By: Aaron, Peter, Rosie—

For one of the first times in hundreds of years a traditional Hawaiian vessel shared the waterways of the San Juans with a traditional Coast Salish vessel.

Our day began with the lavender festival, an annual celebration hosted by Pelindaba Lavender Farm.  We ate and tried all things imaginable that were infused with lavender including coffee, ice cream, lotions and teas.  

Afterwards we raced back to the labs to collect our tethered snails before the tide could rise and hide our specimens. We got there just in time to get the data we needed. 

Lead by Matt Wickey, canoe builder and cultural expert, we set out in the two canoes at about six o’clock.  The Hawaiian canoe named Kaigani was made in Poulsbo Washington by an expert boat builder in a fusion of Tahitian and Hawaiian style.  The Coast Salish canoe was built in Friday harbor by youth and community members using cedar strip technique.

Hawaiian canoe: Kaigani

We ventured out of Mitchell Bay to Mosquito Pass and eventually Westcott Bay as the sun set to the West.  Many songs were sung and conversions had before the peaceful journey came to an end.

After, we cruised back to the Friday Harbor Labs for some nightlighting.  We took a powerful LED light and hung it off the dock into the water.  For many smaller organisms such as zooplankton and copepods, the light indicates to them the proximity to the surface, the desired feeding location. 

The water was soon teaming with life of all kinds.  The organisms arived nearly in order of their level on the food chain.  First the tiny plankton, then the larger copepods and worms, next came small fish.  Had we stayed out longer we likely would have seen this trend continue.  It was striking to see how such a light brought so many organisms into view. 

We ended the evening with a few glimpses of magical bioluminescence.

Why don’t oysters give to charity?

Because they’re shellfish! Haha!

In the morning, we got an exclusive tour of the Wescott Bay Shellfish Farm. The farm buys larval shellfish from hatcheries and then raises them until they can be sold to local restaurants or from their storefront. Our tour guide, Sam, demonstrated how to use some of the machinery and let us eat some delicious oysters.

Oyster bags

Shucking oysters

After an early lunch, we drove to the Friday Harbor labs to use our previously collected whelks for an experiment. First, we sorted the whelks into their different species and then measured the length of their shells. Once we had graphed the size of the shells, we super glued pieces of string onto the shells as a tether. We then brought the snails down to the intertidal zone where we used epoxy to attach the other side of the string to the rocks. We will return tomorrow to see how many snails were eaten and to analyze the data to find patterns.

Tethering snails

Tethering snails pt. 2

Since it was a relatively hot day, when we returned to the dorms, some people set up a Slip and Slide in the backyard.

For dinner, we hosted Matt Wickey, the leader of a non-profit organization, Kaigani Canoe Voyaging Society. He spoke to us about his previous environmental work in Hawaii and the San Juan Islands.

Tomorrow we are excited to have the chance to paddle in a traditional Hawaiian outrigger canoe with Matt.

Throughout the past couple of weeks, we (and maybe you) have been asking why are we doing this?  Why are we measuring the aperture size on barnacles? Why are we counting the number of lugworm holes we see in the sand?  Why are we collecting 200 whelks from the intertidal zone? What is all of this data collection for?  What does it mean?

Today, we started our day with an explanatory lecture from Tim D introducing us to the structure and methods for our final project.  Throughout our discussion of the project and the scientific method we will display through writing, graphs, and photos, we got the answer to our questions.  Tim(s) explained that with this final project, we are given the freedom to analyze any of the data we have collected or will collect.  It is our job to ask and answer questions about the observations or data we have collected and create a symposium-worthy poster to display our work.  We all felt the gears in our minds start to turn as we thought about the possibilities of questions and hypotheses we could test using the various data we had collected.

Next on the agenda was something we were definitely all looking forward to: a live chat with some of the workers on the E/V Nautilus.  Megan Cook returned to help connect us to two of the communications officers. The Nautilus is currently exploring the backyard of a couple of our students—the Channel Islands—which are located off the coast of Southern California.  We were astounded by the technology as we asked questions and they responded with insightful answers about the work they are doing.  We learned that many of the Channel Islands used to be one large island during the last glaciation due to a large decrease in sea level, so the Nautilus is currently looking for old shorelines and marine biodiversity around the current Channel Islands.

Megan helping us connect with the Nautilus

Two Nautilus workers answering our questions through a live video chat

After our live chat  with the Nautilus, we had lunch as we prepared to leave for the rabbit survey with Beatrice Grauman-Boss. We had to stand 5m from each other, then count how many warrens there were in a certain location and the number of holes in one warren. This helped us to estimate the population of rabbits. We were all pleased to be part of this survey since rabbits have negatively impacted the ecosystem for a long time.

After we finished up the rabbit surveys, we had the pleasure of having our one and only Timothy Dwyer as our dinner guest, even though he is one of the camp directors. We used our dinner together as an opportunity to ask him all kinds of questions about his life and career and ask for his advice for us.  After dinner, Tim gave a fascinating presentation on his two month trip to Antarctica to study Polar Gigantism, more specifically giant sea spiders.  He showed us lots of great pictures he took on his expedition, some of which are currently featured in National Geographic, the New York Times, and several other big name newsletters.

By: Peter, Rosie, Aaron—

Harbor seal pups gain 11 kilograms (24 lbs) in the first 5 weeks of their life, if everything goes according to plan.  However harbor seals in the Salish Sea are at their environmental carrying capacity, meaning that the population is the maximum that can be supported by the ecosystem.  This is, unfortunately, indicated by the number of seal pups that are found stranded or dead each year due to food shortages.

We began our morning at Friday Harbor Laboratories, where the necropsy of a seal pup was being conducted.  Lead by Dr. Joe Gaydos, author of our Salish Sea guidebook, Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest, and director of the SeaDoc Society. We observed the operation outdoors on the dock.  

The pup had been found a few days previous stranded on the beach and they had been forced to euthanize it because its mother was nowhere to be found at it was clearly in poor condition.  In the necropsy, the specialists examined the organs of the pup to determine what had caused its mother to separate from it and why it was so underweight.  They learned, by the inflammation and depressions in its lungs, the presence of pink foam in the trachea and the partial circumvention of the lungs in the circulatory tract that the pup was having difficulty receiving the oxygen that it needed.  They concluded that this was likely caused by a combination of factors stemming from the lack of sufficient food.

Students looking over the necropsy from the FHL pier.

Joe Gaydos answering our questions on marine mammal anatomy.

Next we arrived at Jacksons Beach on Griffin Bay to assist in the netting of fish for upcoming lab research at the Friday Harbor Labs.  We helped by loading the nets on the boat and pulling them in from shore after they were towed out.  Then we sourted through fish to find sand lance, flatfish and sculpin.

Looking through the nets for fish used for research at FHL.

After lunch we received an introduction to SONAR technology from our very own Tim Brogden, a former Navy SONAR technician.  We then followed this up with dinner with Megan Cook, a Community STEM Program Coordinator for the Nautilus, a unique research vessel that travels around the world doing deep sea exploration.  After dinner she presented about the Nautilus and its mission. Here is their website where you can see live footage of deep underwater exploring: http://www.nautiluslive.org. Our eyes were wide as we watched videos of thousand year old ship wrecks and organisms that seemed to be from another planet. Megan reminded us that humans are natural born explorers and that we are made to discover parts of our unknown world.

Signing off from new found Nautilus enthusiast and future leaders in ocean exploration!

By: Ben, Sonja, and Parker

Did you know that slugs can posses both male and female sex characteristics at the same time?

We learned this today, when we woke up at a painfully early, 4:30 A.M. to hunt for snails with Dr. Erika Iyengar. We helped her document the number of invasive slugs, compared to native banana slugs in the Friday Harbor Lab area. There were many more invasive slugs than banana slugs in the area, which is not a good sign for the native population.

Looking for slugs

Dr. Erika Iyengar showing us slugs

After a quick breakfast back at the dorm, we went back out into the field, this time to Cattle Point. Here, we collected two species of whelks for a later experiment. Tim D. also gave us a fascinating lecture on the geology of the surrounding area.

Cattle Point

Since we got up so early, we had a very relaxing afternoon. Some people took naps, while others watched a movie and went to get frozen yogurt.

For dinner, we had Hilary Hayford, an intertidal ecologist from the University of Washington, and Jen Olson, the stranding network coordinator of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, as guests. Both of them gave presentations on their respective research and work.

Dinner with our guests

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to observing a marine necropsy of harbor seal pups with Jen Olson.

By Gabi, Paradis, Chloe, and Daniel

Another day of finding ourselves in the forest of science began with the Eelgrass Wasting Disease survey. With Morgan Eisenlord, a Cornell University marine ecologist studying infectious diseases, biodiversity and trophic ecology at the Friday Harbor Labs. We went to 4th of July beach to get some samples of eelgrass, with which we would later scan to examine for the prevalence and severity of a pathogen causing a wasting disease in the leaves of the plant. At first we were worried about putting our hands in the stinky, gross water and worried about our feet getting soaked since the tide was really high when we arrived at the beach. But little did we know that being exposed to weird, rare experiences would make us feel like real scientists who are ready to step up and walk through the challenges of everyday science life. It was a fun moment of knowing that science doesn’t come only with glory, but also with hard work, commitment, perseverance and collaboration. After collecting our samples we headed back to the dorm to grab lunch and get ready for an afternoon of analyzing our samples.

With full stomachs, we headed to the lab. Morgan and her team (Miranda and Clio) welcomed us in the lab with many plastic sheets and scrapers to make pressings of our data in order to scan it. It took us a while, but by the time we were done our numerous amount of eel grass data was more than encouraging. Looking at our data we were able to pin point how much area on a plant was infected as well as how many plants on average were affected. With the application of J image we were also able to observe the amount of already dead chloroplasts among our data. Having this much information at our fingertips made for a much more involved understanding of Morgan’s work with infections diseases as well as what she would be presenting that evening at our dorm.

After we finished up with the eelgrass we have some exploration time, so some people went into town while others tried to catch up on some sleep.When it was time for dinner with our guests Morgan, Miranda and Clio. Morgan gave a presentation on eelgrass wasting. That was our day.

By: Peter, Rosie, Aaron—

How does the intertidal life differ between areas with more and less sun?  

This is the question that we set out to answer with Dr. Hilary Hayford, another specialist from Friday Harbor Laboratories.  Out in Andrews Bay, on the northwestern portion of the island we gathered data in an observational study; a study where we surveyed a the amount of preexisting life along different levels in the intertidal zone.  We calculated the percentage of the surface rock that attached animals and algae covered on two separate sites and then returned to Spring Street to input and analyze our findings.

Here are students getting a lesson on tide pool surveying with Tim D and Dr. Hillary Hayford.

Sharon Massey let us study her property’s tide pools as our second survey site.

After a well deserved lunch siesta we drove over to the soccer fields for a rematch of the previous week’s game.  Tim B.’s team, the former champions and favorites for the win suffered a glorious upset aided by a few local players who joined in.  

We returned and packed our dinner sandwiches for an evening picnic and show at with the Island Stage Left theater.  The play was Humble Boy, a modern take on the Shakespearian Hamlet.  There was not a dry eye in the audience, both happy and sad tears. The play surely received the Salish Sea Sciences students’ seal of approval.

Picnic dinner in the garden.

By: Ben, Sonja, and Parker

High school kids enjoy an exclusive college party- for invertebrates.

The Invertebrate Ball was hosted at the Friday Harbor Labs dining hall. It is an exclusive party for scientists and graduate students who love invertebrates. We each dressed up as an invertebrate, or a related pun, and put our costumes up for judging and our dancing skills to the test. Aaron took home the title of best cosmopolitan costume as a shrimp cocktail.

Earlier in the day, we journeyed to a “mistical” land called False Bay. We walked out onto an expansive sand flat, where mist rose from the ground. Some students sieved the sand, while others counted lugworm holes or dug them up. Our goal was to determine the population density of lugworms in various locations in the bay. We found out that the area closer to the ocean had larger grains of sand and less lugworm holes. Conversely, the near portion of the sand flat had finer grains of sand and more lugworm holes.

For lunch, we traveled to the San Juan farmer’s market and enjoyed a variety of foods, music, and art. Next time you visit, try the focaccia bread with tomatoes and pesto.

Jim Murray then gave us a tour of his lab, which is home to a baby giant red octopus and a plethora of invertebrates such as sea slugs, nudibranchs, sea stars, crabs, and sea pens.

When we returned to the dorms, we used our creative skills to perfect our costumes for the Invertebrate Ball.

Getting ready for the ball

Before the Ball

Dancing at the Ball

Tomorrow we are looking forward to another exciting day!

Loading into the van, one by one, we stomped around with our mud boots on as we headed out for a day of field work and observation at the UW Friday Harbor Labs.  We began our day with Dr. Rebecca Guenther, from whom we had learned all about algae about a week and a half ago.  Dr.  Guenther is the manager at the FHL (Friday Harbor Laboratories) Ocean Acidification and Environmental Lab.

We had the privilege to test the alteration in tidepool temperature, salinity, and pH amongst tidepools at different elevations in the intertidal zone that all held different abundances of plants, animals, and rocks.  All 10 of us chose a tidepool from which we recorded the salinity and temperature and also took a water sample.

With water samples in hand, we walked over to Dr. Guenther’s overwhelmingly elaborate Ocean Acidification Lab to tour the lab and learn all about what kind of experiments that are run in the lab by students and faculty.

The lab was full of different types of water tanks, coolers, and valuable chemical equipment- some reaching a value of over $80,000! With some of the equipment, we tested the pH, also known as the acidity or alkalinity of a substance.  We repeated the collection and recording of data two more times to gather more data that we could later analyze.

Sand dollars. Have you ever seen something that looks like a rock but actually is a living organism? That is how sand dollars look like, and we were all surprised at how life on this planet is broad and diverse. We had our sand dollar spawning experience with Beatrice Grauman-Boss, a recent high school graduate who has worked at the FH Labs for two years on several experiments, including her own.

Beatrice is on the left.

Beatrice is currently researching whether sand dollar larvae will feed on kelp detritus. We got to inject potassium chloride into the sand dollars to stress them enough to spawn. Then, we got to see with our own eyes the eggs and sperm of different sand dollars.

Later, we used a microscope to see the eggs clearly. What we saw under the microscope was astonishing.

We saw larvae start to form, and we left the room feeling like real geniuses and scientists. We created baby sand dollars and now we are rich. After we finished researching sand dollars we went to check on our invertebrates that we keep in the tanks at the labs.

When we returned to the dorm, we input our pH data collected earlier that day. This meant getting out our laptops and working on the excel spreadsheet. We input the data we had collected fairly quickly. After that we had free/exploration time. Some chose to get some rest but others chose to work on their costumes for the Invertebrate Ball that will be taking place tomorrow. At around 6:30 our guests showed up—it was Dr. Jim Murray and his family. Dr. Murray is an expert in neuroethology and is a professor at California State University East Bay. Once we finished up dinner, Dr. Murray gave a presentation on the sea slug Tritonia diomedea.

We will visit Dr. Murray’s lab tomorrow!

By: Peter, Aaron, Rosie–

On the rocks!

Today we got to do actual scientific research with the help of Will King, a grad student at University of Washington. We conducted an observational study of how barnacle size correlates to its position in the intertidal zone. We learned that the optimal position for barnacles is to be high enough away from predators but also close enough to the water to obtain food. We observed that the larger barnacles were located at a middle point and they got smaller as elevation increased and decreased.

photo by Gabi

After lunch, we had the pleasure of rummaging through old treasures at the local thrift store to find pieces for the Invertebrate Ball coming up this weekend. Everyone was attempting to channel their inner invertebrate as people were looking through old sweaters, garden supplies, and sports gear. We are all excited to debut our final product on Saturday.

We got to top off the day with a lovely Mediterranean inspired dinner and an interesting talk about terrestrial (WHAT?) organisms with scientific duo Dr. Erika (Muhlenberg College) and Dr. Vik Iyegar (Villanova University), both ecologists doing summer work at the Friday Harbor labs. We learned some interesting facts about earwig sexual behavior as well as slug populations and interactions on San Juan Island.

From slimy slugs to brittle barnacles, the day was packed with learning about important small beings.