Saint John High Gr 12 IB Bio

This weekend we have the Gr 12 IB Biology students from Saint John High School on campus. While here the students conducted a mark-recapture field study on periwinkles, gathered data on zonation patterns in the intertidal zone, had a presentation on sponges from Dr. Claire Goodwin, a researcher at a section of the Huntsman called the Atlantic Reference Centre, did an experiment to determine if size affects the flipping rate of sea stars and urchins, and designed their own behaviour lab.  It was a busy weekend!

Below are some pictures from their adventures.

Reviewing intertidal seaweeds and animals in preparation for the zonation lab.

Some of the animals to be identified: rough-mantled nudibranch, terebellid worm and common periwinkles.

Dr. Claire Goodwin from the ARC discussing her research on sponges.

Preparing a slide to have a look at sponge spicules.

Spicules help to identify the species of sponge. 

Marking periwinkles to estimate the population.

Pink sparkly periwinkles!

Zonation at Holey Point.

Elevation measurement.

Flipping sea star...very flexible!

Flipping urchin...lots of moving spines and tube feet!

Also, check out the Huntsman Education Department twitter account for more pictures.

Bell High 2016

Wow! The wonderful Bell High School teachers have been bringing students to the Huntsman Marine Science Centre for 17 years! Below are some pictures from this year's awesome marine biology field trip.

Having fun in the rain exploring the diversity of animals living in the intertidal zone.

Lots of animals hiding under the rocks, including these small sea stars.

Collecting plankton while on the research vessel.

Learning about the animals living on the bottom of the bay.

Two adorable tiny scallops.

A large Jonah crab.

Beautiful morning on the mud flats.

Searching for marine worms.

Blood worm.

The students in the lab observing the live animals they collected from the boat and beach.

Studying the anatomy of a sea urchin.

The students visited Grand Manan Island to go whale watching with Sea Watch Tours. They saw some humpbacks that were very active at the surface.

Also, they were very lucky to see Old Thom, an orca whale that is occasionally spotted in the Bay of Fundy. Exciting!! 

On the hunt for invasive green crabs.

One of the 257 crabs the students found.

Data on the size and gender of each crab is collected.

Also, found a porpoise skull...

and spine on the beach. 

Experiment day! Students were determining if size affected the flipping rate of urchins ...

or sea stars.

Other students tested the strength of echinoderms...

or how temperature effects the feeding rate of barnacles.