Hello Salish Sea families, friends, and explorers! It is Andrea, Sonja, and Islay and we are very excited to tell you about the contributions we have made to the real world scientific field and the captivating sea stars in the Salish Sea.
This is the double hitch knot. It’s never coming off. Photo by Sonja Larson.
We started off the day at the too-early time of 6:45 to get ready and eat breakfast. Afterwards, we grouped up to learn our knot of the day: the double hitch knot. Apparently, it’s useful for tying things to poles, but we haven’t really gotten any practical chance to use it yet. Hopefully we will get to use them in the field soon! We then split up into two different groups to head out to survey the sea stars at different locations. One group headed to San Juan County’s Reuben Tarte Park and the other group went to the Strathmann House to collect data. Dr. Richard Strathmann, emeritus Professor of Biology at University of Washington and at Friday Harbor Laboratories, is recognized as a founder of the study of larval ecology.
These sea stars are cool, but they’re kind of hiding in a crack which makes them hard to see :’( This is a picture of two Pisaster Ochraceus, also known as Ochre Sea Stars. This photo was taken by Islay Ross.
In the field, we gathered data on disease prevalence in Pisaster Sea Stars to help with the ongoing investigation into the declining populations. The SSWS (Sea Star Wasting Syndrome) epizootic mysteriously began spreading in around 2013, and proved extremely harmful to Sea Star species across the Pacific Northwest. With the help of involved researchers Dr. Drew Harvell, Morgan Eisenlord and Miranda Winningham, we learned how to recognize the stages of SSWS by analyzing lesion locations.
As we all arrived in our different locations, it was evident that there was a lot of attentive searching, squatting, and balancing to do in order to find, measure, and record the sea stars. In my location, Reuben Tarte Park, the amount of algae was tremendous. That definitely made it much more difficult to navigate the slippery rocks, especially since they were covered in barnacles. Combined, both groups found 52 sea stars! Unfortunately, one of them appeared sick, but even then the symptoms were not severe.
Amazing sea star here. This is a Henricia, also known as the Blood Sea Star. What do you think? This picture was taken by Andrea Arevalos.
Later, we regrouped at the dorms for ‘Reflection Time’ (or for some a quick power nap). We then all had lunch. Some of us had sandwiches, and others of us had some delicious leftover pasta. We then all traveled outside for an initially confusing discussion focusing on the question: What is Science? I felt like I had a pretty good answer to this coming into the conversation, but found myself expanding my view on the topic pretty quickly. There is so much to science and scientific theory!
Hanging out in the lab! Photo by Islay Ross.
In the on-campus laboratory, we split back into our survey groups and added the data we had collected on the sea stars into a spreadsheet. This data is going to be added to the really long list of data that had been collected in past years so it can be put toward learning more about Sea Star Wasting Disease. It was really crazy to see the data that had already been collected, and it was really cool to know that the data we collected was being added to that spreadsheet.
Later in the afternoon, we grouped up for a scientific estimation activity. Using tools from the lab like quadrats and transect tape, we tried to mathematically determine the mystery number of rocks in a field (without counting them). We wandered around the yard tossing quadrats made of PVC pipes and recording our data points as we went. After everyone had done their calculations and floated their hypotheses, the mystery number of rocks was revealed! It was a good lesson in trusting the scientific lesson, even if some of our numbers seemed ridiculous.
Here I am struggling to walk with water in my boots, I hope they dry soon! – Andrea. (Picture taken at Reuben Tarte) This picture was taken by Andrea Arevalos
Waking up and having to be out the door so early in the day was definitely tiresome, but looking at the colorful sea stars and feeling the cool breeze was definitely worth it! We came back to the science lab and input our findings to the extensive list of surveys on sea stars that date back to 2013, so having our data on that table is something we should all be proud of.
The Pisaster Sea Stars are often hidden in shady crevices, so we had to crouch down to get a good look at them. Pictured are Abby Cooper and Colette Bennett, scraping their knees on barnacles for science (yikes!). Picture taken by Islay Ross.