Royal West Academy - Day 1

Tuesday evening a group of fifty grade 10 students from Royal West Academy travelled from Montreal for a week of marine biology in St. Andrews.  Yesterday we started the day in the aquarium getting an introduction to the tides and the animals found in the Bay of Fundy.  We also had the chance to see the harbour seals, Snorkel and Loki have their breakfast.  They ate lots of fish to keep up that thick blubber layer!

We finished the morning with a hands-on lab classifying local marine invertebrates, such as hermit crabs, sea peaches, sponges, and brittle stars.   Drawing a live animal sure can be challenging!

After a yummy lunch we gathered in the labs to study the anatomy of two echinoderms, the common sea star and the green sea urchin.  We were able to use the microscopes to look at some of the smaller structures of the animals, such as the madreporite and the pedicellaria.  The students were quite amazed to see the animals moving and in the case of the sea urchins, pooping!

As the tide went out in the afternoon we headed across town to Indian Point.  Here the students were able to explore the intertidal zone and search of the animals that live in this area.  We found green crabs, sea vases, periwinkles, sideswimmers and more.  The students also learned that rubber boots are only waterproof to the top!

In the evening the students joined us in the lab to conduct a behaviour lab with the sea stars and urchins.  We timed the animals to see which species was faster itself right side up.  The sea stars were the winners!

Checking out the skates.

Look at how many eyes the scallop has...wow!

Snorkel and Loki, the harbour seals.

Drawing in the classification lab.

Learning to use the field guides to identify the animals.

Having a closer look at a sea urchin.

Beautiful view of the sea urchin mouth.

Drawing and labelling the structures of the echinoderms.

Exploring the intertidal zone.

Sea vases.

Beautiful fish eggs.

Lots of sea stars under this rock.

Flexible sea star turning right side up.

Getting ready to test the urchin's ability to turn itself right side up.

 

Crestwood Prep - Day 3

This morning the students joined us in the lab to identify the different species of seaweeds they collected from Indian Point yesterday.  Then we headed out to gather data on zonation patterns in the intertidal zone.  This afternoon and evening the students will be pulling all their data together to make a poster on their zonation lab.

Also, this afternoon the students had the opportunity to visit another branch of the Huntsman called the ARC (Atlantic Reference Centre).  This facility houses a large number of preserved specimens of animals from the North Atlantic Ocean.  It was really cool to see fish from the deep sea, including the angler fish and gulper eel, as well as, a porbeagle shark head.  Some of the students even took part in a long standing Huntsman tradition and kissed the shark!

Observing the different seaweeds in the lab.

Counting animals in each quadrate.

Gathering data on elevation as well.

Preparing posters for tomorrows presentations.

Angler fish at the ARC.

Baby sharks.

Look into my eyes!

Love at first bite!

Crestwood Prep - Day 2

Today we headed out in full rain gear to explore the rocky intertidal zone at Indian Point.  We found lots of interesting animals including green crabs, sideswimmers, sea stars, urchins and periwinkles.  Then we headed to the other side of town armed with shovels and went on the hunt for marine worms.  There was lots of shrieks as the students saw the blood worm shoot out its proboscis!

We always find the weirdest things on the beach when we are with this school and today was no exception, a goldfish!  We rescued it and returned it to the pond in the park next to the beach.

This afternoon the students worked in the lab on their behaviour experiments, including testing the effects of temperature on the feeding rate of barnacles, studying the osmoregulation in marine organisms and measuring whether size determines the time that a sea star or urchin takes to flip right side up.  The students also had time to explore the aquarium and see the seals be fed.

This evening they will be working on the presentations of their experiments.

Exploring the intertidal zone.

Found a green crab!

A bit of a blustery day.

Getting muddy on the beach.

On the hunt for the longest worm.

Red-lined worm.

We also found clams.

The goldfish. 

Releasing the goldfish in to the pond.

Studying barnacles in the lab.

Right-side up with sea stars and urchins.  

Crestwood Prep - Day 1

Students from Crestwood Prep arrived at the crack of dawn this morning from Toronto.  After a bit of unpacking and breakfast the group hit the ground running.  Throughout the day the students collected plankton, benthic invertebrates, and oceanographic data while aboard the Huntsman research vessel in Passamaquoddy Bay.  The plankton and invertebrates, such as sea stars, hermit crabs, and urchins were then studied and identified in the lab.  The weather was fantastic and we are looking forward to a great week of marine biology!

Identifying plankton in the lab.

Plankton collection.

Using the scallop drag to gather animals from the bottom.

Sorting through all the different animals that were collected.

Sea peaches!

In the lab studying our finds.

Whelk, urchin and brittle star collected today.

Ocean Discovery - Grand Manan

Today the Grade 6 class from Grand Manan Community School visited campus to take part in the Ocean Discovery Program.  The students were able to study plankton using microscopes, learn about classification using live marine invertebrates, conduct an experiment using sea stars and urchins, tour the aquarium, and have lunch around the touch tank.  It was a great day and we were happy to have them!

Plankton bingo!

Lots of copepods in the sample.

Drawing phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Sea peaches in the touch tank.

Everyone loves the skates!

Using the field guides to find the English and Latin names.

Acrobatic sea star!

Look at all the tube feet on the urchin!

Ocean Discovery - Barnhill

Recently we had some very excited students from Barnhill Memorial School visit us on campus to take part in the Grade 6 Ocean Discovery Program.  The students were able to take part in two labs; an introduction to classification using live marine invertebrates and a step into the amazing world of plankton using the microscopes.  Both allowed the students to gain a better understanding of their local marine environment.  The bonus was getting to have lunch around the touch tanks!

Learning how to use the microscope.

Can you spot the copepod?

Sea cucumber from the touch tank.

Observing a hermit crab in the lab.

Identifying a blood star.