By: Will, Saymirah, and Lisa

We began with an early start when we woke at 5:30 AM to travel to False Bay where we began our Lugworm Population Survey and Fecal Casting Measurements. We used quad-rats to isolate certain areas in which we counted worm holes and measured the width of fecal castings (poop) with a special tool called a caliper. Our dinner guest the night before, Professor Rachel Merz, stopped by to give us a lesson on Lugworm biology. We thought it was hard to stay focused in the strong winds and low temperatures that came upon us. After that we headed back to the dorm for a proper breakfast that satisfied our stomachs. We also played games and rested from the long morning that we had. After lunch we celebrated Tyra’s 15th Birthday with cake and ice cream, which of course was fun! Tim taught us how to make graphs of the data that we collected. We met with Alicia again at the Friday Harbor Labs to illustrate details and differences in our marine specimens. Raena Parsons and Sean Robertson joined us for dinner where they talked about their careers with National and State Parks.

By: Julie, Matt and Marcus

We started the day at The Friday Harbor Laboratories working with different scientists in Professor Adam Summers’ research group. With Dr. Marianne Porter we learned about cartilaginous fish and observed an MTS (Materials Testing System) at work. Dr. Thomas Kleinteich explained the 3D printer that he works with and how the 3D computer images are created with a CT scanner. With Cassandra Donatelli we dissected and explored the body of a dogfish shark using surgical tools. Dr. Petra Ditsche-Kuru described her work with clingfish attachment strength and what she plans to do in her future work. Stephanie Crofts helped us view a housefly and pieces of shell with the use of a Scanning Electron Microscope. Finally, David Shapiro displayed his work on hermit crabs’ selection and preference of different shells. For sharing their amazing work with us, we shared a lunch of pizza with them.

After returning to the house, we had two hours of free time before going back to The Labs for the 4:00 Wednesday seminar. The first talk; A glimpse into the life of echinoderm larvae exposed to intense salinity fluctuations, was given by Professor Sophie George. It was an interesting talk on the effects of salinity fluctuation on Pisaster starfish during the larvae and juvenile stages of their life. The second talk; Marine invaders and aquaculture: sources impacts and consequences, was given by Professor Dianna Padilla. Twas a thought-provoking discussion that addressed the consequences of aquaculture organisms spreading and becoming invasive and destructive to native creatures.

At dinner tonight we had Professor Rachel Merz, as well as her students Mark Levine-Weinberg, Samantha Chavez, and Leah Lee over for Shish Kabob. Desserts were accompanied by presentations of the students’ summer projects, which will be presented to The Friday Harbor Labs community next week. Mark showed us his work with fighting sea anemones and told us about his frequent travels to Cattle Point to collect new specimens. Samantha Chavez presented her studies on Hairy Hermit crabs and their habit of abandoning their shell when picked up. Lastly, Leah Lee shared her investigations of burrowing sea cucumbers, which make tunnels in soft sediment. Now off to bed and up early to catch the tide!

By: Emily, Tyra and Eric

Although the day started out cold and overcast, we ventured out to the Friday Harbor Labs with our field notebooks to observe and document our deep sea invertebrates. We gained further knowledge on taxonomy while also learning about the feeding strategies of different invertebrates. After a quick lunch at the dorm, we headed up to the science classroom to listen to an algae expert, Rebecca Guenther. There, we learned about how kelps and other seaweeds are named. Soon after, we discovered the beauty that is found in algae by creating works of art and pressing them onto special paper. We ended the day with a trip to the west side of the island and a sunset kayak tour led by naturalist Jason Gunter.

By: Lisa, Saymirah and Will

The day started by walking out the door with rubber boots and windbreakers. We traveled to the Friday Harbor UW Labs and embarked on a sea exploration on the Centennial. During the ride, we collected shrimp, sea anemones, starfish, and many other species of marine life using two types of troll nets. The first net we used was to collect larger sea life from 60 fathoms (360 feet) and the second was a smaller thinner net made of fine mesh to hold in the microscopic plankton. We arrived at the labs hours later to move the marine invertebrates to a more suitable habitat. We then retired to a grassy knoll to eat our bag lunches. After lunch we enjoyed a scientific diving demonstration by Kevin Turner and Tim, then strolled to meet our next instructor Alicia, who taught us about scientific illustrations. We then sketched the marine samples we collected. Dinner was pleasant with the company of Professors Emily Carrington and Ken Sebens, followed by a presentation about what they do (mussel ecomechanics and underwater ecology).

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Beautiful first day here with clear blue skies. The day opened with breakfast and orientation, then we went to the Whale Museum. After a late lunch there was a lesson about the scientific method and observation with Tim in the Spring Street International School science lab. A quick run through on documentary photography with Tom was followed by a couple of hours taking pictures in downtown Friday Harbor. After dinner with scientists Kevin and Autumn Turner, the day ended with Kevin giving a presentation on his work followed by some down time.

-Julie, Marcus and Matt