Blog Credits: Chiska Francis, Satya Mayeux, Max Chung
After a tiring day of weeding and surveying the Westside Preserve with Shauna Barrows, this morning we slept in until 7:15 am, and headed to Cattle Point to survey algae and seaweed growth with Dr. Dobkowski and her class from Friday Harbor Labs (FHL).
Dr. Dobkowski is conducting research on the strength of species interactions between Northern Kelp Crabs (Pugettia producta), numerous species of macroalgae (including bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana), and other species of invertebrates in the nearshore subtidal to understand what level of top-down control kelp crabs might exert in the system.
After transecting and surveying 4 locations, we stopped at the lighthouse to have lunch. Not pictured, but on the drive home we saw a black fox with a white tail tip!
We then headed back to the dorms to prepare for our debate on Thursday and project presentations on Friday!
We are all so excited to present our projects to the parents, guest speakers, and staff on Friday! This project focuses on developing a preliminary proposal for a conservation or restoration project that could conceivably be implemented in our home areas. The prompts for our projects are grant applications and an RFP (Request for Proposal).
Then Magali Cota gave us a wonderful presentation about her job as an environmental law attorney at Friends of the San Juans, going into the ins and outs of her job and the things she is doing to help the community here on San Juan Island!
After Magali Cota’s presentation, our amazing dinner crew (Cooper, Bella, and Sophie) made a delicious dinner.
We are very excited to have Megan Cook tonight. She will be speaking with us from the E/V Nautilus, which is a research vessel stationed above the Mariana Trench! She is the Director of Communications and Outreach for the Ocean Exploration Trust, which was founded by Dr. Bob Ballard, who discovered the Titanic! We are all ready to hear what she has to tell us!