Students study Alaska's coastal ecology and environment monitoring
By JENNY HECKATHORN
Biology Teacher
Valdez High School
Thanks to funding from the citizens' council, fifteen students in my second year biology class from Valdez High School attended a three day, two night Alaska Coastal Ecology program held at Peterson Bay Field Station near Homer this past April. The students had been studying marine biology and learning monitoring techniques to help monitor our local port for invasive aquatic species.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies staff member (right) demonstrates the starfish's ability to grab arm hair on student Nick Fischer. All photos by Jenny Heckathorn.
The "Homer trip," as it has been popularly called, has become a favorite for many students even though it is academically rigorous and physically taxing.
Upon arrival in Homer, the students were greeted by Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies' staff members and boarded the Rainbow Connection, our water-taxi. On the way to Peterson Bay, students were treated to the sight of a large male sea lion feasting on halibut right off the dock in the boat harbor, and got an up-close view and smell of Gull Island's seabirds before arriving at the field station. Beautiful early spring weather allowed the students to gather around the large fire pit for the orientation, rules, and expectations for the next few days.
After settling into their yurts, students donned snowshoes for a forest ecology hike. Students witnessed an area of forest recovering from a spruce bark beetle attack and learned how some trees were able to survive. After dinner, students explored the unique geology of Peterson Bay and several tide pools.
The next morning, students were out the door early to hike to China Poot Bay for tide pooling activities and to conduct a survey of aquatic species found during low tide. This type of survey is done from the high tide line to low tide line, and shows where and how many marine invertebrates currently live in that area. Students were amazed by the incredible diversity of intertidal invertebrates including colorful sponges, chitons, Christmas anemones, decorator crabs, green urchins, sea stars, and octopus.
Student Michael Smith standing on the rock strata during the geology activity.
Once the tide came in, students were split into two groups. One group learned about the geology of the area through activities and games designed to demonstrate the rock cycle and movement of the earth's crust. The other group visited an Alaska Native Dena'ina house site, held artifacts and imagined what it would be like to live and subsist on the coast of Kachemak Bay.
After hiking back to the field station, students completed a biodiversity check-list, which included of all the species identified during the tide pooling session and analyzed and discussed the species survey. Students realized just how unique this area is compared to Valdez and other coastal areas in Alaska.
In the afternoon, the students split into groups for the afternoon marine ecology stations. Students collected plankton using a special finely meshed net, then observed and identified the organisms using compound light microscopes and dissection scopes.
After learning about plankton, students were then challenged to design their own plankton in a competition to see who could achieve "negative buoyancy" or the ability to hover in the water column. Pieces of sponge, washers, toothpicks, and yarn were the building materials used to build the plankton and a large aquarium tank provided the "ocean" for testing. After dinner, students got time to relax around a campfire and roast marshmallows.
Jenny Heckathorn and student Lacey Albright on a monitoring field trip for invasive species.
Students woke early the next morning to be packed before a hike to Otter Rock for another intertidal discovery experience during low tide and were accompanied by marine biologist Conrad Fields. Fields talked to the students about the wonders of marine biology, recent discoveries, biomimicry (the examination of nature for inspiration to solve human problems), and reasons for studying marine biology as a career. He then helped students discover and identify organisms in the intertidal zone. Once again, students were amazed by the extreme diversity of marine life, finding species different from those discovered in China Poot Bay. After hiking back to the field station, students added the new species to the biodiversity checklist and were amazed to discover that they had found almost 90 different species!
Later that morning, students were divided up into teams and challenged to make up an imaginary marine invertebrate. Students were given household objects such as fly swatters, wire whisks, colanders, sheets, and safety glasses. While one person was dressed as the invertebrate, teams also had to decide how their invertebrate lived, what they ate, and how they reproduced. Students, Center staff, and chaperones laughed until they had tears in their eyes while presenting their "Invent-an-Invert."
After lunch, students cleaned their yurts and the field station and said good-byes to the wonderful staff members from the coastal studies center before departing on the long trip home.
I would like to thank the citizens' council for funding this opportunity for my students to experience a program like this at virtually no cost to themselves. And kudos to my chaperone, Rob Johnson, who also endured the more than 10 hours and 1,000 miles of driving from Valdez to Homer and back.