Ashbury College 2019

     Last week on campus, we turned Ashbury College students into marine biologists! After a long bus ride from Ottawa, Ontario, the students were thrilled to dive into all the Bay of Fundy has to offer. Between exploring in the field and studying in the lab, they had a very busy week. Check out some of the photos from their time with us below. 

Students had a chance to observe the subtidal community on the Fundy Spray! 

Despite its sponge and soft coral camouflage, a toad crab was found amongst the rocks.

Plankton collected on the boat was later examined under microscopes in the lab. 

Students searched high and low in the intertidal zone to complete a 'phylum race'.

One of the phylums in the race was Echinodermata, which includes sea stars!

'The first of the last': students gathered for their first picture together during their final year of high school.

Up close and personal! Students familiarized themselves with the anatomy of green sea urchins.

A number of guest speakers were scheduled this week, including Jackie Walker. Jackie spoke to the students about the Debris Free Fundy program conducted by the Huntsman and ran a rope repurposing workshop. 

Dr. Claire Goodwin from the Atlantic Reference Centre (ARC) teaching students about sponge!

Zonation at Green's Point

The group traveled to Grand Manan (via ferry) where they went whale watching with Sea Watch Tours. Pictured is the dorsal fin of a fin whale.

At Pottery Creek, they collected data on European green crabs, an invasive species in the Bay of Fundy. In 45 minutes, they had managed to measure, sex and mark over 200 crabs!

Examining albatross boluses in the UNB teaching lab

Students went bird banding bright and early during their last day on campus. They captured and banded 51 birds.

Students worked in groups to estimate the common periwinkle population at Holey Point using the mark recapture method. 

Crunch time: students completing the end-of-week bell ringer!

Ashbury finished their time in New Brunswick with a trip to the ARC! The fetal humpback whale was a hit with the students. 

Saying their goodbyes to the Bay by kissing a porbeagle shark head at the ARC.