Bell High and South Carleton High - Day 1 & 2

This week on campus we have two schools from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, South Carleton High and Bell High.  These schools have formed a great partnership for a number of years and this year have brought 41 students to study marine biology for the week.  Here are some pictures from their first two days in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea.

Examining life in a drop of ocean water.

Feeding the salmon while touring the Huntsman Fundy Discovery Aquarium.

Collecting plankton from the bay.

We conducted a scallop or benthic drag.

Sorting through the items brought up from the ocean floor.

A brittle star.

In one of the drag we caught a lobster.

Exploring the beach at low tide.

We found lots of sea slugs (rough-mantled nudibranchs).

Most of the animals were found under rocks.

Experiencing the tide coming in at the Bar Road to Ministers Island.

In the lab studying the live animals we collected.

On a wildlife cruise in the Bay of Fundy.

We saw tons of feeding seabirds, including these Bonaparte's gulls.

Saint John High IB Biology

This weekend we are working with Grade 12 IB Biology students from Saint John High School.  These students all came to the Huntsman in Grade 10 and are now here to expand their knowledge of marine biology lab and field work.

Making field sketches of common intertidal species. 

Presentation with Dr. Duane Barker on sea lice as a vector.

Sea lice.

Marking periwinkles for a recapture project.

Periwinkle pedicure?

Gathering data on zonation patterns in the intertidal zone.

Measuring the elevation.

Sea stars right side up lab.

Which species is faster urchins or sea stars?

Working on independent experiments.

Clarington Central Secondary School - Day 1 & 2

This week on campus we have a group of students that travelled from Clarington Central Secondary School in Bowmanville, Ontario.  Day 1 and 2 have been all about learning how to collect live specimens and getting a closer look at the animals in the lab.

The students had a chance to view some squid larvae and recently hatched squid in the lab.  Check out the videos!

We conducted a scallop drag while on the research vessel.

Sorting through all the animals pulled up from the bottom of the bay.

Scale worm

Squid eggs

Plankton

Identifying plankton in the aquarium lab.

Having a closer look at the invertebrates during the classification lab.

Measuring a brittle star.

The students received a presentation on the amazing life of lobsters!

On the search to see what animals live in the intertidal zone.

A terebellid worm found under a rock.

There were lots of sea stars on the beach.

Having a great time exploring at Indian Point.

Studying the external anatomy of a sea urchin.

Testing the urchin's ability to turn right side up when flipped over.

Squid

Finding long-finned squid (Doryteuthis pealeii formerly Loligo pealeii) eggs on the beach or in our benthic drag is always very exciting for our field course participants. Squid can be very elusive animals, so to see signs that they have been in the area is intriguing.

Female long-finned squid will lay their fertilized egg capsules on the ocean floor in large clusters. Each female lays about 20-30 capsules that contain 150 to 200 eggs each. Depending on the temperature of the water the eggs will hatch 11 to 26 days later.

Just below their skin squid have chromatophores, which are pigment containing cells that allow them to change their colour and pattern.

Squid egg capsules on the beach.

In a tide pool.

There are 150-200 eggs per capsule.

Many females will lay their egg capsules together.

  These egg cases were collected during a benthic drag aboard our research vessel, the Fundy Spray.

The squid larvae still in the egg case.

Newly hatched squid viewed through a microscope.

A larvae that had recently hatched. Watch as the chromatophores change!

This video can also be seen on our Twitter account.

Ottawa Catholic School Board - Day 1 & 2

It has been a great week so far working with the students that are on campus from six schools within the Ottawa Catholic School Board.  The students have been fully immersed in marine biology; collecting specimens on the boat and on the beach, exploring the Huntsman Fundy Discovery Aquarium, receiving presentations about lobsters and whales in the Bay of Fundy, and identifying their specimens in the lab.  Today they are off to Grand Manan to go whale watching, explore the island and learn about the fisheries.

Exploring the beach on campus and finding green crabs.

A lesson on how to determine a crab's gender.

Collecting plankton on the research vessel.

The scallop drag collected animals from the bottom of the bay.

Students getting familiar with the benthic invertebrates.

A sea peach.

In the lab identifying and drawing the plankton samples.

Day 2 exploring the intertidal zone at Indian Point.

Finding lots of animals including sea stars and sponge.

Time to study the animals we have been collecting.

Drawing and describing the different species.

Sponge

Lobster presentation.

The students spent time studying urchin anatomy.

Wrestling with an urchin pedicellaria.