From one Project to the next!

The start of a new and exciting chapter for the Bio 450 class

We started off the week with our second to last lecture in community ecology, and then spent the reminder of the day planning our group projects and analyzing data; as was the theme for the next two days as well. After we were done doing data analysis, it was time to create graphs and begin thinking about our presentations on Wednesday. PowerPoints were made and speeches were planned out and split up among team members. The library became many groups’ new home for the following few evenings. Before we knew it, the day of presentations had arrived! With coffee and donuts awaiting us, we filed into the presentation room in the library. 

Issie pointing out parts of the PowerPoint 

Each group had taken a portion of the data we had collected in the field the previous week and presented their findings to the rest of the class. David, Ari, Levi, Max, and Cat looked at the difference in species diversity between exposed and protected areas of the low intertidal zone. Melanie, Heidi, Natalie, and Amanda explored whelk diet patterns. Rachel, Isaac, Kaitlin, Issie, and Chaleen looked at the differences in species diversity in the mid and high intertidal zones. Lastly, Kat, Julia, Kylee, Landon, and Ashley looked at Sea Star Wasting Disease and density data from last year and saw how it compared to this year’s data. Some groups found trends in their data while others found various degrees of insignificance. Halfway through, we were forced to switch rooms due to an unforeseen conflict, but everything went smoothly otherwise.

Rachel presenting the conclusion for her group

Finishing the project report with a view of lovely rainy skies

Once presentations were given, it was time to study (and work on those last minute details for our essays). A foreboding sense of the upcoming exam and report, both of which were happening on Thursday, set most students’ sense of panic into overdrive. Many trips were made to the back of the library to have Alissa edit our reports. After reports were finished, studying for the open-note exam the next morning would hold all of our attention for the next several hours. 

Holing up in library rooms, using screen projections, and verbally talking each other through the various theories and models really helped us to nail down those tricky graphs!

Thursday was the big exam day! We were greeted by various kinds of tootsie candies on our desk, and most students enjoyed the treat to get a little sugar flowing through their veins. After the exam was over, we were free for the evening! Some of us worked on preparing for our research project meetings on Friday, while others chose other ways to enjoy their afternoon off. Going out to dinner or spending an afternoon on the beach were some common choices.

Project experiments already being set up in the lab 

Finally! We started our term research projects, something that has been foreboding and yet exciting all at the same time. With information in hand, we prepared ourselves to discuss our big research projects. We met in the morning to go over the schedule for the day. Groups and individuals met with the “board” (instructors and TA’s from previous and future sections) at their assigned time to give their research project proposal, or pitch as we called it. The proposal consisted of our research projects purpose, methods, and significance. Afterwards the board discussed any issues they saw with our ideas and then sent us on our merry way to frantically try and finish the written portion of the proposal before the 5 o’clock deadline. When finished, a sense of relief washed over the BI 450 class at Hatfield as they pressed that “send” button in their email pop-up box.

There are so many cool ideas and projects the class has come up with. Anything from algae to sea stars to scraping gooseneck barnacles off rocks. We aren’t sure how they will all turn out, but we’re all excited to finally be getting started!

Algae, Mussels, and Barnacles.. OH MY!

Ashley and Julia collecting transect data

On Thursday, With more manageable wave heights, and a more exposed low zone, we left for Boiler Bay. The team started the morning collecting community data through the use of transect-quadrats, in the low exposed zone of a shelf previously too dangerous to sample.



Once the quadrat sampling was complete, we shifted our focus studying sea star recruit populations through belt transects. Huddled close to the ground, and being beaten by waves, we counted Pisaster and Leptasterias recruits to gain knowledge on the changing population structure as a result of sea star wasting disease.

Heidi and Rachael collecting transect data

In the evening, our dynamite TA organized a "trivia night". Armed with faded knowledge and dessert bowls, we where presented with too few blueberries, and  obscure trivia questions. After a surprise visit from Dr. Olson, armed with a few tubs of ice cream she carried with her, trivia was underway! Each team competed with true veracity.  Two teams rose above the pack with answer after answer. Toward the end it seemed like team Gryffindor would obtain the Golden snitch.  To our surprise, team Celery came from behind in the bonus round and were be deemed victorious.  They were rewarded with squishy animal key chains. Congrats team Celery.

"Trivia night" hosted by our dynamite TA

The week concluded with teams splitting between Yachats beach and Tokatee Klootchman.  Both groups would be completing our survey of the effects of sea star wasting disease on populations of Pisaster and Leptasterias.  This was the first time we have visited Yachats and we were able to enjoy the great diversity it offered.

Large Semibalanus cariosus found at Yachats Beach 

Peltodoris nobilis feeding on Halichondria panicea

Our survey group took a moment to admire a large Semibalanus cariosus and several Peltodoris nobilis feeding on a Halichondria panicea.

Yachats beach had a much larger population of Pisaster than Boiler Bay.  The condition of these sea stars varied but we were pleased to see many recruits and uninfected juveniles.  The day concluded by cleaning data sheets that had been collected throughout the week.  We all looked forward to a great weekend of rest and relaxation!

Pisaster with a missing limb

Goodbye algae and Hello Community Ecology!

Left: Dr. Bruce Menge.  Right: Alissa Rickborn

This week was all about exercising our course knowledge and applying it to our exploration of marine community ecology.  This section of the course has been advertised as a introduction to the communities found at the rocky intertidal and how zonation is different between two sites here on the Oregon Coast.  We will be taking an in-depth look at Strawberry Hill and Boiler Bay.


Monday's class began with the introduction of our instructor, Dr. Bruce Menge, and his teaching assistant, Alissa Rickborn.  After some logistics and introductions, Bruce lead the team onto the mud flats where we practice some field surveying techniques. The evening concluded with a guest lecture from Jenna Sullivan on the history, progression and current studies on sea star wasting here on the Oregon coast.  This was a helpful introduction to the sea star wasting surveys we would be conducting later in the week.

Bruce giving helpful hints about field techniques

 Tuesday began with a 5:30 am field trip to our favorite site, Boiler Bay.  Groups were separated, with half looking at the feeding of predatory whelks while others used their newly acquired field techniques to survey the mid zone.  Although the day started early, the groups were excited to exercise their species identification knowledge.  Some of us were surprised to learn that our adorable friends, the whelks, were indeed carnivorous predators! AH!  These mollusks use an acidic secretion to bore into their Mytilus spp. prey.  Some of us were able to witness the whelks feeding using their elongated proboscis to dig deep into the mussel flesh.

Top: Mel and Landon taking community surveys of the Mid intertidal.  Bottom: Cat taking a break from whelk diet surveys to share a smile!

The evening concluded with guest lecture from Elizabeth Cherny-Chipman on the interesting interactions of predatory whelks and their effects on mussel populations.  

Wednesday began with a little extra sleep, and a modest field trip time of 6:30am. This field trip took us to Strawberry Hill, where we further expanded on our community survey studies via transect-quadrats, along with belt transects. After too much sun, tedious organismal counts, and adorable sea star recruits, we ended the field trip with a stop at the Green Salmon, a delightful coffee and pastry shop. After decadent flaky deserts and rich coffee, the students' mood perked up, as we prepared for our afternoon lecture.

Wednesday evening, we had yet another guest lecture. Allie Barner, who spoke to us during the algae section, came back and presented one of her thesis chapters on interactions between algal turf, and its canopy.

The Exciting World of Marine Macroalgae!

The Exciting World of Marine Macroalgae by Melanie Plunk and Amanda Brown

Dr. Annette Olson

     Who would've thought that learning about algae could be so much fun? Thanks to our amazing instructor Dr. Annette Olson, this week was extremely interesting and exciting. We began Monday with a field trip to beautiful Boiler Bay where Annette lead our group through the location and enthusiastically taught us about the different species of algae that we found and the different types of habitats that they prefer.

 Egregia menziesii '15, Ulva taeniata '15, Polysiphonia spp. '1, with some red algae also.

On Tuesday we ventured back to Boiler Bay to conduct individual team studies on a specific species of algae, our assigned "Treasure Taxa". We collected different types of data based on the study that we were performing like algae abundance, size, or preferred habitat.  For example, my team (Melanie and Landon) conducted a study to find out which habitat type Farlowia mollis '15 preferred to inhabit. We collected data on the abundance of our species in a variety of different habitats then analyzed the data and made the conclusion that Farlowia mollis prefer to inhabit rocky, concave, seep areas at the base of mussel beds. 

Isaac, Kaitlin, and Issie collecting data on
Cladophora columbiana.

Natalie and Amanda collecting data on Polysiphonia hendryi.

Levi and Max braving the waves to collect data on Mazzaella spp.

Example of a specimen identification sheet.

  Throughout the week we learned and practiced using the dichotomous key along with compound microscopes and dissecting microscopes to identify algae to its Genus and species. We learned to make cross sections to identify microscopic features to aid in the identification process, some of us were naturals while others had to practice, practice, practice!
  We attended lectures that focused on the phyla Chlorophyta (green algae), Ochrophyta (brown algae), and Rhotophyta (red algae), learning about their diversity, morphology, anatomy, and life cycles.

On Wednesday, we were given the morning to finish up our Specimen ID sheets and begin setting up for our team projects, which we presented in the evening.  Each team set up their displays at their stations around the lab, incorporating their own creativity into informational displays.

Captain Annette's orders!

Teams split in half, with one student manning their presentation and the other circulating the lab.  We spent a few minutes at each team’s station learning about not only each team’s Treasure Taxa but also their other assigned species.  Lots of different methods of presentation were incorporated: dissecting and compound scopes allowed an up-close view at specific aspects of algae, pressings showed the variety in structural patterns throughout taxa, and touch tanks enabled students to feel differences in elasticity, sliminess, and texture – especially helpful in distinguishing algae with blade-like thallus forms!

The thin red blades group used pressings and live specimens
to present the diversity of their taxa, showcasing
Farlowia mollis '15 as their Treasure Taxa.

The red filamentous algae's setup, complete
with dissecting scopes and a teddy bear to
juxtapose Callithamnion pikeanum '15,
the teddy bear algae.

   

One group made a comical mixup between
epiphytic (growing on other algae) and epileptic
Plocamium pacificum '15, which was
quickly corrected!

We spent Thursday studying for our lecture final and lab practicum, with a final lecture on ecology and Annette’s master’s work starting off the morning.  Miram submitted a manuscript for her research on zooplankton to the Journal of Plankton Research online and allowed us to watch, so as to acquaint us with the process for when the time comes for us to do the same!  This was followed by a student-led lab review and a lecture review by Annette.  The rest of the day was left open for studying, and students most of a sunny day staring wishfully out of library and lab windows. 

Friday morning brought first a lecture final and then a lab practicum.  Miram surprised the class with pre-final cinnamon rolls for an extra brain boost, and the morning flew by in a flurry of questions and identifications.  Soon it was time to clean up the lab (who knew one class could have used so many Tupperware?) and say goodbye to Annette and Miram, thanking them for a wonderfull class.  After a much-needed weekend, we return to HMSC to begin Community Ecology on Monday.

Miram and her delicious cinnamon rolls!

Farewell Fish and Hello Algae!

Natalie Coleman and Heidi Meyer

This week started out with our last field trip for the fish section. Su Sponaugle took us to Tokatee Klootchman Natural Wayside where we measured different parameters of tidepools looking at what factors may affected tidepool fish abundance.  We measured 38 tidepools total including length, width, depth, rugosity (measured with a chain run along the bottom) and the number of fish present.  David, Ari, and Landon discovered two cabezon sculpin (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) (Family Cottidae) that had just recruited to the tidepools from an pelagic life stage and were undergoing metamorphosis. As Su explained, these fish had retained some features (silver sides and a more laterally compressed body) from the pelagic life stage and was just starting to adapt to the new tidepool surroundings by flattening out and changing color.

Amanda and Melanie on the way back up the

descent to Tokatee Klootchman

Amanda, Melanie, and Natalie searching for tidepools at Tokatee

 Klootchman Natural Wayside, Spring 2015

 Overall, our study didn’t show any significant relationship between our tidepool factors and fish abundance but we did notice that many of the fish seen were a lot smaller than the fish we observed last week at Boiler Bay, so it is possible there was a recent recruitment event where juvenile fish were coming back into the tidepools. This theory is consistent with a study we discussed before our field trip where they found that there was more recruitment but also more post-recruitment mortality at Tokatee than Boiler Bay (Webster et al. 2007).  We also went on a rainy early morning it is our informed scientific opinion that the fish were sleeping and may have been harder to find.

Natalie and Heidi catching fish in a tidepool at Tokatee

Klootchman

Amanda and Heidi measuring the depth of a tidepool

at Tokatee Klootchman

On Tuesday it was time to turn in all of our work for the fishes section and take the final, with a final goodbye to Su until our group research projects during week seven.  The fun with fishes continued that night while everyone was taking a much needed break before starting algae, with the conversation still returning to adipose fins and dorsal spines. Thank you Su for such an exciting and intensive crash course in fish of the Pacific Northwest.

A variety of algae in tidepools at Seal Rock

Seal Rock Beach April 2015

Our next section on marine algae started Wednesday afternoon with the very ecstatic and enthusiastic Annette Olson. We started off the section with a couple of lectures, including one from Chenchen Shen, a graduate student at OSU, and her research on coralline algae. Groups of two or three were then assigned a taxa where we have to find, collect, and identify specific species from that taxa, while keeping an eye out for our treasure taxa. Our treasure taxa are specific species that we will use to demonstrate to the class the ecology of our taxa.

Neorhodomela larix at Seal Rock

After getting into our groups, the whole class enjoyed a nice break with some tea before diving into our first algae lab. During the lab, we went around and tried to guess certain morphological features on given algae, which ended up teaching us that you can’t judge an algae by its color. Halfway through the lab, Miram poured hot water on five specimens from the three different phyla, and all but one “magically” changed color to green! The only one that stayed the same color was a green algae. We even learned how to press the algae!

Seal Rock, April 2015

Annette Olson explaining all of the types of
algae at Seal Rock

On Thursday, we woke up bright and early and ventured to Seal Rock for the first time this term. Annette showed us all around the beach, taking us to four different spots and helping us find and identify our taxa. Her helpful and essential husband, Charlie, followed the class around and took pictures of his wife while she lectured, he also made sure that she ate later in the day! Once we were back at Hatfield, we cleaned our collections and put them in the respective tanks. After lunch and lectures, we returned to the lab and Annette taught the class how to identify algae with a dichotomous key and how to cross section them.

Annette showing the class some algae at our first
stop at Seal Rock

Students walking to the next spot at Seal Rock

Originally we were supposed to go to Boiler Bay on Friday, but due to the high waves and rainy weather, we ended up switching our Monday and Friday schedule. So instead of spending more time at Boiler Bay, we enjoyed a nice and relaxing half day of lectures and labs. Hello early weekend!

Webster, M.S., J.D. Osborne-Gowey, T.H. Young, T.L. Freidenburg, B.A. Menge. 2007.

Persistent regional variation in populations of a tidepool fish. Journal of Experimental Marine

Biology and Ecology 346: 8-20.