Happy Holidays

Tracey and I would like to wish all of the students and teachers that took part in Huntsman field courses in 2011 Happy Holidays and a joyful New Year!

For those that have never been to the Huntsman – we would love to get you and your students into the field in 2012!  Come and experience the amazing marine environment on our doorstep! 

www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html

Green sea urchins

What is the number one species that we pull up in our scallop drag?  Green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis); sometimes as many as 300-400.  Below is some information about our prickly friends.   

·         Have five hard teeth.

·         Eat seaweed and scrape microscopic algae off rocks but will also feed on other items including dead fish.

·         The spines are in ball and socket joints so they can move in any direction.

·         Urchin roe, called uni is eaten in sushi and is a prized delicacy in many parts of the world.

·         The sexes are separate and they reproduce by releasing eggs and sperm into the ocean at the same time.

·         The larvae are planktonic.

Top view

An albino urchin.

Students counting the urchins from the scallop drag.

Urchin in the water (note the suction cup tube feet waving).

Collaborative trips

Getting to the Huntsman can be a costly expenditure.  To reduce the cost to their students some schools have chosen to come to the Huntsman with another school from their local area.  Two examples of this are, Bell High School/Earl of March Secondary School and West Carleton Secondary School/South Carleton High School.  By sharing the cost of a bus with another school the teachers from these schools have made the Huntsman field course possible for their students.  From our experience the students from the different schools get along well and by the end have even made some new friends from the other school.

Interested in bring your class to the Huntsman? Visit our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html.  

Grand Manan

As mentioned in a post last week the highlight for school groups visiting in the fall is a trip to Grand Manan Island to go whale watching.  On the Grand Manan excursion students also get a chance to:

·         View marine mammals and seabirds during the 1.5 hour ferry crossing,

·         Try dulse and other types of edible seaweed (yummy!),

·         Walk on the sandy beach at the Anchorage Provincial Park and find kelp that is as tall as them,

·         Walk on the cliffside trail at Southwest Head, and

·         Visit a fishing wharf.

Curious about what the Huntsman offers?  Visit our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html.

Keeping watch for whales on the ferry crossing.

Yummy dulse!

Kelp at Anchorage.

Beautiful view along the Southwest Head trail.

Fishing boats along the wharf.

PD Funding for Teachers

A new feature on our website is a listing of Professional Development funding for teachers across Canada.  The list focuses on grants that assist teachers to cover the costs to attend non-credit courses and institutes, such as the Huntsman Summer Institute for Teachers. 

To check out the list visit www.huntsmanmarine.ca/Teacher_funding.pdf. 

If you would like to learn more about our 2012 summer institute for teachers and friends check out www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/adult_teachers.html.

Digging for marine worms...careful they bite!

Collecting zooplankton.

Learning about farming sturgeon for cavier.

InDepth

Huntsman’s quarterly newsletter, InDepth keeps people informed with updates and information on what is happening around the Campus.  The latest edition includes an article about a mysterious find inside a lobster, aquaculture research and the happenings of the education department.  Check it out www.huntsmanmarine.ca/21st_edition.pdf.

Harbour seals

One of seal species that is found in the Bay of Fundy is harbour seals (Phoca vitulina).  At the Huntsman we have a particular affection for harbour seals because of the aquarium’s resident harbour seals, Loki and Snorkel.  Here are some insights into the life of harbour seals.

Harbour seal

·         They have a curve in their forehead giving them a dog-like appearance.

·         They are inquisitive and playful in the wild and can be seen treading water, diving and rolling, or splashing through the waves.

·         Feed primarily on fish, particularly herring, flounder, alewives, smelt and mackerel. 

·         In the wild they live between 15-20 years.

·         At low tide they sun themselves on rocks, sandbars or island.

Sunning themselves while the tide is low.

One of our seals at the aquarium.

Learning in an informal setting

Student views about learning in an informal setting:

“Learning in an informal field setting is HANDS DOWN better than learning in a classroom.  I have ADHD and auditory processing disorder.  I can focus better in the field.”

“I think that most students, being teens, have trouble concentrating in class but field courses provide fun and interesting ways to actually learn and internalize the information instead of just mindlessly memorizing it.”

“Seeing the animals up close and actually working with them helped me absorb the things that were being taught to me! After awhile writing notes in class is tedious so it was great to be outdoors, having fun and learning too.”

Exploring the diversity of the local marine environment, on the boat...

and on the shore.

Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station

The highlight for school groups that participate in Huntsman field courses in the fall is usually a trip to Grand Manan Island to go whale watching.  While on the island one of the places that our groups always visit is the Gaskin Museum of Marine Life operated by the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station (GMWSRS).  The museum is small but packed with interesting items including a bluefin tuna skull, marine mammal skeletons, seabird specimens, a ton of preserved marine invertebrates, and a great gift shop that helps to fund their research programs.  If you are lucky Laurie Murison will be staffing the museum.  Laurie is a marine biologist that has been studying whales and other marine life in the Bay of Fundy for almost 30 years.  She is an amazing source of knowledge and is especially passionate about the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. 

Check out the GMWSRS website for information about Bay of Fundy marine mammals and seabirds, www.gmwsrs.org.

Want to plan a trip for your class that includes a visit to Grand Manan and the museum?  Visit our website for more information, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html.

Grey seal

Harbour porpoise

Humpback whale flipper

Laurie speaking with students outside the museum.

Unique group - Ottawa Catholic School Board

One of the unique groups that visit the Huntsman is the Ottawa Catholic School Board group.  For over 20 years students and teachers within this board have participated in week-long field courses at the Huntsman.  The trip originally started with one school and then expanded to include several schools within the board.  Over the years they have included a second week to accommodate all the students who wish to participate. 

This is just one of the unique methods that have been employed by schools and teachers to allow students to participate in the hands-on Huntsman field courses.  Want more information?  Visit our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html.

2010 students ready to explore the intertidal zone

2010 students on the Fundy Spray

2011 students whale watching in the Bay of Fundy...

they had a great day!

University Marine Biology Field Courses

Every year the Huntsman hosts a number of undergraduate university courses.  Students stay on campus and are instructed by visiting professors.   Below is the selection of courses for 2012.

Marine Mammals and Seabirds

University of Waterloo, July 22 – August 4, Instructor: Dr. P. DeHart

Marine Biology and Oceanography

University of Guelph, August 4 – 18, Instructor: Dr. Todd Gillis

Marine Mammals

McGill University, August 12 – 25, Instructor: Dr. Catherine Hood

Marine Biology

University of Western Ontario, Aug 20 – Sept 3, Instructors: Dr. J. Staples and Dr. M. D. Owen

For more information on these courses and how to register visit www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/university_courses.html.

Charting the course

Seals

Two humpbacks in the Bay of Fundy

Shearwater

Keeping watch.

Scallops

Scallops are a tasty treat, even raw as the brave students that have participated in Huntsman field courses can tell you!  But what is a deep-sea scallop’s (Placopecten magellanicus) life like before it ends up on your plate? 

·         They are filter feeders, consuming microscopic food.

·         While usually stationary they can move short distances by opening and closing their shell rapidly, expelling water and propelling themselves forward.  Students sometimes find this out the hard way when they get squirted by a scallop anxious to escape!

·         When the shell is partially open you can see rows of black spots along the upper and lower edge.  These “eyes” enable scallops to detect motion and sense light.

·         The portion that you eat is called the adductor muscle.  The silvery outer edge of the muscle closes the shell and the soft centre keeps it closed.

The scallop drag for collecting scallops and other invertebrates from the seabed.

Did you notice the black "eyes"?

A treat for those onboard the research vessel!

Filter feeding in a tank in the lab.

Lab – Plankton

One of the activities that we do with every school group participating in a Huntsman field course is a plankton lab.  This lab allows students to gain an understanding of the base of the marine food chain and to learn how to use compound microscopes.  Students are given some introductory information about plankton, i.e. they are drifters in the ocean, there are two types of plankton, phytoplankton the plants and zooplankton the animals.  After the introduction the students use the microscopes to view the plankton they collected while on our research vessel.  Depending on the age and focus of the students they will either play plankton bingo (and win marine stickers!) or draw the plankton they are viewing.  This lab allows students to view a world most of them didn’t even know existed. 

An interesting fact that usually blows students away: phytoplankton produce 65-75% of the world’s oxygen!

Our plankton samples.

Observing the samples in the lab.

View through the microscope.

A copepod

Our mascot in the lab

Tour Tuesday – St. Croix Island

The area around the Huntsman is rich in history and occasionally students attending field courses get a history lesson mixed in with the marine biology.  The most frequent lesson is about St. Croix Island, which students view while heading upriver on our research vessel.  The story goes:

The French were looking to establish a year-round settlement in North America between the 40^th and 46^th parallels, the territory they called l’Acadie.  In 1604 Pierre Dugua and his team including, Samuel de Champlain, a mapmaker set out on an expedition to do this.  The expedition arrived in the area in late June.  De Mons named the island, I’île Sainte-Croix and decided it would be the settlement.  The ship dropped off the 79 male settlers and headed back to France.  The settlers were unprepared for a North American winter.  Due to ice floes they became cut off from the mainland and its source of firewood, fresh water and meat.  As a result 35 of the men died.  After the harsh winter they decided to move the settlement to the shores of Nova Scotia where Port Royal was established.  From there the French went on to settle Quebec City. 

St. Croix Island is remembered as one of the earliest European settlements in North America, which lead to a lasting French presence on this continent.  It is of great historical significance to all North Americans but especially those of French heritage. 

The island from the US side of the river.

The island from our research vessel.

Bird Banding

Huntsman is known by many as an education facility but there is also a large amount of research done on campus.  For example, Tracey Dean, the Director of Education at the Huntsman has run the St. Andrews Bird Banding Station since 1989.  Over the past 22 years, 20,200 birds representing 99 species have been banded.  Banding provides important data on the age, sex and body condition of the overall population.  Adding to the banding database each year allows changes in songbird’s populations’ health and fluctuations to be “measured”, especially boreal forest species.

Occasionally students participating in Huntsman field courses are given the privilege of assisting Tracey as she checks her nets and bands the birds that have been caught.  It is really interesting to see the birds up close and to see Tracey work. 

For more information on the St. Andrews Bird Banding Station visit www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/bird_banding.html.

Putting on the band.

Ready to be released.

Schools from the United States

Huntsman field courses draw in school groups from the Maritimes and Central Canada but also from the United States.  For example, student groups from Essex Agricultural and Technical High School in Danvers, Massachusetts, Cabot School in Cabot, Vermont and Rohan Woods School in St. Louis, Missouri attend field courses at the Huntsman.  These schools bring students that range from grade 6 to grade 12.       

What do our American friends think of their time at the Huntsman?  Check out the Rohan Woods 2010 trip blog, www.rohanwoods.org/Leadership-Ethics/Hunstman-Daily-Diary.aspx#14. 

Humpback Whales

Students taking part in summer and fall field courses at the Huntsman usually have the opportunity to see a number of whale species that visit the Bay of Fundy to feed.  One such species is the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).  This beautiful whale is known for lots of activity at the surface, such as breaching, spyhopping and flipper slaps.  They are a treat to see! 

Humpback info:

• Individuals can be identified by the pattern on the underside of their tail and by body markings and scars. (Catalogue http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/humpcat.html) 
• Have throat grooves that expand when they take large gulps of water and food.  They then push the water out through their baleen which acts as a filter to keep the food, krill and small fish in their mouth. 
• Arch their back when preparing for a deep dive.  
• Their flippers are the largest appendages of any animal; reaching up to 5 metres in length.

Video of a humpback while out with Beaconsfield High from Quebec.