Labs
| Marine Mammal Lab
Marine Mammals are among the most awe-inspiring animals on earth! From the colossal Blue Whale, at 110 feet long the largest animal known to have ever existed, to the bottlenose dolphin, with its high intelligence and complex social structures, to the playful California Sea Lion. These animals have always captured the imagination, probably in part because they are so similar to humans in so many ways, yet live in such a drastically different environment. Students touch and examine a variety of bones, skulls and fur pelts of the cetaceans and pinnipeds found off Catalina Island; they also have the opportunity to see an actual 20-foot Grey Whale skeleton! Throughout these activities, the instructor guides the students through discussions of Marine Mammal classification, anatomy and unique adaptive features as well as the many intriguing behaviors that Marine Mammals display. | | | | Fish Lab The waters of Catalina Island host a huge variety of fish species. While snorkeling, students and teachers encounter an abundance of these vertebrates, from the common Garibaldi, Opaleye and Kelp Bass to the harder to spot Blue Banded Goby or Male Sheephead. The fish lab is an excellent compliment to the snorkeling experience; utilizing several well-stocked aquariums, photographs, preserved specimens and exhibits, our instructors help students to become more familiar with what they are seeing while in the water. Students are also introduced to the classification, anatomy, behavior and other adaptive features of fish. | Invertebrate Lab ISea Urchins, Anemones, Sea Hares, Sea Cucumbers, Sea Stars and a host of other local invertebrates are available to view and touch in this lab, always a student favorite! Our large touch tank is well stocked with a number of these animals without backbones, including members of the phyla Porifera (Many Pores), Cnidaria (Stinging Cells), Echinodermata (Spiny Skin), Annelida (Segmented Body), Mollusca (Soft Body) and Arthropoda (Jointed Foot). Other tanks in this lab house lobster, crabs and octopus. Through close student examination of these animals, instructors facilitate discussions of classification, species identification, adaptation and natural history. | | | | |
| Algae Lab
Algae - also known as seaweed - is an extraordinarily important component in the ocean's ecosystems as well as in the larger ecosystem of the entire planet! Many of the animals in Catalina's waters rely on Algae for shelter, protection and as a food source. The forests of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) are one of the most common - and most spectacular - marine ecosystems in Southern California. Even for humans, algae is an important ingredient in many foods we commonly eat. The slimy plants are used to make alginates and careegenans which are found in products like jell-o, whipped cream, milk and toothpaste. In addition, algae - mostly microscopic drifting algae called phytoplankton - produces about 70% of the Earth's oxygen! In the algae lab, students explore specimens of over a dozen local species of algae, and maybe even eat some! Instructors also lead students in discussions of the classification of algae, how algae differs from land plants, the anatomy and behavior of Giant Kelp and kelp forests, and the many human uses for algae. The lab culminates as students make a pressed herbarium-style sample of common algae species to take home! | | | | Oceanogrpahy Lab In the Oceanography Lab, the ocean is the classroom as students and teachers conduct experiments with our cool oceanography tools. Students will collect samples, check and test for currents, water temperature, wind, light spectra and visibility. Students will also do a plankton tow to collect specimens to observe in the Plankton Lab. | Plankton Lab Using the sample collected in the oceanography lab, students use Video Microscopes to observe live plankton! Plankton is plants and animals that drift with the current - although plankton comes in all sizes, most is microscopic and it ranges form eggs and larvae to fully matured organisms. Divided up as teams, students look at their samples on monitors connected to microscopes and, using a plankton guide, identify the different types of plankton. Students are amazed at the diversity, and sometimes bizarre appearance, of organisms that they've unknowingly been surrounded by while snorkeling. All microscopes are also connected to a central monitor that the instructor can use to show all students the different types of plankton that students have identified: diatoms, dinoflagellates, copepods, fish eggs and invertebrate larvae among many others. Instructors also lead students in a discussion of the food web - of which plankton act as the base - and some effects pollution has on the world's oceans. | | | | | | | | | Deep Sea Biology Lab Thousands of feet beneath the surface of the ocean exists an amazing diversity of life, much of which is still a mystery - or completely unknown - to humans! This very deep water presents many challenges to the survival of both animals and plants. Organisms have had to evolve, adapt and develop behaviors to deal with the almost complete lack of light, extraordinarily cold water and intense pressure. In this lab, instructors use games, activities, demonstrations, and slides of benthic (bottom of the ocean) and mid-water creatures to help students discover how these amazing organisms communicate, navigate, feed, breathe and survive in these extreme conditions. At the end of the lab, students create their own deep-sea creature, thinking creatively to come up with their own adaptations to deal with the conditions of the deep! | Squid Dissection As led by an instructor, students begin this lab by learning basic biology and behavior of Loligo opalescens, the California Market Squid. Students then participate in a simple dissection, discovering the external and internal anatomy of the squid. Instructors make this messy experiment fun by letting students use the squids ink sac to make pictures they can take home. This dissection seems to always be a hit with students of all ages. | | | | |
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