Today was spent working diligently on projects, but we took a break from that to have an exciting visit from Dr. Deborah Giles of the University of Washington and her dog Eba. Eba is a working dog who works to sniff out killer whale scat to be analyzed for chemicals, diet of the whale, and even pregnancy. Dr. Giles explained to us how to tell individual whales apart simply through scat and also how the Snake River Dam is affecting our Southern Resident killer whale population. Eba was a delight to have as well, appreciating all of the love and new friends. While their visit was short, it was a pleasure and an honor.

By Eliza, Henry and, Samuel

Today was a project day meaning  we all went our separate ways to complete our various studies. Many of the Southern Resident Orcas came to the island and we got an opportunity to listen to their echolocation. The sculpins got their first concert of viola and clarinet in order to assess their reactions to the music while the bioluminescence team learned about the circadian rhythms of the Noctiluca Scintillans. More research was done into the sleep cycles of Nudibranchs. Saml did dock biodiversity surveys and underwater footage collection via a kayak and Gopro rig he’d built. We were also honored with a visit from the esteemed A. O. Dennis Willows, a UW professor Emeritus directed the incredible Friday Harbor Labs for over thirty years from 1972 to 2005, he taught us about what had made him and his colleagues successful and gave us advice for our futures in the sciences.