By Denny Bromley, with William, Elspeth, and Johnathan

Today, Salish Sea Science students were given the rare opportunity to watch the necropsy of a seal pup. The few-day-old pup was called in by someone who had noticed its umbilical cord and placenta still attached, thinking it was an entangled balloon or plastic bag. Assuming they were doing the right thing, they cut off the cord. The seal was brought to rehab to recover from so much human contact, for eventual release back into the wild. Sadly, it passed away. Harbor Seal pups only have a 50% survival rate, and this individual didn’t make the cut. In order to figure out the cause of death to prevent in-care deaths again, FHL performed a necropsy on the animal.

The necropsy began with one of the scientists cutting into the pup’s neck. Folding the flap back, they measured the thickness of the blubber layer to determine how healthy the pup was, and how well it was nursing from its mother. After that, they cut open the seal from chin to pelvis, opening it up into the muscle layer until the ribcage and intestines were visible.

After this, they removed the sternum and cut the ribs off of one side to better access the chest cavity. Then, they began removing and inspecting individual organs. Pieces of its heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, and kidneys were all stored for later research.

Finally, they removed the head from the body and began peeling back the skin and blubber from the skull. They removed one of its eyes and we were able to see it up close.

They finished skinning the head, but rather than enter the cranial cavity on the docks, they took the skull back into the labs to do it there. Thus ended our experience of the necropsy.

After the necropsy, we were given a brief tour of some of the labs at FHL. We saw students working, and even an electron microscope!

Finally, we were given some pamphlets and drove home. Later, students finished up their posters and even printed a few of them.

By Denny Bromley

Today’s activities were entirely focused on students’ individual projects, and as such, there won’t be much to report in this blog. However, after dinner, we will have a special speaker. Dennis Willows is a director of FHL, as well as an aviator, ship captain, and neuroscientist. He’ll be talking about the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to three FHL scientists, as well as the story behind the discovery and development of the GFP first observed in 1972.

By Denny Bromley, with Elspeth, William, and Jonathan

Today, on the first day of July, the students of Salish Sea Sciences practiced their inner poet and tested their endurance on two hikes.

After the usual breakfast (no more birthdays) students practiced writing poetry outside. The poems could be about anything and had no required structure. Many students wrote about nature, but many students also wrote deep reflections on power and the ease of abusing it. Ian’s poem, “Grassy”, was highly intellectual and incredibly sophisticated prose about “that stupid thing that won’t go away”. Later, some of these poems were shared in a circle.

After poetry, students embarked on a hike to climb Mt. Grant, a local biopreserve. As far as mountains go, this was a bit close to a steep hill, but it still had a lovely view at the summit. Many islands and the ocean were visible over a beautiful canopy of evergreens covering the mountain’s slopes. The hike up took a journey through gorgeous old-growth forests, and Shauna (our guide at the time) showed us how to read the landscape and to see how environmental sustainment had impacted the forests. Later, students went on another hike around Lake Zylstra, a manmade lake in the center of the island. We counted birds and enjoyed the scenic views as we did a full loop of the lake.

On Day Two of our Salish Seas Kayak trip, we began with a nice morning on the Griffin Bay campsite, on San Juan Island. Later, we saw some local wildlife on both terrestrial land and aquatic seas. Finally, we arrived at our permanent campsite.

The morning began with a nice granola and toast breakfast at the scenic Griffin Bay campsite. The tides were down and a few people walked along the stony shore, looking at crabs, kelp, and anemones. Just before we left, we saw a gray fox, who was surprisingly at ease with us. Eventually it left and we packed up and began paddling to Turn Island, off the eastern coast of San Juan Island. On the way, we paused to admire some harbor porpoises who surfaced just a few yards ahead of us, as well as harbor seals and a California Sea Lion, which we saw swimming through the water. The water also gave excellent views of Mount Baker. 

When we finally arrived on Turn Island, we almost immediately began being pestered by the local raccoon population. After unpacking and setting up tents, we ate a delicious meal of chili. However, as dinner cooked, the raccoons continued their growing assault on our food stores.

As the sun went down, the cozy kayak camp literally turned into an armed camp. Everyone was armed with heavy sticks, and patrols swept the beach. Their glowing eyes could be seen prowling through the tall grass, and at one point a large one attacked one of our guides. They were intent on getting into our food and our tents, and it was a hard fought battle to keep them out. Eventually, the kitchen area was taken and we were forced to concede for the night. As we retreated, the raccoons swarmed over our kitchen, but the battle would be won at dawn.