One Fish, Two Fish, Flatfish, Rockfish

Week 3
Fish
by Isaac Shepard and Levi Vasquez

After a brief introduction to our new (to us) professor Dr. Su Sponagule and TA Miram Gleiber we wasted no time diving into our hectic schedule for the week, full of field excursions, lab activities and lecutres...

Yaquina Bay Beach Seine
Using a large seine net we collected several species of estuary fishes from Yaquina Bay right in front of Hatfield on Monday afternoon.  Two people would carry the large net out into the water until they were nearly chest deep before spreading it out between them and dragging it back ashore, trapping fishes in the process.  Through the torrential downpour we got our first look at the organisms we would be up against for the rest of the week including several species of Cottids (sculpins), a Bay Pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) and even a juvenile salmon (Family Salmonidae).

                                                                  Beach Seining in Yaquina Bay

Boiler Bay Tidepool Collections
Our second field trip with Dr. Sponaugle consisted of collecting tidepool fishes with hand nets at Boiler Bay. We experienced some difficulties collecting the fishes due to their unwillingness to cooperate. There wasn't much fish diversity in the areas that we collected, so in the end we headed back with buckets full of sculpin.
                                                                      

Issie walks between tide pools at Boiler Bay in search of Sculpins

                                                                                      

                                                                                       Bottom Trawling Aboard the R/V Elakha

Landon, Heidi, Ashley, Rachel, Cat and Melanie aboard
the R/V Elakha

Wednesday we were given an opportunity to conduct a boat based survey from the R/V Elakha, one of OSU's small research vessels based at Hatfield.  With the assistance of Dr. Lorenzo Ciannelli we collected data on the distributions of the flatfish species Parophrys vetulus (English Sole) and Citharichthys stigmaeus (Speckled Sand Dab) within Yaquina Bay.  We were looking to see how size of the fish and density of fishes varied in relation to distance from the mouth of the bay.  This data became the basis for our report for the week.  We were unable to show if densities varied between near mouth and upstream sites due to small sample size.  However, we did detect a significant difference in size structure of English Sole flatfish between upstream and mouth sites in the estuary.  Larger fish were found further upstream while smaller ones were found more towards the mouth.  This excursion was probably one of the highlights of our time here at Hatfield so far.  The weather was beautiful and we all had an excellent time.



Field Trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium
On Thursday we had a chance to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium to gather information for our subtidal fish species report. For this report, we each chose a fish species and gathered information such as behavior, habitat, and anatomy, from observation at the aquarium.

A Rockfish (Sebastes caurinus) at the Oregon Coast Aquarium

David and Kat pulling up one of our light traps

Light and Minnow Traps
On Thursday night we deployed light and minnow traps from the dock below the pump house at Hatfield. The light traps were made to capture larval and juvenile fish, and are an original design by Dr. Sponaugle. We retrieved the traps bright and early Friday morning and found that we had captured a few juvenile salmon, sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), plankton, and an abundance of shrimp.













Throughout the week we spent many hours learning about the anatomy, ecology, habitat, and life histories of many fish that are found in the Pacific Northwest. When not in lecture or the field we were spending time in the lab learning how to identify different fish species, examining plankton, or cataloging some of the different species we had collected from the field.  

During the week we also had three guest lecturers give talks.  On Wednesday Dr. Robert Cowen (the director of Hatfield) gave us a lecture on rocky reefs and kelp forest.  We learned how the fishes in these environments will inhabit different parts of the reef/kelp forest or feed at different times of day so as to avoid competition with each other.

Thursday, Dr. Laurie Weitkamp gave us a lecture on Lampreys.  These parasitic fish are very important to Northwest Native American Culture and are currently threatened with extinction.  We learned that very little is known about the life history and ecology of these fishes but that more research is currently underway to figure out how to save this important organism.

Our last guest lecturer was Dr. Kelly Robinson who taught us about plankton on Friday.  We learned all about how currents, depth, light and nutrient levels can alter plankton distributions.  The amount of biodiversity to be found in plankton is astounding and something that people don't often realize.  From fish larvae, to diatoms, to copepods, to jelly fish, plankton is quite incredible.

Lastly, we got to take a tour of the R/V Oceanus, OSU's large research vessel, on Friday.  We were able to see the main deck, the wheel house, and the big laboratory aboard the vessel.  The Oceanus will be leaving early next week for a four month research cruise down off the shore of California so it was lucky that we were able to squeeze in a tour before it leaves.

The R/V Oceanus heading out to sea a few weeks ago
for a short cruise 

This weekend is being spent catching up on sleep, exploring the coast, and studying for our upcoming exam next Tuesday.  The weather is beautiful here this weekend and we are greatly enjoying a change in pace from our jam-packed week.

Week 3- Fish!

This week we dove in to the subject of fish. Starting off strong, on day 1 we were introduced to our new professor, Su Sponaugle, and TA, Jessie Reimer. We wasted no time, powering through 3 lectures ranging from anatomy to habitats, and learned how to identify all kinds of local species of fish in lab using dichotomous keys.

Yaquina Bay Seining 

On Tuesday we made the "long" journey to Yaquina Bay, where we participated in a beach seine. That was a first for many of us. Anticipation grew as two students dragged the net in to shore. As soon as the water had drained, we were all scrambling to locate as many varying fish species as possible. We were able to find Syngnathus leptorhynchus (Bay pipefish), Platichthys stellatus (Starry flounder), Parophrys vetulus (English sole), Oncorhynchus keta (Chum salmon), and about a million different sculpin.

All captured specimen were measured for total length and counted, before being released (for the most part).

Bright and early Wednesday morning we readied ourselves for another education packed day, starting with a lecture in which we tried to understand otolith measurements in relation to age determination, followed by a guest lecture. Dr. Bob Cowen was able to take time from his busy schedule of leading all of HMSC to talk to us about rocky reefs and kelp beds. This lecture did an excellent job of expanding on the characteristics of the rocky intertidal shore that we had begun to learn the first week.

Newport Aquarium

In order to prepare for our short reports on a species of our choice, we headed to the aquarium next door to take a look at subtidal species. Everyone went their own ways, furiously sketching and taking notes on many species, and strangely all converging near the rockfish tanks and the shark tunnel. 

When we returned, we learned about 3 very related subjects, swimming, schooling, and migration.

Boiler Bay

For the first time in the history of the past 3 weeks, we had a real Oregon field day, rain and all. After climbing down into the bay, we dispersed and had our first try at finding fish in tidepools. Many were discouraged, though some struck gold, finding various types of...sculpin. Luckily we found a singular Xiphister artropurpureus (Black prickleback) that became the subject of many of our lab notebook drawings.

After our rainy excursion we dried off and made our way to a guest lecture by PhD student Jessica Luo, who taught us about the importance of plankton and size relationships between levels of the trophic system. We also took time to plan an observational study with the whole class that would be carried out the following day. We discussed methods of measurements of tidepool characteristics, planned data tables, as well as posed questions we would like answered in regards to the relationships between tidepools and their fish inhabitants. 

Strawberry Hill

On our last day of week 3 we were greeted by the sun once again and were able to conduct our data collections in comfort. We set out in groups of 3-4 and measured tidepool surface area, depth, rugosity, substrate cover, and attempted to capture and measure all the fish in each tidepool we worked on. It seemed that most people were enthused about catching fish, with the number of fish per tidepool varying from 0 to 21. The discovery of the day was a juvenile Cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus).

Here we see some students measuring for the surface area of the tidepool.

Sculpin!

Overall, we have had a great and adventurous week learning about fish. On to the next!

Written by: Raine Robison, Britnee Niehus, & Adam Brown

Ichthyological Madness!
When asked if I am crazy my reply is simple, "Occasionally;" I am not quite sure why, but I tend to go a little "crazy" when I have the opportunity to chill with my actiniopterygiian counterparts. There is just something about a fusiforme body that gets to me. Well it was to much of my comfort observing the same effect that fishes have on me being reproduced within someone else.

Karina before fish week

Karina during fish week

Anyways, we have arrived at the conclusion of the third day of fish week and I must admit that I AM TIRED!! Beginning the day at 5am, we traveled to the bountiful Boiler Bay to collect intertidal fishes. After separating into groups of two, we had a contest to see which group could collect the most fish.. . . . My group WON! More interesting than Doug and my victory however, were some of the species that were collected. A juvenile Northen Clingfish (Family Gobiesocidae) and several juvenile gunnels (Family Pholidae) were collected among a multitude of sculpins (Family Cottidae); this is significant because it added two very interesting, beautiful, and amazing families to the list of teleost fishes collected this week. After the collection trip we dispersed for a three hour break, then returned for afternoon lectures and a trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

A Surprisingly Sunny Beginning...

Hatfield!! 

Wow. We’re finally here at Hatfield and starting our awesome term of marine biology. This past weekend has already seen an immense amount of rain which we thought would continue all week, but our first day of class proved to be a beautiful day. We were able to take a tour of HMSC, and board the Oceanus, a research vessel which is replacing the Wecoma, and we had our first lecture. 

Today we were scheduled to hike up to Cascade Head, but due to rain, the trip has been postponed. Too bad during our lunch break the rain cleared up and made it a perfect day to go hiking. Ah well... Instead we had another lecture where we started into marine invertebrates and walked over to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (which was pretty awesome!). While there we saw many invertebrates including moon jelly polyps, sea cucumbers, and a White Knight nudibranch. The birds and the sea lions were also enjoying the sunshine.

We’re looking forward to an excellent discussion on the Northwest Coast with pie tonight!