Royal West Academy 2016

This week we welcomed a group of 48 sec IV students from Royal West Academy in Montreal to the Huntsman campus.  It has been a full week of hands-on marine biology for the students. Below are some highlights from the field course.

Exploring the rocky intertidal zone.

The students found urchins and sea stars under this rock.

Studying plankton in the lab using microscopes.

Collecting plankton on the research vessel.

Sampling using a benthic drag.

Sea peaches collected from the bottom.

Using the salinometer to gather temperature and salinity data at different depths.

Counting the species sampled in the benthic drag.

Classifying the invertebrates collected while on the boat.

Identifying seaweed samples.

Gathering data for the zonation lab.

Collecting marine debris for the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Data on the marine debris collected by the students.

Studying the anatomy of the super cool urchins!

Arthropod response to light behaviour lab.

Echinoderm flipping lab.

Testing barnacle feeding rates versus different temperatures.

Gathering data on invasive green crabs.

One of the females has an egg sac.

Grade 4 - Creatures in Your Marine Backyard

In Charlotte County, NB we are very lucky to live close to the ocean.  But how much do you really know about the Creatures in Your Marine Backyard?  Our Grade 4 in-class program endeavours to help students understand the adaptations that animals have to live in the special habitat called the intertidal zone.  For example, the periwinkle has a door (operculum) it pulls shut to hold in moisture when the tide goes out.  As part of the program the students have a chance to touch and get up close with all the animals.

Thank you to our generous sponsor Ganong for making this program possible.

Up close the students are able to see the animals moving in the water.

The students also learn about green crabs, an invasive species.

Sideswimmers are flat and swim on their side to get under rocks and seaweed when the tide goes out.

Hands-on = Minds-on

How many eyes does this sea star have?

The urchin's spines are a good defence.

The brittle star was a favourite with the students.

The students receive cards with animal facts to take home. 

Newsletter - SeaWords Spring 2016

We are happy to share the Spring 2016 edition of our newsletter, SeaWords: Marine Biology in the Classroom.

In this edition you will find:

• Article: Marine Debris - a growing global concern
• A tour of the Huntsman Campus in pictures
• Activity: Marine Debris Experiment
• Sea Creature Facts: Humpback Whale
• Summer Field Courses - NEW course for FAMILIES
• School Programs - Kindergarten to Grade 7

Laval Senior Academy - Day 4

This morning in the wet labs the Laval Senior Academy students conducted behaviour experiments on the invertebrates they collected throughout the week.  Students had the option of four different experiments: testing the strength of tube feet of different echinoderms, studying osmoregulation in intertidal organisms, seeing the effect of temperature on the feeding rate of barnacles or determining how arthropods react to light.

Currently the students are enjoying the beautiful weather while exploring the town of St. Andrews by-the-Sea.  Just before the students load the bus for the journey back to Quebec they will present their zonation projects and posters. We are looking forward to seeing all their hard work.

To see a short video of the barnacles feeding this morning check out our Twitter account.

Laval Senior Academy - Day 3

This morning the students worked in the lab studying a group of totally marine animals called echinoderms.  They specifically focused on the sea stars and urchins in an experiment to test if the size of the animal effects the flipping rate.  Also, they studied the anatomy of the animals including some interesting features, the pedicellaria and the madreporite.  To finish out the morning the group went to the aquarium to watch the seal feeding with Snorkel and Loki.

After lunch the students headed down to the beach to gather data for a zonation lab.  It was a great day to do fieldwork with the sun out and little wind.

This evening the students will work on the graphs for their zonation project with their groups.

Laval Senior Academy - Day 1 & 2

Tuesday we welcomed 45 sec IV and V students from Laval Senior Academy in Quebec to campus for a marine biology field course.  The first day was busy and exciting for the students as they sampled the benthic and plankton communities and gathered oceanographic data while aboard our research vessel the Fundy Spray, used microscopes in the lab to study plankton and toured the Huntsman Fundy Discovery Aquarium.

On day two the students conducted a classification lab using the live animals they collected the previous day, explored the diversity of life that lives in a rocky intertidal zone, helped to gather data on the invasive green crab and studied seaweeds in the lab.

Pictures of all the students adventures will be posted throughout the week on the Huntsman Education Department Twitter account, as well as here on our blog.