Bell High & Lisgar Collegiate Institute 2017

This week on campus we have welcomed students from two schools within the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Bell High and Lisgar Collegiate Institute. While on campus these students are introduced to the marine environment of the Bay of Fundy through field trips and time in the lab for up close observation of the animals collected. Students have time to explore the town of St. Andrews and have an overnight trip by ferry to Grand Manan Island. Below are some pictures from the week.

Collecting fresh plankton onboard the research vessel.

Phytoplankton & zooplankton samples.

Sorting through the animals collected using the benthic drag.

A rare find, red soft coral.

A diversity of stars: purple sunstar, blood star, brittle star & common seastar.

Growing back two arms.

Studying the internal anatomy of a scallop.

There were many rock crabs collected.

A sand shrimp & armoured shrimp.

A sea cucumber with its feeding tentacles out.

Collecting data on the temperature & salinity of the water using the salinometer.

 Studying the plankton in the lab.

Learning new microscope skills.

Different species of phytoplankton.

A copepod, note the one eye spot.

Exploring the intertidal zone.

Four little seastars all in a row.

A green crab with a unique colour.

Lots of animals live under the rocks including sea urchins.

Quick stop at the Bar Road, which at high tide is totally covered with water.

In the lab identifying the animals collected on the boat & beach.

Using the microscopes to study urchin external anatomy.

Drawing & labelling the parts of the urchin.

Behaviour experiments: Does size effect the flipping rate of urchins?

How about sea stars?

How do crabs react to light?

Does temperature effect the feeding rate of barnacles?

Which species of echinoderm is the strongest?

Searching for the invasive green crab.

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

South Carleton, Earl of March & Osgoode 2017

This week on campus we welcomed students from three Ottawa area schools, South Carleton High School, Earl of March Secondary School and Osgoode Township High School. The students have had a week full of marine biology in the field and in the lab. Below are some pictures from their adventures.

Working in the university lab.

Using microscopes to study plankton.

Collecting plankton from the bay.

Conducting a benthic drag.

Sorting through the animals collected from the bottom of the bay.

Pearls from a scallop!

Hermit crab in a shell covered in snail fur.

Tiny sea urchins.

Gathering data on the temperature and salinity of the bay.

Trekking up ramp at low tide...steep!

Identifying the live animals in the lab using field guides.

Having a closer look at the external anatomy of sea urchins.

On the beach looking for invasive green crabs.

The students found lots of green crabs.

Once collected the crabs are sexed, measured and marked.

Waiting for the ferry to Grand Manan Island.

Visiting Roland's Sea Vegetables.

Samples of the different seaweeds for sale.

Collecting seaweed on the beach at the Anchorage Provincial Park.

The winners of the longest seaweed competition, measuring over 2 meters long!

Creating a dichotomous key using seaweed.

Lobstering 101 with Captain Peter Wilcox.

Some of the traps all ready for the start of the season in November.

Exploring the basalt cliffs at Dark Harbour.

Hiking to Swallowtail Lighthouse.

Touring the museum. 

Behaviour experiments: does the size of a seastar effect the flipping rate?

The effects of temperature on the feeding rates of barnacles.

Testing the strength of echinoderms.

Some of the group getting ready to go whale watching on the Fundy Odyssey.

The rest of the group onboard the Quoddy Link.