Written by Madelyn, Gray, and Jacob

We awoke today at 6am to clean dishes, eat breakfast, and prepare for the day’s adventure. We arrived at the Anacortes ferry around 7:45am. On the drive to Padilla Bay, we stopped at a local hotspot, the Donut House that had an astounding range of donuts in different sizes and shapes. They also had some doll statues that were more than a little creepy. After we all ordered drinks and donuts we headed out to the van and continued to Padilla Bay.

Once there, we descended a wobbling, spiral staircase. In the bay we walked out to the deeper mud, where each of our steps squelched in the muck. When we entered the sampling area we each had to sample 15 pieces of both types of eelgrass. The native eelgrass grew further out and was taller, growing in harmony with the native grass because it thrived closer to shore and was shorter, forming a symbiotic relationship.  We all had some fun in the mud: Kika fell in, Jacob and Gray raced through it, and both Derek and Joey ended up chasing bags caught by the wind, across the bay. We then headed back to land to wash off our boots and hear more about the place we were sampling and the research that routinely goes on there. 

Gray and Maddy descend the spiral staircase (photo by Derek).

Next, we grabbed our lunches and chilled our eelgrass samples in a cooler. Because the grass around the benches was spiky, those of us without shoes had to be exceedingly careful when we sat down to munch. While eating, we shared stories about interesting family histories.

The van’s next stop was Fidalgo Bay.  The tide was high enough to where we didn’t really see any eelgrass, but the view and the walk were gorgeous. The sun reflected off the waters as they rippled and flowed with the wind, causing the waters to glisten in the light. The crisp air was warm, a refreshing change in the mood of today which was mostly cold, damp, and cloudy. We walked and talked, swapping various stories including Derek’s close calls with bombs when he went diving through shipwrecks in the Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Albania. After our short walk, we reminisced about the views and took in the moments as we stole our final glances of the textured waters, up the vast, green trees, and to the bright, blue sky. We loaded back into the van; on the ride over to the ferry, we stopped to pick up dinner at a Safeway.

Pictured left to right: Jacob, Joey, Gray, Madelyn, and Maddy (photo by Derek).

We arrived early enough for a short walk on the beach before boarding the ferry. Once we began moving, we exited the van and made our way to the upper deck to eat our makeshift dinner. Orange chicken, pita chips, fried rice, assorted salads, and sushi made for a variety of meals and even some drinks (we recommend Dad’s old fashioned Root Beer). The ferry ride home was fun and exciting and as soon as we returned to Spring Street we wrote this wonderful blog for you. 

The gang take samples to assist Morgan Eisenlord with her research into Eelgrass Wasting Disease (photo by Derek). 

Today’s blog by Maddy, Jacob, and Kika.

This morning, we woke up bright and early in preparation for a ferry trip scheduled for 7:50 AM, destined for Anacortes. Derek drove his van down at 5:30, right after the earliest ferry left, in an attempt to guarantee us a space – we thanked him profusely for his generosity. However, despite all of our careful planning and early rising, we were outcompeted by a tow truck! So, instead of collecting eelgrass samples at Padilla Bay, we adapted our plans and took a detour. False bay provided an opportunity to observe the local flora and fauna and collect algae samples, for pressing later. We saw numerous species of crabs, infinitesimal strands of seaweed, and several shorebirds and gulls that fled at the sight of our troop. The tide was marvelously low, which permitted our scientific outing – however, even our high-grade water equipment (our boots) failed to shield us from the wrath of the incoming tide (aka getting water in our boots). 

After wringing out our sopping wet socks, we proceeded to the Fourth of July beach. We decided to ditch our sopping socks, and Madelyn, Jacob, and Joey elected to walk to the beach barefoot. Unfortunately, the tide beat us to the beach, and our second eelgrass samples were completely submerged by the time we arrived. We explored along the coastline, but Madelyn’s foot was sliced by a wayward barnacle, prompting us to break out our med kit and plenty of bandaids. Once the calamity was quelled, we settled down to eat our packed lunch. 

After returning to the dorm and washing our boots, Derek gathered us on the couch and gave us a challenge; to find the oldest article possible that mentions eelgrass. Instantly we set off on our computers, testing a myriad of search options and websites. We found news articles, books, scientific charts, and graphs, all dating back to the early 1800s. Finally, Jacob found a source from 1753 – the original naming of Zostera marina by Carl Linneaus! 

Then, Jess Newly arrived to talk to us about eelgrass and forage fish! At first glance, these organisms seem boring and unimportant, but if you take a deeper look, you’ll realize that they’re integral to the Salish Sea ecosystem.  Jess talked extensively about how organisms interact with each other, and how even the smallest creatures have a big impact on their environments. She passed around incredibly interesting samples of forage fish larvae and eggs for us to look at. Lastly, she brought out VR headsets! We excitedly adjusted the straps and put them over our heads, plunging ourselves into a 360 world of eelgrass beds and salmon. It was fascinating to see giant schools of herring from their very own underwater habitat, as if we were one of them!

After that, we were all starving, so Madelyn, Gray, and Joey whipped up a fragrant stir fry, with tofu and lots of veggies. It was beautiful to look at, and also so tasty! Miranda remarked that it was one of the best meals she’s ever eaten. Afterwards, we headed off to bed.

By Gray, Madelyn, and Joey

You can see everything on the island from the top of Mount Grant. After a short hike up the mountain, we were amazed by the lakes, farm land, and even the snowy peak of Mount Baker. The rest of our day consisted of data collection, discussion, and adventure.

After our first breakfast on the island and some “icebreakers,” we climbed into the van and made our way to Mount Grant. At the bottom, we met up with Shauna who is a conservationist working for the San Juan County Land Bank as a field researcher. Responsible for the protection and management of the wildlife on the steep slopes of the mountain and surrounding area, she gave us a “guided tour” and explained to us the significance of each plant and animal and how they all worked together in this biome. 

As we hiked, we periodically stopped to observe flora and fauna like the Madrona, Gary Oak, deer, other animals, and views. She provided us with many interesting facts and thoroughly answered our questions. One of the most interesting things we stopped for was a dead deer on the side of the trail. She explained to us how she had been called to move it off of the trail just a month or two before. Apparently, there has been an outbreak of a deer virus on the island. Another big stop we made was at a clearing, near the top, where we could see Trout Lake along with beautiful landscape and seascape scenery.

Finally, we arrived at the top of the mountain. After taking in the amazing view (below) of the island’s rolling hills and Mount Baker on the mainland, we sat and had an intriguing and wandering discussion. We talked about the future for the islands and how they would be affected by climate change, what an isolated system is and how it affects research and data collection, and how to “do what you can” in helping the ecosystem, however small. On our way down the mountain we continued our philosophical discussions and upon reaching the bottom we said our goodbyes and parted ways.  

The view from the top of Mt. Grant. (Photo by Madelyn Crist)

We headed to Lake Zylstra to eat our lunch and conduct an ecology survey. We ate in the cool shade under the Madronas. Subsequently, we split into three groups to conduct our survey: birds, trees, and insects. The bird group was able to spot nine species of birds; totaling one hundred and ten birds, one of them being a majestic Bald Eagle who had just recently nested in the area. The tree group found eight species of trees with an estimated total of 2,781 trees inside the property line. Our insect group was unable to directly quantify the number of insects as they were limitless; however, they were able to find seventeen different species. The area around Lake Zylstra is teaming with life of all varieties and a great place to take a walk with your dog or friends. 

The tree tunnel at Zylstra lake. (photo by Madeyln Crist)

Lastly we headed for False Bay, the final stop on our tour of the watershed. Because we had spent so long on our other activities we only had fifteen minutes to complete our tour. We threw on our boots and tramped along False Bay’s muddy beach. Because of all of the decomposing seaweed, it had a sulfur smell. After reaching a small creek inlet where the water was flowing upstream because the tide was coming in, we turned around. Exhausted, we boarded the van and  drove home, excited for dinner and some relaxation.

Lake Zylstra. (photo by Madeyln Crist)

While we wrote this blog, Jacob and Kika recreated MasterChef Junior, making a delicious tri-bean chili. Joey was so ecstatic about the meal, tears began to pour down his cheeks. After a splendiferous dinner, we planned logistics and decided that the 5:45 am ferry ride would not be blessed with our presence.

Pictured left to right: Kika and Jacob (photo by Madeyln Crist).

Hello everyone,

If you have kept up to date with the blogs this summer, I’m sure the effort has shown through! Our students have worked collaboratively nearly every day and graciously revised their writing to communicate their experiences with you all. In this moment, they are busy preparing for the pilot project presentations tomorrow. Instead of a conventional blog, below you will find a brief recap of today’s activities.

Students faced one of the earliest wake up calls this summer at 6:30am to embark on a Discovery Sea Kayak tour on the West side of the island. Between experienced kayakers and sea-sick troopers, the group arrived safely back at the shore.

Following this labor intense journey, students ate lunch at the dorms and headed off towards the Swalla Lab at Friday Harbor Labs. Despite some difficulty in understanding, students later commented on their fascination with the lab, especially after their conversations with Dr. Billie Swalla earlier this week.

While finishing up their posters, students have also been taking necessary breaks to have dinner, enjoy music, and have a Q&A session with Megan Cook and DJ Yousavich live aboard the Exploration Vehicle Nautilus.

We hope you are able to join us tomorrow at the Student Posters & BBQ event from 5-8pm!

Today’s blog entry is brought to you by Meg, Naomi, and Ana. Enjoy!

Project Time

The familiar sound of a beeping alarm clock symbolized the start of the day for us here at Salish Sea Sciences this morning. Although it takes most of us a while to qualify as fully functioning after waking up, we were excited to get some project work time following breakfast. Some of us worked on our univariate and multivariate graphs with the help of Derek and Tim, and others worked on more research and additional project concerns. Anxiety has set upon all of us as the deadline for projects – and the final day of the program – creeps closer. 

Photo on the left: Derek Smith helping analyze data with Sonja and Dustin. Photo on the right: Islay and Maddy discussing their poster projects. Pictures: Ana.

Spineless

After some much needed project time, we had a special treat. Susan Middleton, amazing photographer and storyteller, came to speak with us about her work! While she passed around copies of her remarkable marine invertebrate book, “Spineless”, we had the pleasure of hearing about all of her adventures; she told us of her photo-shoots alongside Richard Avedon (an American fashion and portrait photographer for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar), her NOAA voyages, and her University of Washington courses with Gustav Paulay (Professor of Biology at UW) right here at Friday Harbor Labs. From the moment she set eyes on the NOAA scientist’s invertebrates, she never went back to terrestrial organisms.

Spineless by Susan Middleton Picture: Susan Middleton’s Website

Susan Middleton’s discussion on her path to marine invertebrates portraiture Photo: Miranda

If you have not seen her work, Susan Middleton is best known for the isolation of her photography subjects. Her portraiture pieces encapsulate the unique essence of individual animals, not just the on-the-surface beauty. Though often she is the one learning from her research colleagues, sometimes her photographs are able to reveal brand new behaviors that researchers and students have never seen before. By shooting each animal – and not just the charismatic ones – on a simple black or white background, she is able to convey the story of often forgotten animals. She uses her powerful pieces to advocate for the protection of animals and land across the world.

The stories she told us led to discussions and questions; before we knew it our time was up. We thanked her for sharing all of her fascinating experiences and prepared for today’s trip to FHL.

Diver for a Day

After lunch, we set out to the Friday Harbor Labs to observe Tim and Jason Wood diving! We sat down in front of a T.V. that was hooked to a camera that Tim and Jason took down when they dove. It was awesome to see all that is going on below the docks: we saw large crabs, lots of seaweed, henricia sea stars, sponges, hydroids, white plumose anemones, nereocystis, and sea squirts! Additionally, we learned all about the proper scuba diving equipment and attire, and how to communicate underwater when you can’t speak aloud.

Tim during the Diver for a Day demonstration! Pictures: Naomi

Thanks to the Buddy phone, we were able to speak to Tim underwater, ask him questions, and ask him to focus the camera on especially cool marine organisms. Unfortunately for Tim, he was not able to respond. Anyways, we hope he enjoyed our group rendition of Let it Go!

Tim Dwyer and Jason Wood exiting the water and coiling hydrophone wire. Picture: Naomi

Surprise Guests

After heading back from the labs and having exploration time to work on projects or relax, we had dinner with two special guests: Abby and Ana’s sisters, Gabrielle and Zoe. Both Gabrielle and Zoe attended the Salish Sea Science program in 2018 and continued work in sciences. 

Gabrielle attended the Robinson center, which is a program through the University of Washington, where the kids have one transition year after middle school and then go straight into college at UW. She is majoring in Neuroscience and studying neurocircuitry and how it affects mice behavior. Zoe, after the Salish program, completed a capstone-like project through the Marine Chemistry program at Bellarmine Prep high school on the CO₂ intake of Eelgrass. Next year she will be attending UC Davis majoring in agriculture and environmental science. We are so glad to have two amazing guests who can share their experiences since attending Salish Sea Sciences.

Gabrielle on the left and Zoe on the right. Picture: Ana.

As project crunch-time continues, the ice cream tubs keep getting lower and our excitement keeps growing. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

Today’s blog by Maddy and Estevan!

This morning, Caroline came to talk to us about colleges! Caroline is the director of the Salish Sea program, and coordinates all of our activities. She also buys us lots of ice cream, which we appreciate greatly. Although it can seem pretty daunting, Caroline helped demystify the admissions process and answer many of the questions we had. She outlined how to choose your college, what they look for in an applicant, scholarships, essays, and much more. She gave us tips and tricks on how to write essays, even giving us some practice prompts to complete. This exercise really allowed us to be more introspective, and see what aspects of ourselves we want to show in essays.

Although there are so many things to consider when looking for colleges, she emphasized that the most important part is keeping your interests and loves in mind.

Following Caroline’s talk, we went straight to the lab, where we processed the eelgrass samples we collected yesterday. Morgan showed us how to rinse the eelgrass in freshwater, place it onto the clear sheets and label it with the necessary information. Meanwhile, Maddy began to scan the transparencies and turn them into images that can be used later for a variety of purposes, such as disease prevalence surveys. Although it was tedious, these data are contributing to a yearly monitoring of eelgrass health at Fourth of July Bay (and it’s really helpful to Maddy’s project)! 

After lunch, we returned to the lab yet again. This time, Derek talked to us about statistics, and the various ways for us to present the data we have. It was really informative and a little mind boggling to see all of the programs and possibilities! We then brought all of this newfound information into project development time. We’re all working really hard in order to finish our projects before the week ends!

Finally, as the day came to a close, we met with our lovely guest Dr. Billie Swalla. She studies evolutionary biology, genomes, embryos, and a lot of other really cool stuff, particularly with marine invertebrates. She is also passionate about diversifying science and making it more accessible to everyone! Her enthusiasm was infectious, and we learned so much about little creatures most of us have never heard of.

A highlight of her presentation was a video of an Ascidian embryo developing; it was fascinating to watch and hear her explain each stage of development! Lastly, we tied up the night by unveiling our tie dye t-shirts. The colors and patterns are each so unique and beautiful, almost like a reflection of ourselves. 

Written by Elliott Jones, Sonja Larson and Colette Bennette

Sleeping in was a relief. We needed that, as we do now, while we write this. Anyways, the morning went smoothly and we eventually made our way to the 4th of July Beach over on the South end of the island to perform some eelgrass surveys, instructed by Morgan.

Due to the changes brought on by climate change many organisms are being affected by epidemics and such, similar to our own. Eelgrass is one of these organisms, and being the foundation of an entire ecosystem, as we learned today, it’s extremely important we monitor these changes.

From the parking lot on the hill we trekked down to the beach where we observed a local salt marsh and the expansive array of birds that rely on it. We then headed out far down the beach, trudging through the rocks, mud, and algae. 

When we reached the site, we set out transects at different depths to start recording the population of eelgrass shoots in our quadrats, all the while avoiding interrupting the rambunctious activities of the seagulls.

Legs cramping and boots full of water, we finally finished and headed up to the shore to eat our packed lunches, before heading into the mossy and overgrown forest on the way back to the van.                         

Once we got back from the field and laid around the dorms for a bit, we got to do something fun…tie dying!! We all had picked out our shirt sizes the day before so we were ready to start today (well yesterday but shhh) We all grabbed our shirts and got to work on coloring the shirts and setting up what designs we would have on our shirts. Even though we all had the same materials, each and every shirt turned out different. Most of the peers here did spiral designs while others just scrunched up our shirts and poured some color on it. 

Once we got done, all of our hands were covered with dye. Some of our hands were solid colors like green, orange and blue. Today, our hands are still dyed, so if you see us with stained hands, now you know why. Hopefully the dye will wash off soon but until then, we’ll stay colorful. 

After eating way too much spaghetti, we all settled down for a couple hours of free time. Dustin and Estevan made their way down to a nearby beach to go swimming, while others took the time to work on their independent projects. 

Since we had finally gotten our hands on some embroidery thread, a bunch of us sat down around the dining table and taught each other how to make friendship bracelets. Now we are all pro bracelet makers. 

This is the bracelet Elliott made. Aren’t you jealous of its beauty? – Photo taken by Sonja

Putting on warm jackets and sweatpants, and made our way down to the town docks. Using a car jump starter and a couple of lights, we did some night-lighting in the water. Putting the light in the water and using the jump starter to power it, we were able to illuminate the nearby ocean and reveal what seemed to be a whole new world of life. The water was full of floating particles and the occasional jellyfish and shrimp. We laid down on the docks and spent just over an hour staring into the water. It was super cool to see all of the larvae, fish, and polychaetes in the water.

Once we returned to the dorms, we were all very tired from the day, but still very excited from doing the night-lighting at the docks. After some late night ice cream and talking about what we would do the next day, we all headed to bed to get enough rest for the next day. See you tomorrow (oh wait today haha we posted the blog late).

Today’s Blog by: Kira, Abby, and Andrea

Having spent an amazing time at Salish Sea Sciences this summer, we all woke up excited to spend our last Saturday all together. We made our way to the farmers market and walked around looking at all the local artists and farmers. We would eventually go to different places and collect more data for our projects, some of us went on a ferry ride, others to Cattle Point, and others stayed back at the dorm analyzing the data they had already gathered. At the end of the day we went to watch Island Stage Left‘s performance of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” under the stars that featured the artist resident Paulina, and we all loved the play!

And now, for the exciting content: student interviews!! Today, the Blog Team interviewed Andrea, Estevan, and Naomi. Let’s start with some thoughts on this morning’s Farmer’s Market trip.

— Andrea, what was your favorite part about the Farmer’s Market?

“I loved the gluten free brownie that I bought. It was a little bit crumbly, but the flavor was there. The market in general was full of life, and the energy there was infectious.”

— Andrea, do you have any other comments regarding your experience at the Farmer’s Market?

“I apologize to the man whose video recording I walked in front of while the band was playing. I honestly did not see the camera.”

— Estevan, what was your favorite stand at the Farmer’s Market?

“I liked the high quality H2O. It was very empowering, it made me feel very open and alive. The natural spring water left a slight tingle on the tongue.”

Naomi, what did you do today during project time and can you tell me a little bit about your project? 

During project development time Naomi headed to Friday Harbor Labs to watch the feeding of the lab’s Pycnopodias. The feeding went well and Naomi says she got a lot of information about the sea star’s feeding behaviors. Naomi is studying and recording these feeding behaviors in individual stars using underwater cameras. The Pycnopodia populations were some of the most impacted by sea star wasting disease so the chance to work with them is really incredible! “I am so happy and grateful to Dr. Jason Hodin and his fellow researchers for letting me work with their sea stars.”

And for our next act, we’ll find out just how much we enjoyed tonight’s play!

— Estevan, what were your thoughts throughout the play?

“Honestly, the quality of the play was fantastic. They really brought life to the stage, and despite pandemic setbacks, it was overall a fantastic performance.”

Essentially, our day was fantastic — just ask Naomi!

— Naomi, what was your favorite part of the day? 

“My favorite part of the day was helping my fellow researchers conduct their experiences with chitons and barnacles. The access we have to the intertidal zone and the variety of organisms that reside in the Salish Sea through the labs is incredible. Thank you Friday Harbor Labs and the University of Washington!” 

Today was filled with productivity and fun! It was an amazing week. From working on our projects as individuals to watching a fantastic performance as a group the week could not have been better. Finally, a special thanks to Naomi, Andrea, and Estevan for their wonderful interview responses!!

Today’s blog is brought to you by Dustin, Islay, and Setharonious.

This morning we visited members of the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) in a small office/garage building less than a 10 minute walk from the dorm.  There we met Jason, who manages the North America chapter of SMRU; Jessica, who is a junior scientist; and Jesse, the field technician, who explained to us what they do related to bioacoustics.  Jason gave us an overview of the physics of sound, Jessica showed us how the computer identifies and compiles orca noises from hours of sound data from the hydrophones and Jessica reviews it.  Jesse is the technician and he constructs Coastal Acoustic Buoys which hydrophones are attached to and then deployed in the ocean.  Currently, Jesse is working on assembling CABOWs (Coastal Acoustic Buoys for Offshore Wind) for companies that are building offshore wind power on the East Coast.  

This team is aiming to generate a solution to the rampant noise pollution humans have introduced into the ocean. Right whales are endangered in the Atlantic and the noise pollution from the construction disrupts their behavior.  Therefore there are regulations in place which require companies to avoid creating noise when whales are observed within a 10km radius.  About 10 CABOWs would be placed in the water to detect Right whale sounds and notify people on land to stop creating noise.

-Students calibrating sound waves on the Audacity program. Photos by Islay Ross

After the SMRU’s engaging presentation on whale calls and sound level zonation, we dove into creating our own sound waves to analyze.  We downloaded the Audacity program onto our computers, and recorded a 10-second tone clip to find each individual computer’s calibration number.  Long story short, we imported 442,368 individual data values from vibration graphs into cells in a Google spreadsheet; squared each cell; found the average of those squared values; and added our initial calibration value…etcetera. Then, divided into 5 groups, we dispersed into town and individually recorded minute-long sound clips.  When we returned from town, we got to see our sound bytes in wavelength form!  Some of us had tourist chatter, passing cars, or airplanes- it was awesome to apply theories of bioacoustics to everyday sound effects.  Then, we headed off to lunch! 

After our lesson on marine acoustics we returned to the dorms to make progress on our final projects. Some students stayed at the dorms to continue their research in physical and online scholarly literature, and others went to Friday Harbor Labs to do field work and collect data. Just about all of us have a clear goal in mind, and this program is doing more than enough to make them possible. From orcas to the violent and dangerous behavior of chitons, our various interests will be presented in depth on our posters. I must go now, the chitons draw closer with every passing moment… I can not keep outrunning them, this may very well be my last entry. REJECT SOCIETY RETURN TO MATT.

Stay safe out there,

-Setharonious (and friends)

Hello! This blog is brought to you by Naomi, Meg, and Ana.

Clouds and Scaffolding

The overcast weather was nothing new to PNW locals when we awoke this morning; the grey hues outside made us ever more reluctant to get out of bed. As we made our way through our morning routines – eating breakfast, getting dressed, learning the knot of the day – the sun began to wake up just as we did. 

Zooplankton and Silhouettes

We headed out to the lab on campus to grab equipment to help in Kira’s project data collection; then, we headed down to the Port of Friday Harbor and did some plankton tows! The fun wasn’t over yet, though – we then headed back to the lab where Kira and Miranda instructed us on how to prepare our acquired plankton for a silhouette scan. The pictures came out great!

After we finished recording our plankton silhouettes, we shared a quick lunch before our first group headed out for a trawl on the research vessel Kittiwake! The moment we had all been waiting for was finally here.

Islay, Ana, and Dustin’s phytoplankton silhouettes (Photo by: Islay, Ana, Dustin)

Foraging for Critters on the Kittiwake

Both groups had an amazing time on the Kittiwake as they searched through trawl hauls for invertebrates to bring back to the labs. It was like searching for treasure.

Finds included multiple giant Apposticopus Californicus, a wide variety of sea stars, giant sea urchins, scallops, and lots of jumpy prawns. One group was lucky enough to have found a small shark in their haul!

Tim with the shark! (Photo by: Maddy)

Project Progress

While one group on the boat enjoyed seeking organism treasure, the other group was enjoying some much-needed project development time. Some of us ran experiment trials, some analyzed data, and some watched videos of sea star feeding sessions. It’s great to see the vast range of interesting questions and experimental designs we’ve all come up with!

Sea Star Culturing 

Tonight for dinner we had the pleasure to meet with Dr. Jason Hodin, a Wesleyan College graduate of biology and a Ph.D. of zoology from UW. He has worked with pycnopodia (a.k.a. Sunflower sea stars) over the past few years, focusing on the Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWD) which became a worldwide epidemic in the early 2010’s and killed many stars and continues to affect most Sea Star species even today. We’ve already learned quite a bit about SSWD from Salish Sea Sciences Resident Scientist, Morgan Eisenlord, who was an early author on SSWD, but Dr. Hodin took us through his project of culturing sunflower stars to help repopulate the Friday Harbor area.

The purpose of his studies and experiments were to not only boost population numbers, but also to understand more about the life stages of the sunflower star. He showed us pictures of the pycnopodias’ stages of life — emphasizing the difference in appearance in the larval stage versus the adult/juvenile stage. We loved the presentation and had many questions digging into his expertise and fascinating work with the sunflower stars.

Final Thoughts

The time is flying by so fast. We can’t believe that this is already the third Thursday we have spent on San Juan Island. We can’t wait to make even more memories in our remaining days with our new, lifelong family.