From Snails to Whales: group 2 post

Saturday, July 31, 2010

group 2 post

okay, so today we went to the barking crab to look at sea life in the harbor. I was late because I didn't read the email and was wondering around aimlessly for an hour. Sorry Prof. Berman! the first observations I made were that on the northern side of the dock at long wharf, there were some birds flying around and we noticed some different types of growth in the inter tidal zone on the pilings. I noticed a dark seaweed looking plant towards the bottom on the inter tidal zone that had small pockets on the end that appeared to be filled with something. I later discovered that these were filled with air and because of their shape and size, I have hypothesized that the plants were rockweed. I also believe this because the field guide said it was one of the most common plants in this area and because prof. berman accidentally let the name slip; thus giving me a hint. We then noticed that there was less growth on the pilings that were covered in shade by the harbor towers and we hypothesized that the shade prevented sufficient photosynthesis to have the same growth as at long wharf. The water was reasonably clear all along the harbor walk but became more cloudy at the barking crab. there was an oily substance on the surface of the water at our dock which was dock B7 ( the second to last dock)

we determined the water temperature to be 71 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 15 feet 7 inches which was 3 feet from the ocean bottom. We also recorded a surface water temperature of 74 degrees Fahrenheit indicating that the surface was warmer. the depth of the water was 18 feet 7 inches. We then leaned over and pulled the growth under the docks up for examination. Ted posted some of our groups pictures below. (he is a great photographer) The first thing i noticed was a clam like animal that I have known to be an mussel. I did not know what type this was, however, and the field guide said that a dark blue to black looking mussel that grows in the region in urban settings would likely be a Blue Mussel. Blue mussels are common in the area, grow in groups, and have a shiny inside, much like the ones I observed. I further hypothesized that the fuzzy plants that looked like little less than one inch long trees were coralline algae. Coralline algae is typically found on blue mussels in urban settings and this is exactly where I found the unknown plant. It was less than one inch long, green in color, abundant on the mussels, and had very small branches. I then noticed the small, hard, white, shell like creatures on the dock that looked like barnacles. judging from their size and number of openers (4) and color, I believe them to be rock barnacles. Although this is a very weak hypothesis because I couldn't see them too well.

next, we found a crab. this crab was not more than an inch wide and had 8 legs and two claws. the 3 spikes on the side of each of its eyes, an opaque color on the ends of its legs, and its clear underside and brown/ blue top makes me think it is a green crab. I ruled out the mud crab because mud crabs have little flipper legs in the back and I did not notice these on our crab.

next we saw the small sacks that had the flowers in them. I had to go online to find the answer to this one, but I want to say that these were Golden Star Tunicates. These organisms are approximately 2 inches in size and grown on slow moving objects like docks or mussels. I read the other posts and realize that some disagree with me, but my thinking is that these best match what I saw

Next we saw a one inch long, twig like animal that was pink in color and had approximately 8 legs in different locations. As a group, we talked about it and from pictures, determined this to be a long horned skeletal shrimp. These have been known to be found under docks among other forms of sea life and are generally this size and color.

Next I saw a 1/4 inch little creature that looked like an armadillo and curled up into balls when it was touched. I believe this to be an amphipod of some kind. Amphipods are in this size range and posses these characteristics while also being very common in Boston Harbor and around the other organisms that I have previously listed. I did not see it closely enough to determine any kind of sub species.

Finally, I observed what appeared to be a small lobster. It was no more than 1/8th of an inch long and looked exactly like a lobster except it was clear in color and very small. It had the tail and everyrthing. After consulting the guidebook, I believe it to be a mysis larva of lobster.The final thing we were asked to describe was a 2 inch wide sack that was bumpy on the outside and had a clear gel on the inside. It had some algae growing on it and was soft to the touch. I believe this to be a sea grape. Sea grapes are a type of tunicate that are translucent with two little tubes on them. This is consistant with my observations.

Thanks all

Mike

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From Snails to Whales

Welcome to Snails to Whales, Bruce Berman's blog focused on both the little and the big things that make Boston Harbor such an interesting and extraordinary place to live, work and play.

With 50 miles of protected water, four sheltered bays, seven river systems, 34 islands and a nine-foot average tide, Boston Harbor is one of the most diverse urban ecosystems in America.

This blog focuses on the flora and fauna of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay - on the beach, the shore, and the harbor islands, and in the cleaner waters of Boston Harbor and Mass Bay - including this ecosystems most important species - people.

During the summer, it is also a place for my Boston University Students and my colleagues at Save the Harbor / Save the Bay to share their work and experiences.

Where I am coming from...

Love that clean(er) water
Learning about the Boston Harbor Cleanup from the waterway’s eyes, ears, and mouthpiece

By Brian Fitzgerald, BU Bridge

On Georges Island, Bruce Berman talks with his students about the history of the Boston Harbor Cleanup,
which is largely complete. Photo by Vernon Doucette

Bruce Berman, aboard a ferry from Boston’s Long Wharf to Georges Island, poses a question to his students: “How clean is clean enough?”

He’s talking about the water below.

It’s a brilliant July day, with the smell of salt spray in the air. The sky is clear, and so is the ocean. But there was a time when Boston Harbor wasn’t so clean, when the stench of sewage assaulted the nostrils of anyone who went near it.

Berman is the communications director for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, a public-interest environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to help restore and protect the harbor and Massachusetts Bay. He also teaches a Metropolitan College summer course called Politics, Public Relations, and Public Policy: The Boston Harbor Cleanup.

“The Boston Harbor Cleanup is an amazing success story, and I just love to share it with students,” says Berman, noting that the harbor’s “bad old days” weren’t that long ago. Those were the days when untreated human waste, syringes, condoms, and tampon applicators routinely washed ashore. The antiquated sewage treatment plants on Deer Island and Nut Island were so poorly designed and maintained that they flooded during even mild rainstorms, sending millions of gallons of untreated waste directly into the harbor.

Since then, bacteria counts in the water have decreased by more than two-thirds. Now the harbor teems with plants and animals, and people can legally dig for clams on Carson Beach in South Boston, which was unheard of in the 1980s.

“It was one of the filthiest harbors in America, and now it’s one of the cleanest,” says Berman. “What I’m trying to impress upon students is how this incredible comeback occurred, and how business, advocacy groups, environmentalists, and government can affect the outcome of large projects such as the Boston Harbor Cleanup through negotiation.”

Paradise regained

Berman points to the left as the boat cruises by the cleanup’s centerpiece: the gargantuan white egglike tanks of the Deer Island waste treatment plant, which in 1995 replaced the antiquated facility. The plant treats an average of 350 million gallons of sewage a day.

“And what comes out of the Deer Island treatment plant?” he asks. Berman, his booming baritone competing with the roar of planes taking off from Logan Airport, has a habit of putting students on the spot to see if they’re paying attention.

“The outfall pipe,” say several simultaneously. “Treated water,” chime in a few more.

“That’s right,” he says with a smile. “The plant separates the solid and liquid waste, and it pumps the treated water through the 9.5-mile outfall pipe, which empties into Massachusetts Bay. The resulting sludge is converted to high-grade fertilizer.”

Now Berman returns to his original question: “How clean is clean enough?” There’s no quick and clear answer to this one. “It’s a question that at the end of the day the federal courts had to decide.”

In 1985, a landmark federal court case required that the harbor’s beaches be made swimmable and fishable by 2000. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay was formed the next year to raise public awareness of the $4.5 billion Boston Harbor Cleanup. Sewer ratepayers in the 43 cities and towns financing the project cried foul over the prospect of astronomically rising bills, but because of the determination of environmental advocacy groups such as Berman’s, the cleanup was largely completed on schedule.

Berman says it isn’t finished, however. There are still frequent beach closures because the counts of Enterococcus bacteria exceed the federal and state standard for swimming. The culprit: filthy storm water and sewage, much of it from leaky pipes and illegal hookups emptying into storm sewers, and then into the harbor.

“So is the harbor clean enough,” the Springfield native asks his students, “when you can’t swim in it one out of five days in the summer?”

Work to be done

Berman and his class look out from Georges Island to Gallops Island (left) and the white tanks of the waste treatment plant on Deer Island (right). Photo by Vernon Doucette

This summer the state approved one of the last parts of the cleanup: the construction, by 2011, of a 2.1-mile tunnel near the Dorchester and South Boston shorelines that will hold sewage and storm water during bad weather. It then will be pumped to Deer Island for treatment.

Berman is ecstatic over this development, the result of “tireless negotiation and consensus-building,” he says. “After 2011, we’re looking at beach closings once every five years, when there is a major storm, instead of once every five days.”

But he is not about to let his guard down. To say that he is a man obsessed with the harbor cleanup would be an understatement. Berman is also Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s “Baywatcher,” and he lives on his 40-foot trawler Verandah. Polluters beware: if you’re discharging oil or sewage into Boston Harbor, the Baywatcher just might be watching.

He is quick to point out that his zealotry is not just on behalf of the harbor’s flora and fauna. “The harbor is for everyone,” he says. “If you’re from a working class or poor family in Boston, and you can’t afford a Cape Cod getaway in the summer, a clean harbor is important. The same is true if you’re a tourist vacationing in Boston or you happen to live in a pricey waterfront condo.”

Accordingly, Berman, who was a political consultant and contributing editor to the Phoenix newspaper before joining Save the Harbor/Save the Bay nearly 10 years ago, also teaches his students about the harbor’s role in the city’s economy. He points out that in the early 1990s, just a few ferries cruised the harbor’s waters. Today, more than 100,000 people visit its islands each summer, discovering their ecological and historic treasures.

“The best way to protect the harbor cleanup,” Berman tells his students, “is to make sure that the public has access to the resources and can see a return on its investment.”

Trevor Kosmolsick (MET’05) has lived in Boston for seven years, but until taking Berman’s course, he had never been to the waterfront. “I’ve also wanted to go camping in the area, but I never knew that you could camp on a few of the islands,” he says. “Bruce Berman is not only a great professor, but the ultimate tour guide.”

He also backs up his words with actions. Sometimes he takes off his shirt and dives in the water to demonstrate to passing boaters that it’s safe to swim. To show people on ferries that fishing is safe, he’s been known to grab one of the bluefish or striped bass he’s caught and (very carefully) plant a wet kiss on it.

“What I want everyone to understand is that investment in the environment really does pay off,” says Berman. “We’re willing to pay for a clean Boston Harbor, so we should enjoy it.”

From Snails to Whales

Saturday, July 31, 2010

group 2 post

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