Turner Fenton - Day 5

The weather is beautiful again today, perfect for a walk to the beach for the Turner Fenton students.  This morning armed with buckets and shovels we walked down to Pottery Creek to dig for marine worms.  The students found lots of different species including blood worms, clams worms, milky ribbon worms, red-lined worms, and bamboo worms.  As the tide pushed us further up the mud flat we moved over to another part of the beach with rocks and seaweed to complete a survey of the invasive green crab.  We found quite a number of crabs, each of which received a small spot of nail polish.

This afternoon the group was headed to Canada's Chocolate Town, St. Stephen, in search of treats and goodies for the bus ride and to take home as gifts.  We wish you safe travels back to Brampton and hope to see you all again in the future!  

Lots of colourful gear!

Hmmm, which worm is it?

Wow, that worm is pretty long!

Students also found clams in the sediment.

Digging through the mud.

One of the groups found a hermit crab on the beach.

Whoa, that is one thick ribbon worm!

On the hunt for the invasive green crab.

Found a female.

Sometimes there were handfuls waiting to be measured and marked.

Turner Fenton - Day 4

Today we awoke to sunshine and blue skies.  Perfect weather for heading out to see and learn about the marine industry and history in the area.  We visited the Green's Point Lighthouse, saw a lobster pound and aquaculture cages in Back Bay, and then stopped at the fish ladder and the falls at St. George.  It was a beautiful morning.

Group photo with the Bay of Fundy in the background.

The lighthouse at Green's Point.

Stopping to see the lobster pound.

Checking out the dam at St. George.

Viewing the fish (gaspereau) that were in the fish ladder.

Getting the iconic shot of St. George.

Good thing there isn't too much traffic.

We saw a fisherman collecting fish to use as lobster bait.

Turner Fenton - Day 3

This morning the students were divided into two groups with the option of studying the affect of temperature on the feeding rate of barnacles or completing a fish dissection.  Both labs were pretty cool but the barnacle lab was definitely less smelly! At the end of the morning the students had a chance spend some time in the aquarium and watch the harbour seals, Snorkel and Loki, have lunch.

This afternoon the group did the third round of boat and lab rotations.  The students were so happy when they emerged from the lab to see blue sky and the sun shining!

A water bath helped to change the temperature of the saltwater.

Counting the number of times the barnacle extends its cirri at each temperature.

Preparing to remove the gills of the fish.

A small fish was found in the digestive system of this hake.  Cool!

Drawing and labelling the external anatomy of the specimen.

Gills showing the beautiful pink filaments.

Studying the internal anatomy of the fish.

A bit of play time in the aquarium!

Drawing and describing a scallop.

A red boreal shrimp and a sponge collected while on the research vessel.

We had some fun looking at a sand dollar under the microscope.

Turner Fenton - Day 2

Yesterday morning the students were split into smaller groups to complete activities either on the research vessel or in the labs.  I conducted a presentation on invasive marine species for one of the groups and then for the remainder of the morning the students conducted an experiment to test the strength of echinoderm tube feet.  The students did a great job harnessing the sea stars and urchins for the experiment!  For all their hard work they got a chance to view the seal feeding and do some souvenir shopping at the aquarium.

In the afternoon the group boarded the bus to head down the coast to the New River Beach Provincial Park.  Here the students hiked along a trail through a forest, a bog, and then back along the coast.  The scenery was beautiful!  On our way back to campus we were able to see seals jumping in the water near a small island in the Bay.  That was pretty cool!

After supper the students meet us in the labs to study seaweed that had been collected in the intertidal zone the previous day.  

Learning the fine art of sea star harnessing!

Urchins are a two person job.

The experiment begins!

Learning about lobsters in the aquarium theatre.

Along the trail at New River Beach Provincial Park.

The students skipping rocks.

Making a dichotomous key for seaweeds.

Turner Fenton - Day 1

Last evening a busload of Grade 11 students from Turner Fenton Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario arrived on campus.  Upon arrival they got settled in at Needler Hall, their home for the week.

This morning the students were divided into small groups to cycle though the labs and activities.  Some of the students went on our research vessel, the Fundy Spray, while others studied plankton and lobsters in the aquarium, and others still got hands-on with marine invertebrates and echinoderms in the lab.  Throughout the week the students will each get a chance to complete all of the activities.

This afternoon the students toured the Huntsman Fundy Discovery Aquarium, which has just opened for the season with new exhibits.  Then for the last activity for the day we will be exploring the intertidal zone at Indian Point.  As the tide is going out the students will search for animals under the rocks and seaweed.  Hopefully the rain will stop just in time to head to the beach!

Studying a hermit crab during the invertebrate classification lab.

The students did some really nice biological drawings.

Mr. Rock Crab posing for a picture.

Measuring a toad crab.

A sea urchin under the microscope.

Determining the flipping rate of different sized sea stars.

Many of the urchins were broadcast spawning (releasing their sperm).

Playing plankton bingo.

A brittle star collected while on the Fundy Spray.

Flounder and hake were collected during the fish trawl.

Viewing the salmon tank during the aquarium tour.

Enjoying the touch tank at the aquarium.

Spring has Sprung!

This time of year we are starting to see lots of signs of reproduction in Passamaquoddy Bay.  The phytoplankton are starting to bloom and there are many different egg masses to be found.  Below are some pictures that have been taken in the last week.

Zooplankton with an egg sac.

A polychaete worm with eggs attached on the side.

The donut-shaped eggs of a chink shell on seaweed.

Smooth periwinkle eggs under a rock at the beach.

Rice-shaped dogwinkle eggs beneath a stone. 

Two rough-mantled sea slugs and their ribbon of eggs.

A moon snail egg collar.

The green gooey egg mass of the paddle worm.

A green crab with eggs attached to her abdomen.

Waved whelks laying eggs in the touch tank at the aquarium.