Cuttle fish video

Mrs. Richardson owes me extra cerdit for this one!! :)
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/life-cuttlefish-wards-off-rivals.html

Mollusk Discovery-Chiton

Chitons are mollusks that inhabit the intertidal and sub tidal regions and are called Polyplacophora because of the many plates on their back. Gumboot chitons or, Chryptochiton stelleri, is a type of chiton. Their location is in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, south to San Miguel and San Nicolas Islands off the coast of southern California. They are also found in northern Hokkaido Island, Japan, and the Kurile Islands in Kamchatka, Russia.The Gumboot Chiton is the largest chiton in the world, 13 inches in length 5 inches across. Also, they are covered by thick, leathery, brick-red flesh so we cannot see them(their way of camouflage I guess). They eat algae. They can live as long as 20 years. They mate by: sperm are released by males into the water and taken up by females. The reddish eggs are laid in jelly-like spiral strings measuring up to 3.3 feet in length. The strings are broken up into smaller pieces by ocean waves. The eggs hatch about five days after they are fertilized. The free-swimming larval stage lasts about twenty hours(less than one day). Then they settle to the bottom and develop into young chitons. Their taxonomy is:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Neoloricata
Family: Acanthochitonidae
Genus: Cryptochiton
Species: stelleri

<-------------Gumboot Chiton! They are HUGE!

Video link: http://www.oceanfootage.com/video_clips/DR36_061
Information provided by:
http://oceanlink.island.net/biodiversity/gumboot/gumboot.html
http://animals.jrank.org/pages/1887/Chitons-Polyplacophora-GUMBOOT-CHITON-Cryptochiton-stelleri-SPECIES-ACCOUNTS.html 
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2124/2215538200_f4e92575e7.jpg

Imitating substrate

Today we did a lab in which we were imitating a substrate. We started with a paper towel, the ocean floor, and added a graham cracker. The graham cracker serves as the substrate. Adding a layer of frosting(extracellular polymeric substance) helped us realize the plankton needed things to keep them setled on the substrate. Then by adding different sprinkles whe simulated different species. Red coralline algae was red sugar crystals, Diatoms were Brown long johns, Barancles were rainbow sprinkles, Coral was rainbow long johns, and Oysters were dots. By getting different numbers of each sprinkle we realized the different numbers of species in real life. Then we imitated a second season in which we put marshmellows for every 10 barnacles we had. It was a fun lab. Also, it was a yummy treat!!

Signs Of SPRING!!

With the winter season almost over, our class took a walk outside to decipher some signs of spring! My first sign is the bright red flower buds on the trees outside of the school. Also, while there I saw crows and the shadows of the trees. The slight breeze of wind I felt made the trees appear to be dancing! I heard the crows that were soaring above us an the small breezy wind gusts. It was 63 degrees and sunny with not a cloud in sight. These were the feelings outside.

The second sign of spring is some green tree buds just ready to welcome spring! I didn't see much because we were entering the woods at this point. There were trees all around that had fallen from a previous days strong wind and the dead leaves still lay there on the ground. If you listened you could hear a soft wind and birds in the distance. I felt the warm sun warming up the outside and then a cool soft breeze every now and then.

 The third sign is at the pond. There is usually a flock of geese there but they weren't here. Mrs. Richardson said they hadn't been all day, therefore they are migrating birds. This is our 3rd sign of spring. I found a ceder tree which had different colored tips showing the new growth. There also was a cocoon! I saw really shinny water and a sweat bee(they hurt). I couldn't hear much over our class except for some birds. The feeling was a small breeze with the warm sun. I was thrilled because this was the first warm day of tennis practice :)

The last sign of the day were some reddish colored limbs on a tree. This showed the new growth. I attempted to get a picture of the tiny spider we saw but he wouldn't stay still. (camera shy I think) Then Mrs. Richardson pointed out a crayfish chimney. Once our class kept silent for a few seconds I heard some running water and bird chirping. I felt the warm sun and there was now no wind. The last sign of spring I felt was me sneezing from spring allergies.

Algae Investigation

The homework was to find 8 things that had either alginate, carrageenan, or beta carotene in them. We also were told to take a picture of three things. I looked all over for theses things, in dairy products, food products, makeup ,shampoo, and etc.. I only found two things....so far! I'm going to keep searching though but for now here are the two things, Ice cream made by Hershey's which contained carrageenan and Coffee-mate creamer made be Nestle that also contained carogeenan.

Plankton Wars :)

Our assignment was to create plankton with the materials given, paper, clay, pebbles, cups, etc.. My partner, Chris, and I made a umbrella looking plankton. We had to use the clay, so we wrapped it around a piece of straw so it would be hollow. Hoping this would make it buoyant. we attached a small pebble to the bottom because our teacher told us the problem most kids make is to make it too buoyant. Last we put a sponge and a cupcake holder on top. The cupcake holder was to catch the water and give resistance allowing it more floating time. Sadly though we lost :( once the cupcake holder got wet it gave way to the pebble and sank with speed. The winners had won because they balanced the weight out enough to sink yet float, which was the goal.

Observation Day 5 Site 4

As we finish the walk in a rush because we lost track of time, we went to a vernal pond. Here I found 2 or 3 little frogs playing. The feeling was still warm and nice outside and I heard the same leaves, and trees. Overall what a fantastic day!!