Author Archives: Max Lundin

Day 3: From the Sub-Tidal to the San Juan National Park

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By: Max Lundin, Addy Brautigam, Kaia Wasserman, Amber Xu

After breakfast and packing lunches, we took off for the day. Our first stop was University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories. There, we received a stupendous tour from Michelle Herko, researcher and director of Friday Harbor Laboratories. She showed us the campus and research facilities unoccupied by busy scientists, but filled with marine life.

Touch tank (bellow the stairs) at UW Friday Harbor Labs. Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman.
Curious students “poking around” in laboratory touch tanks. Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman.

After fueling up on lunch, students were divided into three groups. One group took to the docks to investigate sea life growing upon tires hanging from the docks. This includes but is not limited to shrimp, sea squirts, barnacles of all sorts, crabs, kelp, and sponges. Those who dared took a respectful poke.

A close up of some of the life found latched onto a dock tire. Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman.
Active barnacles students were lucky enough to see. Photo credits: Amber Xu.

Another group was led to the sea star sanctuary where students learned about the research and restoration of the local sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides). Following a dramatic heatwave in 2014, these vital organisms have been plagued by Sea Star Waisting Disease (SSWD) and researchers have been working to restore the population and unveil the cause since 2019.

Baby sunflower sea stars being raised in tanks in an attempt to restore the damaged population. Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman.
Juvenile starfish in their respective tank separated by generation. Photo credits: Max Lundin.

The final group was led outside the lab to view grown, ready to release, and infected sunflower sea stars under quarantine watch. Similarly to inside, each tank was separated by generation. Each generation has a theme for names chosen by research scientists, including different breakfast foods.

Adult sunflower sea stars from the outside tanks. Photo credits: Addy Brautigam.

Once we wrapped up at the labs, we took a hop, skip, and a van ride to the historical site of America Camp National Park. There we received an insightful tour all included with historic background of the area, such as the Pig War that took place. Our guide was none other than the energetic archeologist, cartographer, and Friday Harbor mayoral candidate, Emilio Santiago.

Students posing with Emilio Santiago following an amazing tour! Photo credits: Adam.

To conclude a fantastic day, we returned to Spring Street International School campus where we split off into our job groups and prepared to welcome our guest Tim Dwyer, a marine scientist who currently teaches at Friday Harbor High School and co-teaches at Friday Harbor Laboratories. He also has served as a Communications Officer on the EV Nautilus, the research vessel used by The Ocean Exploration Trust.