By: Naomi, Ashley, and Jesse

On our own

When we started our journey two weeks ago, we were just a group of six teenagers excited to learn, and we had no idea what was in store for us. Throughout the past seven labs, we have learned about different topics and practiced skills that we will carry with us throughout our science careers. Today we took on Lab 8.

Lab 8, our final lab of the week, was different from labs we’ve conducted before. Derek and Kay’s lab guidance has prepared us for today’s challenge. It was time to create and conduct our own data collection labs. Our only help, a google doc template, and partners! From ice melting to grass biodiversity, our class studiously and efficiently conducted our individual experiments over the next few hours.

Bea!

After 3 ½ hours of data collection, lab conducting, and lunch, we were greeted by Bea Grauman-Boss, our guest lecturer for today. Bea researches marine biology, cancer treatments, and more. When Bea went to Cambridge University, her professor told her to try everything. From MIT research to sand dollar larvae cloning, Bea has done it all!

Bea started off by introducing us to the rabbit overpopulation on San Juan Island and the impact they have on the Yellow Marble Butterflies (Euchloe hyantis).

While you might think that marine biology and pancreatic cancer have nothing in common, Bea – and now us – would beg to differ. Bea’s research in sand dollar larvae growth development and cloning placed her on her current path, developing cancer treatment. While she never thought of ending up doing this, Bea is so happy to be in her current position.

The end of week two!

To conclude the day we all took 5 minutes to discuss and expand our own ideas for potential projects. Each of us came up with excellent research questions and plans for pilot testing this weekend. Our discussion helped us through our ideas and ways we could find data around our neighborhoods. 

At the end of the week, we reflected on how quickly week 2 flew by (even when compared to week 1)! Although there are definitely restraints to working online, we have made the most of this situation and can’t wait to begin our projects.

By Anders, Colette, and Julia

Where do you come from? 

For most of us, this question probably isn’t all that hard to answer. You might respond, “I’m from Seattle” or maybe “I have some Scandinavian heritage”.

However, when asked to think back even further, things start to get a little complicated. 

When posed with this idea, our minds began to race. Did we come from outer space? How closely related am I to a nudibranch? Where do I even start?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when tracing back to our prehistoric ancestors. Fortunately for us, we had some help to get us through this subject; none other than Dr. Billie Swalla, an expert in marine genomics. 

Dr. Swalla taught us about her lifelong career studying ascidian embryos. Besides their beautiful features as adults, ascidians stand out due to their interesting larval characteristics. At the time of Dr. Swalla’s first introduction to the species, it seemed as though this creature could hold the key to discovering the common ancestor between vertebrates and invertebrates.

Below is an ascidian. And below that is also an ascidian (otherwise known as a Sea Squirt).

Dr. Swalla taught us about her lifelong career studying ascidian embryos. Besides their beautiful features as adults, ascidians stand out due to their interesting larval characteristics. At the time of Dr. Swalla’s first introduction to the species, it seemed as though this creature could hold the key to discovering the common ancestor between vertebrates and invertebrates.

Each organism begins its life as a larva, with its larval appearance bearing almost no resemblance to its adult form. As a larva, the ascidian spends no more than 12 hours in the water column, all the while searching for a place on the seafloor to metamorphosize. 

Dr. Swalla has spent years behind microscopes, constantly working to unearth new knowledge about these animals. Through her experience, she’s explored the body plan of ascidians, using her studies to build a better understanding of how complex body structures (like those of vertebrates) have evolved.

We are so fortunate to have spoken with Dr. Swalla today! From her words, we learned not only about our closest invertebrate relatives (ascidians) but also of the great importance of following one’s passion. Always remember, if you come across an ascidian in the ocean, just know they’re practically family! 

Transect Time!

Excited to keep active in the afternoon, we all trekked to local parks and green spaces to collect some environmental data. While we’re sure we’d prefer to be at Friday Harbor Labs working by the Salish Sea, it’s still great practice to test our transect skills around our own homes. Each one of us ventured into the great outdoors and rolled out 30 meters of measuring tape; using our quadrats to record the substrate every 5 meters. There is no doubt in our minds that passerbys thought we were crazy. We recorded everything from concrete to animal waste. 

While at times it’s a bummer to be so far apart, our geographical distance certainly comes with its benefits. Each location produced distinct data sets: while some of us dealt with tarantulas and snakes, others enjoyed relaxing parks and the comfort of sidewalks. It made for a very interesting afternoon. No matter where you are, there is always something new to discover. There are so many ways to connect with your surroundings and appreciate the natural world around you.

Get out and explore! 

By Naomi, Ashley, and Jesse

We all know about the current pandemic facing the human race today. But what we don’t know about are the pandemics that are evolving below the surface. 

Morgan Eisenlord from the Friday Harbor Labs enlightened us on one of the many major diseases facing our marine creatures today. The eelgrass wasting disease, not dissimilar to the sunflower sea star wasting disease, eats away at eelgrass plants throughout the Salish Seas.

Morgan discussed the labs she conducted to determine if increased water temperature is an eelgrass wasting disease trigger. She showed us pictures of infected and healthy eelgrass and demonstrated how, using Image J, we could find the area of a disease lesion.

Earlier that morning, we, the Bottlenose Dolphins, introduced Dr. Dobkowski, a phycologist and visiting assistant professor at Bates College. The seaweed expert described the various research systems that she uses in order to conduct different macroalgal labs. One of these techniques involved using a combination of transects and quadrats in order to measure kelp abundance in different intertidal terrains. Her research demonstrated that there is less kelp diversity in the wave-exposed cobble zone due to environmental pressures such as solar and tidal.

Before she said goodbye, she discussed her lab feeding research on kelp crabs. Her main goal was to determine the crabs’ feeding preferences. Dr. Dobkowski conducted an experiment measuring the amount of three types of kelp eaten by the crabs in the lab. From this experiment and many others, she was able to deduce that a kelp crab diet consists of bull kelp, sea snails, and sargassum.

After listening to Dr. Dobkowski’s presentation, we moved on to finishing Kay’s presentation from yesterday. Kay finally showed us the results of her butterflyfish research! She explained how she used linear regression, T-tests, and ANOVA to demonstrate butterflyfish behavior. By comparing the two reef sites where she conducted her research she found that aggression was less common in the degraded reef compared to the healthy reef.

After a long day of lectures and lesions, we received a quick blogging lesson from Caroline to wrap up the day. She showed us ways that we could liven our future blogs. Let’s see if you can notice any of the changes!

By Anders, Colette, and Julia

**Broadcasting from Team Mako…

Today was packed, but fortunately started off a little slower than yesterday, leaving us with some much needed time to get going.

After our daily knot, it was time to sit down and learn about Kay’s past research. Using some Google Slides templates, we began the process of creating a field guide for our home environments. Next up, we learned all about “do it yourself”, or DIY, data collection methods from Kay as she showed us what her research experience has taught her. She provided examples that showed us how to make cheap, DIY alternatives to expensive scientific tools. Fortunately for our wallets, marine science is very accessible. Oftentimes, expensive equipment can be replaced by common – sense creations. 

After lunch, we had the awesome opportunity to meet Liz Smith, a scientist and filmmaker with experience in many different fields. Having studied and worked in the field of scientific communication, Liz taught us all about her work as both an independent contractor and NASA employee. We were also extremely grateful to be selected as one of the very few groups to view Liz’s newest film, YOUTH v. GOV. With confidentiality in mind, let’s just say… Wow! If we were to sum up the film in one word, it would be Empowering.

After we had all taken the time to view the documentary, we wrote about our thoughts in a short survey. This was a nice way to debrief what we learned and to provide critical feedback for the production and editing teams. It’s crazy to know that our feedback is helping to create what we hope will be the next big documentary!

We reconnected on zoom to discuss our feelings about the film with Producer Liz Smith. Both team Mako and team Bottlenose Dolphins voiced the inspiration we felt and agreed that we all had an overwhelming urge to make our voices heard. Every voice counts, and if anything is going to make a difference in this critical time, it’s the youth. Whether it’s by protesting, signing petitions, or creating posters: all efforts are critical during this global fight for climate justice.