by Angela Szesciorka, Vertebrate Ecology Lab
In March the MS211 class (Ecology of Marine Turtles, Birds and Mammals) climbed onto a small inflatable boat, pointed offshore, and ran a half mile obstacle course through rocks, waves, and seals to Año Nuevo Island.
This tiny boat (named Dragon Rojo!) carried us to the island. About an eight-minute boat ride though, so not bad. Photo from Oikonos.org.
What do you see on the rock?
What’s that on the rock?
By Michelle Marraffini
Invertebrate Zoology Lab
The invertebrate zoology class took a field trip to Asilomar State Beach last week to look for cool creatures. Professor Jon Geller encouraged us to turn over rocks looking for flatworms, the topic of this week’s lecture. As I overturned one rock I noticed something quickly hunker down. It was this tiny octopus that tried to camouflage itself with the rock. An octopus’s boneless body is well suited for changing its shape and its ability to mimic other animals, algae, and rocks or sand can be quite impressive. Check out this video of an octopus camouflaging itself (‘Where’s the Octopus?‘). These extraordinary animals are different from other camouflaging animals because they not only change their color and shadow but they also change the texture of their skin to match their background and they do all of this by sight!
Their very kein eyes detect the object they wish to look like and control over 30 million chromatograms (color producing cells) and papilla (cause the three dimensional shape of the skin). Octopus’s do this while color blind which mystifies scientists.
Small octopus found at Asilomar State Beach hiding under a rock at low tide.
This octopus I found is likely a Pacific red octopus (Octopus reubescens), though it swam away before I could get a good look (no animals were harmed in the making of this blog post). This is so far the coolest creature I have seen in the intertidal. Get outside and see what you can find!
My little buddy swimming away.
Marine Ecology students on the Point Sur cruise sort and record organisms from the Monterey Bay.
The Marine Ecology class embarked on a seafaring adventure last Monday on the Moss Landing research vessel the Point Sur to observe the biota of the Monterey Bay. The class was joined by members from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, MBARI and even Professor Emeritus Greg Cailliet who arrived bright and early for a 7am departure time.
After braving choppy water and a bit of rain we began our day with a beam trawl, designed to sample creatures from the ocean floor at 600 meters depth. Unfortunately we were left empty handed when the net returned to the surface with a hole caused from large rocks lodged in the net.
Despite our first strikeout, our second mid-water trawl yielded a wide array of fish, crustaceans, jellyfish, and a plethora of other gelatinous creatures. Once on board the Point Sur, each animal was classified into separate glass dishes and recorded, giving the students a chance to practice their species identification and exercise their Latin nomenclature.
The highlight of the trawl (quite literally) was a group of fish called the Myctophids, or Lanternfish. These fish have light emitting cells called photophores that help camouflage them in the deep ocean waters in which they live. Lanternfish regulate the photophores on their flanks and underside to match the ambient light levels from the surface, rendering them nearly invisible from predators below.
Lanternfish emit light from cells called photophores that help camouflage them from predators.
The last tow of the day was called an otter trawl; but don’t worry, we didn’t catch any sea otters. This net is name for the ‘otter’ boards positioned at the mouth of the net designed to keep it open as it travels thought the water. The animals are funneled to the back or ‘cod’ end of the net and are brought to the surface for the class to observe. We saw several species of flatfish including the Sand Dab, Dover and English Sole, several dozen octopuses (or octopodes depending on your dictionary) and even a pacific electric ray.
After a long day of sunshine, high seas and amazing sea creatures the Marine Ecology students were excited with their discoveries, but also ready to be back on solid ground.
By Diane Wyse, Physical Oceanography Lab
Among the coolest aspects of interning at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) are all of the opportunities for new and exciting experiences in marine science and engineering. On a beautiful Moss Landing summer day, fellow intern Samantha Peterson and I enjoyed one of those opportunities on a day cruise aboard MBARI’s R/V Zephyr. We steamed out of Moss Landing Harbor early in the morning, and after two hours of getting our sea legs and munching on snacks (to avoid sea sickness, for sure), we arrived at our first of two stops for the day. The cruise plan included a visit to the M2 mooring, a buoy deployed and maintained by MBARI scientists and engineers in partnership with the National Data Buoy Center (ID 46044), to download acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data and perform routine maintenance.
R/V Zephry from the M2 moored buoy. Photo: D. Wyse
The whole process of visiting and maintaining a mooring was really exciting to experience, especially as a student of physical oceanography. I got a kick out of the adventure inherent in maintaining oceanographic and meteorological instruments bobbing at the surface, moored 1000+ meters below on the seafloor. As I stood at the back of the Zephyr taking in the experience- the albatrosses gracefully landing to investigate our activities, the sea lion curiously poking it’s head up around the buoy, the scientists and technicians climbing onto the buoy from the side of the ship- I wondered what sort of training or security clearance one has the endure to work on the buoy. After pondering this aloud to my fellow intern, I inquired with the ship operator. His job was to carefully back the boat up to the buoy to transfer people and equipment, then to maintain a safe distance from the buoy while the technicians were working on it. As it turns out, it was surprisingly simple; I had to confirm with just about everyone on that day cruise that I am not sensitive to seasickness before getting the go-ahead to disembark the trusty Zephry and climb (well, pounce, really) aboard M2. I could see immediately what everyone was driving at once I was aboard the mooring. Because the platform is only about 10 ft in diameter, it is much easier to get tossed about with the swell. You feel much more in touch with the ocean on a smaller vessel. While ocean observers Mike Kelley and Jared Figurski downloaded the ADCP data, I climbed to the upper level to investigate the meteorological instruments. With my finely tuned CSI skills, I observed the evidence of seabird visitors on the solar panels and offered to clean off the droppings, you know, in the name of science. Surprisingly, they were more than happy to oblige that request, and I grabbed a cloth with seawater and scrubbed those panels squeaky clean.
by Angela Szesciorka, Vertebrate Ecology Lab
Classes at Moss Landing Marine Labs involve a lot of field trips, and this semester is no exception. On November 7, 2011 the marine ecology students ventured seaward to explore the ocean benthos.
Photo by MLML/UNOLS
The students waited with anticipation, saying goodbye to the familiar Moss Landing Harbor as the 135-foot Point Sur pulled slowly out into the open ocean.
By Catherine Drake, Invertebrate Zoology Lab
Other than a few awesome, albeit too short, trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I hadn’t spent much time in the Central Coast. So when I moved up here for graduate school at MLML, I didn’t know much about the area; that is, until my MS 141 class. Geological Oceanography—taught by Dr. Ivano Aiello—involves learning about the formation of minerals and rocks, as well as geological mechanisms such as plate tectonics. We’ve taken field trips almost every week to various locations along the Central Coast and inland as well. One of my favorite field trips was our overnight trip to Point Reyes, where we stayed in an old lifeboat station while we observed different types of rock formations.
The lifeboat station was built in 1927 at Chimeny Rock in Point Reyes.
We examined multiple sedimentary rocks both along our journey to the station and also once we had arrived. One of the depositions we inspected was an outcrop of radiolarian cherts. These deposits sit underneath about half of the Marin Headlands, are resistant to weathering, and can be up to 200 million years old. They are comprised of radiolarians, which are protozoans that form siliceous (made of silica) skeletons. As these organisms decompose, a radiolarian ooze is formed in the deep ocean; over time, deposition occurs along the seafloor, forming the well-bedded radiolarian cherts.
Radiolarian cherts are formed from years of deposition of radiolarian siliceous skeletons on the seafloor.
Igneous rocks were also on our list of stops, as we went to a formation of pillow basalts. They are formed underwater as lava comes in contact with seawater and cools rapidly. Basalts are generally aphanitic rocks, meaning that they cool down too quickly for any minerals to form as the magma cools. As they are created, pillow basalts form ellipsoidal shapes and depict the direction of the lava flow.
Behind the class are pillow basalts, which are igneous rocks formed underwater as lava comes in contact with seawater and rapidly cools down.
It was so surreal to touch igneous and sedimentary structures that formed hundreds of millions of years ago. Examining these rocks helped me better understand the geological mechanisms involved in their formation. Not only did these sedimentary depositions and igneous rocks help me become more acquainted with the Central Coast, but they also demonstrated the fact that oceans are integral components to the geologic history of our planet.
photo: E. Loury
What kind of fish can you net in Elkhorn Slough just down the road from MLML? After the Ichthyology class set our nets on a field trip, we pulled in all kinds of sandy bottom fishes, like this Starry Flounder. A flat shape and a mottled pattern are perfect adaptations for blending in to the sandy floor.
photo. E. Loury
This Three Spined Stickleback came from deeper in the channel of the slough. The males build nests out of vegetation and guard them once the females lay their eggs. Spiny defenses can come in handy when the next generation is at stake!
photo: E. Loury
(photo: H. Hawk)
MLML graduate Heather Hawk uses her muscles and puts some oomph into bringing in the catch. Just another day in class at Moss Landing Marine Labs.
(photo: E. Loury)
It doesn’t look like these folks from MLML will be running into any rush hour traffic. They are out on the bay in an inflatable as part of a class field trip. Trips into the field are just one of many ways MLML students get actively involved in research for classes.
(photo: H. Hawk)
It may be hard to believe, but that concrete canal is broken because the earth here actually moved. The canal was built on a fault line, which makes it so easy to see the results of tectonic activity. A student in the Geological Oceanography class takes a look while on a field trip.
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