiking, fishing for clams and mussels, and getting used to living here.

Thursday stood out from the rest in that we had our first day digging mud pies for a grade in our college careers. We spent our morning searching for worms and burrowing shrimp on a coastal estuary called Sally’s Bend. The mud was incredibly hard to walk through, due to the work of some incredicly busy shrimp digging holes beneth our feet, and in the end some boots had to be sacrificed to the field site, but we still had a great time. We found a ton of brand new organisms, that somehow looked nothing like the animals we've seen so far, but are still living within a mile of one another. The change in the atmosphere was not only a blast but a super interesting experience. While the rest of the day was routine, trudging through the mud was one of the most fun I have ever had in a class.

Friday began as a rather gloomy day weatherwise. We loaded up in the vans, and while we were excited, we were all disappointed to realize that our hike to a beautiful viewing point on Cascade Head would most likely only give us a nice view of the rain clouds. Once we arrived at our hike just passed Lincoln City, we all became mystified by the forest around us where we saw salmonberry flowers blooming, and heard threshes and hummingbirds zip by. When everyone reached the top, we had completely forgotten to care that there should be any view, and had lunch in the clouds all hanging out with one another, just listening to the crashing waves of the Pacific coming from the mist. After lunch, we took a class picture, and as we began to wander around Cascade Head the sun started to appear and the clouds began to part to reveal a magnificent view of the coast. The hike was a fantastic way to end the week, and we are off to a strong start for the beginning of what will be a fun, but study filled weekend.

The view from Cascade Head.