Week 4

Monday: The week began with finishing our trawl reports and turning them in by 9:00. After that we had our final lectures and discussion for the fishes section. At 13:30 study time began and between working on lab notebooks and studying for the section final exam everyone was busily scurrying between the library and the lab.

Tuesday: In the morning there was some time for us to study before sitting down for the exam at 13:00. The general feeling in the room at 12:50 was that we were pretty well prepared yet chronically sleep-deprived. The test went well and afterward students headed to the lab for finishing touches on their lab notebooks due at 18:00

Wednesday: It was time to begin the section on marine macroalgae—after taking the morning off to catch some extra Zs, of course.  We met Allie Barner, the instructor for the section, who enthusiastically introduced us to the different phyla of marine macroalgae and presented their unique evolutionary history and plastid origins. The three phyla of algae evolved from three distinct endosymbiosis events.  The first (primary) endosymbiosis event produced the common ancestor to all eukaryotes.  The second of these events (a second primary endosymbiosis) caused this common ancestor to diverge producing the clade which contains chlorophytes (green algae), rhodophytes (red algae), and land plants. Finally, there was a secondary endosymbiosis event in which a eukaryotic cell engulfed a red algae cell forming the ochrophytes (brown algae).

After that we split into different teams, each tasked with a different set of algae, and prepared for going on a field trip the next morning.

Thursday: Most everyone seemed quite tired as we met up in the lab at 6:00 am to leave on our field trip.  We went to Boiler Bay where each team was tasked with finding a key species of algae and recording is distribution, as well as collecting samples. Upon returning to HMSC, we had a break for elevensies followed by an ID lab and some lectures.  In the lab we were introduced to both micro and macroscopic characteristics used to identify algae using a dichotomous key.  One of these lectures focused on the different life histories found in algae.  

 Identifying the red algae growing on a wall in Boiler Bay's protected intertidal zone.

There are three distinct life history strategies that are observed in algae.  Haplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic haploid gametophyte, whereas diplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic diploid sporophyte.  The gametophyte produces haploid gametes, and the sporophyte produces haploid spores.  Haplodiplontic life cycles alternate generations between a haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes.  Haploid stages are characterized by having a single copy of each chromosome, and diploid stages are characterized by having two copies of each chromosome.

After our lab and lectures, we learned to press algae for artistic purposes and to preserve specimens.

Friday: Once again we had to get up early in lab by 6:15.  From there we went to Tokatee Klootchman where we collected and took notes on at least two more species of algae in our group.  On this field trip we were shown examples of many of the important algae found in the intertidal.  The rest of the day consisted of one lecture followed by team meetings to design a field study.  These field studies will be conducted on Monday May 1st.

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The three phyla of algae evolved from three distinct endosymbiosis events.  The first (primary) endosymbiosis event produced the common ancestor to all eukaryotes.  The second of these events (a second primary endosymbiosis) caused this common ancestor to diverge producing the clade which contains chlorophytes (green algae), rhodophytes (red algae), and land plants. Finally, there was a secondary endosymbiosis event in which a eukaryotic cell engulfed a red algae cell forming the ochrophytes (brown algae).

The finely branched rhodophyte Ptilota, found by a student at Boiler Bay.

Feather boa kelp (Egregia menziesii), an ochrophyte, found at Boiler Bay.

There are three distinct life history strategies that are observed in algae.  Haplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic haploid gametophyte, whereas diplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic diploid sporophyte.  The gametophyte produces haploid gametes, and the sporophyte produces haploid spores.  Haplodiplontic life cycles alternate generations between a haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes.  Haploid stages are characterized by having a single copy of each chromosome, and diploid stages are characterized by having two copies of each chromosome.

SOMETHING'S FISHY...

After a brief break in both classes and coursework, a new week brings a new professor, a new TA, and a new subject: FISH!

Group photo from day one at Tokatee Klootchman

Monday:

We dipped our toes into the new subject right away, spending the morning sloshing through the tide pools at Tokatee Klootchman in search of intertidal fish. In our rainiest field trip yet, we scooped up sculpin and gathered gunnels, bringing the best specimens back to the lab. After a brief lecture on general anatomy, we tried our best to apply what we learned, attempting to identify a number of fish specimens.

Tuesday:

Paige and Nick wading through the water to do a beach seine.

Everybody loves a beach day! We spent the afternoon at an estuary beach, while a select few braved the water to drag seine nets and capture fish. We sorted, counted, measured, and identified a number of species, including pipefish, flatfish, and juvenile salmon. Our biggest catch of the week, with a TL of approximately 22cm, was Leptocottus armatus, the Pacific Staghorn Sculpin. This little excursion was followed by lecture on reproduction and life history, allowing us to better understand the journey of the young fish we had just caught.

Wednesday:

As everyone was beginning to tire, we fought the mid-week blues with break in the morning for coffee and donuts. This was followed by a guest lecture from Dr. Bob Cowen about kelp forests and rocky reef habitats. We managed to experience a number of other habitats while escaping the stormy weather with an afternoon adventure to the AQUARIUM. Naturally, everyone gravitated to the open ocean exhibit, where sharks and rays take center stage.

Enclosed in the Aquarium’s longest tunnel, the class relaxed into a state of admiration and awe at the wonders of the deep. Sketching and photography ensued, along with identification of species and discussion of anatomical differences. The “Open Sea” exhibit houses 5 species of shark, schools of mackerel and anchovies, and bat rays. The largest shark species on display was the Broadnose Sevengill shark, Notorhynchus cepedianus. This shark is common along the Oregon Coast and can be identified by its unusual number of seven gills. Because of their gill number, they are thought to be related to ancient sharks, as fossils from the Jurassic period also boast seven gills. This oddity gives them the Guinness Book of World Records title for most gills!

Thursday:

Elakha cruise group two posing as their favorite fish: the English sole!

Thursday was the most highly anticipated day of the week: we got to spend the morning out on the Elakha, beam trawling and sorting fish for our research project. The early morning crew fought rain and sleepy eyes, but managed to have a blast. The afternoon crew was a bit luckier with the weather, and had just as much fun measuring and identifying fish. After a much needed lunch break, the afternoon took a slower pace, with a lecture on swimming and schooling followed by analysis of the trawl data. A small group of students then assisted Su and Miram in deploying light traps off the Pump House dock.

Friday:

The final day of the week was all about the class room! We had the pleasure of two guest lectures, from Dr. Wayne Hoffman and Dr. Christian Breseño-Avena, about herring and plankton, respectively. Our lecture on plankton was immediately followed by a plankton identification lab. We used microscopes to identify species and count plankton, determining that in one light trap we had collected over 125,000 planktonic organisms!

This week was packed full of lectures, field adventures, and fish! The week went swimmingly, but there is still a lot more schooling to do before we finish up the section on fishes.

Week 7: Community Ecology (week 1)

This week was our first week of Community Ecology, taught by a new professor, Dr. Bruce Menge! Community Ecology is (nearly) a 2-week class. The first week involved 4 field trips, about 5 lectures, and 4 guest lectures from graduate students in Bruce's lab. These four field trips made this week a very tiring week; we had to wake up before 6 am every day to catch the early low tide! We traveled to various sites along the coast spanning from Fogarty creek (in the north) to Tokatee Kloochman (in the south). Even though we were extremely tired by the end of the week, we still had a lot of fun learning about community ecology and collecting valuable data. We had to struggle though early mornings, but the week was still not overwhelming because we had plenty of free time to enjoy the beautiful warm weather in Newport (reaching record highs in temperature and being sunny ALL week!!).

Recreational kite flying with Octie the 

Octopus at Nye Beach

Monday:
Monday was our one day this week without a field trip. We had lectures covering the topic of Structure and Biodiversity of Marine Community and a guest lecture from our very own TA Elizabeth Cerny-Chipman, on Environmental stress and the foraging ecology of whelks.

Tuesday:
Tuesday was our first field trip! The entire class went to Boiler Bay, a favorite site of BI 450, to collect data on percent cover of algae and invertebrates, tide pool height, whelk diet, tide pool diversity, and more! For half the class this day was spent quantifying the percentages of plants and animals living in the rock shores (using quadrats), while the other half of the class was split into pairs to measure the other variables. Though the weather at Boiler  Bay was sunny and warm, we could not collect data from the wave-exposed high intertidal due to the tides, so we had to complete the quadrat data for this site on Thursday.

     A quadrat at Boiler Bay, used to measure 

    the percent cover of invertebrates and algae

Wednesday:

This day we visited Strawberry Hill, another favorite site of the BI 450 class, to collect data from the same categories as Boiler Bay. Compared to Boiler Bay, we saw a lot more Pisaster ochraceus, the common sea star. We even saw one sea star that had two arms missing. Bruce thought the cause might have been predation.

Pisaster ochraceus with two missing arms found

at Strawberry Hill in the low, exposed zone

Some of our students had the pleasure of discovering a new animal that they had not encountered before. Though they originally thought that this specimen might be an alga, they learned that it was actually a hydroid, of the genus Aglaophenia. This genus of hydroid is often found associated with small, jumping amphipods.

Above: Aglaophenia sp.

Thursday:

On Thursday, our class split up into two groups (for the first time!), half going to Boiler Bay and the other to Strawberry Hill to collect data on biodiversity of algae and invertebrates. Some students were responsible for collecting information on biodiversity of algae and others of invertebrates. The students spent 20 minutes at each zone (low, middle, high) in the protected and exposed areas of each site. After the field trip, we reconvened for a lecture on Modification of Biotic Effects on Community Structure. In the evening, we listened to another guest lecture from a returning graduate student, Allie Barner, about her research on canopy and understory algae in the rocky intertidal.

Friday:

Friday we all broke up into pairs. In pairs, we were divided into various sites along the coast, from Fogarty Creek to Yaquina Head to Tokatee Kloochman, to sample hundreds of Pisaster orchaceus for the upcoming wasting disease. As some of our students broke into pairs, they had to endure treacherous conditions, some even climbing cliffs that were not accessible to the general public. 

Two students, Rachel Palmer and Ashtyn Isaak, about to scale cliffs in the search for scientific data. Who says that scientists can't be rebels?

This wasting disease is often seen as lesions on the body, missing arms complete with lesions, twisting, and body deflation. 

 Two Pisaster orchaceus observed with various stages of wasting disease. On the left, the sea star is heavily deflated, and on the right, the sea star has a white lesion and a missing arm.

Previous data collections by our professor, Dr. Bruce Menge, and his lab determined that the wasting disease was present on the Oregon coast at a prevalence of about 1%. Our class data has not yet been finalized and/or analyzed, but at this point we have determined that the prevalence of the disease is significantly higher than what the Menge lab had originally observed. Even though Friday's field trips revealed some alarming and dismal information, the class got to have a lot of fun surveying new sites without direct supervision. Some of the class even got to visit the site of Fogarty Creek, where we observed multiple seals, some of which were dead on the rocks.

   Above: Dead seals observed at Fogarty Creek

Overall this week was very enlightening to us on how species interact on a community level. This was easily seen as we analyzed the data from this week. The lectures presented by Dr. Menge have enhanced the knowledge we collected in the field and explained phenomena that we have observed as well as provided us with examples that we could not observe in the field. We all look forward to the second week of Community Ecology with Dr. Bruce Menge and Elizabeth Cerny-Chipman, to learn more in-depth about Community Ecology as we create figures from the data we collected. Many students who do not already have an idea of what they might do for their formal research projects (in the last two weeks of the course) have been brainstorming with the help of this section, and are likely to form a mature research project idea in the next week! We look forward to the intellectual journey ahead of us.

Blog this week by: Celeste Moen (left) and Mackenzie Mason (right)
                               sealifies taken Friday at Fogarty creek