One of the first activities we partook in was a field trip to the Whale Museum. There we learned about baleen, the precarious situation of the San Juan resident orca whales, and more. It was a great experience to kick off the program.
Photo by Finlee
A photo of Adam. One of the amazing science directors for Salish Seas. He has a wide range of knowledge and is always ready to answer all of our questions! In this photo, he is posing underneath a whale skeleton in the whale museum.
Taken by Finlee
A picture of Caleb holding a sea cucumber, one of the many creatures featured on the intertidal bingo. One of the best parts of this trip was the opportunity to see creatures that many of us had never seen before.
Taken by Finlee
After we went to the whale museum, we drove to Dead Man Cove. We went to the intertidal zone where we played intertidal bingo where we tried to find everything from cnidarians to kelp crabs.
Taken by Morgan
This is a photo of some of the girls and boys taking a very cold and daring dip into the ocean after dinner to cool off and have fun
Day 3, June 25th
Picture taken by Morgan
On our second full day, we travelled to Cattle Point Beach. The water was calm and the sun was shining at full force. We were ready to search for and ID crab moults!
Picture taken by Morgan
This photo of the slime of the students having fun eating lunch and chilling out while conducting some research at the tide pools on the west side of the island yesterday.
Picture taken by Soren
This picture was taken of a plumose anemone at the beach directly below the lighthouse. While we were searching for crab moults we also found several other creatures like sea stars and anemones!
We also met with Professor Billie Swalla over dinner where she talked about her work with evolutionary biology and what she did in that field. You can check out her biography here:
After our now-daily morning walk, the group headed back to the Whale Museum. Under the guidance of marine mammal extraordinaire Tracie, we assembled the skeleton of a steller sea lion and attempted to determine the cause of death. Finlee was correct with the diagnosis of blunt force trauma from orcas! We also discovered that the sea lion had been shot in the mouth, but the injury was not fatal, as there was evidence of healing and wear on the damaged tooth.
Picture taken by Soren
We returned to the dorms to discuss and prepare for the upcoming four-day kayaking trip and then promptly departed to catch low tide at Deadman’s Bay. At the beach, we formed human chains to bail out a waist-deep tidepool for (future doctor) Meg Vandenberg, hoping to find armoured poachers. (https://cascadiaresearch.org/intern/meg-vandenberg/). Although we didn’t find the armoured fish, we did catch a variety of gunnels which were transported back to Friday Harbor Labs, identified, and sorted by species.
Picture taken by Katie
Picture by Morgan
Of the students participating in the tide pool draining, none worked harder than Finlee, Tatum, and Soren, catching the slippery Gunnels.
Picture by Morgan
We worked hard to empty the water of the tide pools to find gunnels and other fish. It was hard work, but it was a great bonding experience!
A highlight of our time at the beach was the orcas passing by. We even spotted a playful juvenile breaching!
Picture taken by Katie
In the evening, we ventured back to the labs to attend a seminar by Dr. Spencer Fire about harmful algal blooms and their effects on marine mammals. We learned about three major biotoxins– domoic acid, brevetoxin, and saxitoxin– and the symptoms exhibited by marine mammals like sea lions after acute exposure. These include reproductive failure and a loss of fear of humans.(https://firelabfit.weebly.com/)
The night before, the brilliant Dr. Billie Swalla, an evolution and development researcher and professor at the University of Washington, came for dinner and talked to us about her specialty, ascidians, and their genome. We also learned about chordates, and how evolution has changed their body shapes. She showed us a species chart that showed how most species had tails while there were only a couple of species with no tails. We got to walk through her lab the next day during our tour of Friday Harbor Labs. When we were walking through her students were adding their newest catches to the tanks. On our walk through we got to see crabs, barnacles, worms, and jellyfish. We are very grateful to Dr. Swalla for allowing us to peer into her lab and research. If you wish to find out more about her research you can access her website here: https://www.biology.washington.edu/people/profile/billie-j-swalla
Jackson Beach:
Last night, our group of upcoming scientists made a trip to Jackson Beach at night time. A couple of brave individuals entered the freezing ocean and jumped in for a while. Afterward, we all grabbed a volleyball and set up a court in the sand. Unfortunately, one team was severely outmatched skills-wise and began losing horrifically. Luckily, in a genius maneuver, the losing team performed a human pyramid to raise morale and demoralize the other team. The day ended with a clear victory as the comeback never materialized and a successful trip to Jackson’s Beach. HOWEVER, our journey wasn’t over yet as we began the next day exploring the expansive island.
Image taken by Cassandra
Research Project Talk:
To start the 3rd day of learning we got a lecture about our projects. Adam and Riley gave the time frame for how our projects are going to work in the next 4 weeks. The first week was mainly about getting out in the field and exploring. Then week 2 is about brainstorming and ideas for projects that can be used. Week 3 is about meeting with our mentors and getting data. Finally, week 4 is about getting more data and making our posters. They also told us how we could get our materials and how our projects would work. After their talk, Caroline came in to discuss charts and maps. We learned how people can rely on maps and figure out what’s happening with our planets.
Cattle Point with Dr. Dobkowski:
After the talk about our research projects, we headed out to Cattle Point located on the southern end of the island. We met up with Dr. Katie Dobkowski and her mentees: Lucy and Francisco, to provide help on their project. Dr. Dobkowski is a professor at Evergreen University in Olympia, Washington, and has done many research projects relating to seaweed in subtidal and intertidal communities on the West Coast. Their project was focused on crab molts and the different types of crabs around the beach. We mostly found Red Rock Crab molts on the first part of Cattle Points Beach, and around the corner of the beach, we found more Native Shore Crab molts. It was very tricky to find the actual molts, but it was tons of fun even with the sun and heat and the steep climb up to the vans. More about Dr. Dobkowski’s research here: Website
– Image taken by Morgan
Lab 1 with Dr. Hodin:
We headed to Lab 1, the Seastar lab, where we met Dr. Jason Hodin and his mentees: Venessa and Chloe. Dr. Hodin is a professor and a senior research scientist at the University of Washington. They explained their work with sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and wasting disease. Venessa and Chloe led us over to the seastar tanks, where they demonstrated how they feed the stars. They answered our many questions, especially about wasting disease and how it’s taking out sunflower star populations, along with their conservation efforts to save the stars. More on Dr. Jason Hodin here: Website
– Photo taken by Morgan
Exploring the rest of FHL (Friday Harbor Labs):
After exploring the Seastar Lab we were graciously led around the Friday Harbor Labs by Dr. Michelle Herko, the program director at Friday Harbor Labs. She brought us through the main building and shared the history of the establishment and how she got into working at the Friday Harbor Labs. Then, she brought us around the lab and showed us the various equipment and organisms researched. In one of the sections, there was an area for numerous invertebrates of all sizes and ages, like a large, squishy sea anemone in the lab longer than Dr. Herko worked there! Overall, the FHL was fascinating and led by incredible scientists, and I would love to visit again. More Information on Dr. Michelle Herko here: Website
Blog was edited for clarity, to add more information, and adding new pictures on July 7th, 2024
Mr. Beast: Wassup OGs? Mr. Beast here with our first daily report on the totally awesome Salish Sea Sciences summer bonanza!
[Cut to footage of people meeting at the airport, with lively music in the background]
Mr. Beast: To start, yesterday was epic! A few of the betas met up with Caroline and Tom at the airport, cruising through Seattle to pick up our studious Alpha and glorious Sigma,
[Camera zooms out to Mr. Beast with a big smile]
Mr. Beast: If you want free Beast Bars, stay tuned for more epic adventures by smashing that like button and subscribing! The top comment on this video will get a free shipping of Beast Bars, FOR FREE!
[Clip of the group laughing and buying onions at a produce market]
Mr. Beast: On the way to Anacortes, they made a pit stop at a produce market where Sigma and Alpha bonded over the hilarious challenge of eating raw onions like apples. Crazy, right?
[Footage of the group boarding a Washington State Ferry, with views of the water]
Mr. Beast: In Anacortes, we met up with more students, including our legendary Zeta. Then we all took a Washington State Ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. On the ferry, Alpha and Sigma took their bond to the next level with a poker game, while Zeta watched patiently.
[Clip of the reunion at Friday Harbor, with hugs and cheers]
Mr. Beast: At Friday Harbor, Alpha, Zeta, and Sigma reunited with our long-lost brethren, the illustrious Kappa. It was like a scene from an epic movie!
[Footage of a pizza dinner with everyone having fun and eating]
Mr. Beast: Once settled, Alpha, Zeta, Kappa, and Sigma joined the betas for a pizza dinner, cooked by the amazing Tom and Cassandra. The dish? Pizza with a salad bar. Absolutely goated meal, guys!
Mr Beast: So, after we finished dinner and made some quick calls home, we decided to hit up the dorm’s backyard and started tossing around a frisbee.
Photo by Cassandra
[Cut to: Footage of everyone casually tossing a frisbee]
Mr. Beast: It started off casual, but then it turned into an EPIC game of ultimate frisbee!
Photo by Cassandra
[Cut to: People laying out endzones with shoes and running around in their socks]
[Cut to: Fast-paced action shots of the game]
Mr. Beast: Things got intense REAL QUICK! One team SMASHED it with four back-to-back points, totally dominating.
[Close-up of team 1 celebrating]
Mr. Beast: But wait! Team 2 wasn’t done yet—they finally got their first point on the board!
[Cut to: Team 2 celebrating their first point]
Mr. Beast: Just when they thought they were back in the game, team 1 came back STRONG!
[Cut to: More intense gameplay, focus on Alpha]
Photo by Cassandra
Mr. Beast: Then, out of NOWHERE, our super-studious Alpha switched sides! The game got even crazier with a few more tense points.
[Cut to: Close-up of the scoreboard tied, crowd looking tense]
Mr. Beast: It all came down to the ultimate point: LAST SCORE WINS EVERYTHING!
[Cut to: Slow-motion shot of Alpha grabbing the disc]
Mr. Beast: In a matter of SECONDS, Alpha grabbed the disc and LAUNCHED it across the field.
[Dramatic music builds up]
Mr. Beast: It was like a scene from a movie, guys. The disc SOARED and landed PERFECTLY in the hands of a beta teammate!
[Cut to: Teammate catching the disc, everyone cheering]
Mr. Beast: GAME OVER, just like that!
[Cut to: Everyone heading inside, high-fiving and laughing]
Mr. Beast: After the game, we all headed inside, totally exhausted but PUMPED, and crashed into our beds. Time to recharge for tomorrow’s epic adventures!
[Closing shot: Dorm lights turning off, screen fades to black]
Mr. Beast: Remember, every day’s a new chance for something AWESOME. See you in the morning!
Mr. Beast: Rise and shine guys! This morning we were presented with an exhilarating challenge: a town scavenger hunt! And you know what that means… It’s time to assemble one of the most extraordinary teams of all time: Alpha Zeta Kappa Sigma! This team is composed of our studious Alpha, the legendary Zeta, the illustrious Kappa, and the glorious Sigma. Words cannot describe the glory of this team, but I’ll attempt it. These guys had that dog in them.
Photo by Max
[Cut to footage of the group running amok in Friday Harbor]
Mr. Beast: They wound through the beautiful seaside town of Friday Harbor with remarkable grace and style, like a pack of alpha wolves. Our mission? Take selfies at specific points around town. And guess what? We racked up the 2nd most points! But in our hearts, we were first. Everyone who witnessed this knew it: this was the birth of a superteam.
So, drop a comment down below about your favorite town location and smash that like button! Let’s go!
Mr. Beast: We continued the day with a next-level museum tour! Tracie, our guide, dropped some serious knowledge bombs about killer whales in this area. We even checked out a mind-blowing skeleton of conjoined harbor seal twins—crazy rare stuff!
[Cut to footage of Tracie explaining about killer whales, interspersed with shots of Mr. Beast and the crew listening intently]
Mr. Beast: But hold up, it’s not all good news. We uncovered another way humans are impacting marine life: toxins in killer whale bodies. This is a wake-up call, and we’re here to spread awareness.
[Cut to serious shots of Mr. Beast looking concerned, overlayed with images of polluted waters and wildlife affected by toxins]
Image by Katie, with special thanks to Mr. Beast
Mr. Beast: The next step in our journey was to hop back into the vans and mosey on down to eat our lunches. With the quick work of Legendary Zeta, we were able to discover that 99.99% of Adam’s playlist is made up of unknown tracks. Meanwhile, Alpha and Sigma had an enlightening discussion on the Top 3 Most Important Inventions of All Time (new video dropping soon!!), which were penicillin, the wheel, and selective breeding! Drop your predictions: will Adam’s songs be hidden gems or wacky tunes, and what do you think is the greatest invention of all time? Top 3 beta comments will win a free 1000 pack of Beast Bars, and tag 3 friends to raise the stakes!
[Cut to upbeat music as Mr. Beast and the crew get ready to listen to Adam’s playlist, with a text overlay: “What will we discover?”]
[Opening shot: Wide view of a dorm’s backyard, dusk settling in]
Mr. Beast (excited): What’s up, guys! After dinner and some quick calls home, we all hit up the dorm’s backyard and started tossing around a frisbee.
Photo by Scarlett
Mr. Beast: Hey guys, another Day 2 adventure is going to be epic, led by Adam and Riley. We’ve taken a trip to the intertidal pools, where we’re diving deep into the world of marine life. But first, we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to observe the environment and jot down 10 biotic and 10 abiotic factors. Let’s scan the area and see what we can find!
[Cut to footage of Mr. Beast and the crew exploring the intertidal pools, taking notes and pointing out different factors]
Mr. Beast: Alright, we’ve got some people that saw seaweed, hermit crabs, barnacles—those are some biotic factors. Rocks, water, temperature—those are abiotic. It’s like a natural checklist!
[Cut to close-up shots of the biotic and abiotic factors they’ve identified, with labels popping up on screen]
Mr. Beast: Now that we’ve got a good grasp of the environment, it’s time for the fun part. We’re playing Intertidal Bingo! You all need to get Bingo by finding the most epic creatures and features we can find in these pools.
[Cut to shots of the Wolf Pack amongst betas holding up their bingo cards, excitedly discussing their strategies]
Mr. Beast: The goal is to find these items and mark them off our bingo cards. Whoever completes their card first wins an awesome prize!
[Cut to montage of Mr. Beast and the crew searching the intertidal pools, laughing and shouting as they discover different creatures]
Mr. Beast: Oh, check this out! We’ve got a sea star, a Gumboot Chiton, and even a sea anemone. These are some serious contenders for our bingo boards!
[Cut to footage of crew members marking off items on their bingo cards, getting closer to completing them]
Mr. Beast: It’s getting intense, folks! Who’s going to find that last elusive creature and claim victory? Drop your guesses in the comments below! Hint: likely not one of the betas…
[Cut to dramatic music as the crew continues their search, showing close-ups of the remaining items on their bingo cards]
Mr. Beast: That’s it for today’s adventure at the intertidal pools. Thanks for joining us on this wild journey of discovery with Riley, Adam, the Wolf Gang, and betas. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss out on our next epic expedition. See you next time!
Photo by Sam
[this blog post was written with the help of ChatGPT]
