we started at snails and ended with whales...

Regardless of where the whale watch boat docks, the destination is Stellwagen Bank, a 126 mile  Marine Sanctuary that spans from north of Provincetown to east of Cape Ann. Due to the shallow waters here, this area hosts many species including some we have seen; like striped bass and flounder, and some we haven't; like bluefin tuna and spiny dogfish. On the surface of the Bank however there are two species that are more common to see...humans and whales.

My first what watch was in the late 70's, departing from Provincetown, amidst the cheers and boycotts of the champions of Greenpeace, who were there at the docks with their posters highlighting the horrors of whaling. With those images in my mind, I boarded the boat, unsure of what I was embarking on, only to spend an afternoon witnessing the breaching, lob-tailing, flippering and spouting of Salt, a then 35 year younger whale, and her calves. I was awestruck...but it was the 70's so there were no camera phones, no digital media...just a shoddy video on the way out, and the memories you etched into your mind. (below are photos that I tried to take in 1977 with a kodak instant camera!)

Pan forward to 2014, where digital media, a ginormous catamaran and a group of rowdy adults are about to motor out to those same banks as I did 35 years ago, and the results were the same. I still found myself standing at the bow, scanning the horizon for spouts, and rushing from side to side to witness the grace that humpback whales exhibit as we watch.

Humpback whales, one of five species spotted at the Banks, are identified by markings on their tails. The two that surfaced in our presence last Friday were North Star and Hippocampus. Although they were not breaching or showing off, they were incredibly active in their hunt for food. Diving for 3-5 minute stretches, and challenging the captain to keep them in his sights, they came up together often and separately a time or two during our time on the Bank.

Humpback whales feed on plankton, krill, and small fish, usually found close to the ocean floor. Generally when you see the fluke come out of the water, in preparation for a dive, they are heading to the floor to search for food. These whales are often found on coastlines from New England in the summer to the equator in the winter. Although they are only nursed for the first year of their lives, they do not reach full adulthood for at least 10 at which point they can grow to between 40 and 50 feet long and weigh up to 48 TONS!!

Just a quick fun fact before I leave you with a photo that I took at a whale watch the weekend prior to the one for class...whales, unlike humans, do not breathe involuntarily, it is a choice. The fact that they choose to breathe has caused speculation about how they sleep...do they just choose not to breathe or do they shut off their brain???

Sources: My childhood. the lovely ladies that were our hosts on the boat, National Geographic and Animal Planet :-)

Assignment 2

The snails we saw...

I believe they were garden snails. I do not believe that the shell colorings made them different types.

My hypothesis is that birds brought the snails to the rock to make it possible for them to break them open and eat them.

http://eol.org/pages/449908/overview

My sketches...

These are the sketches I drew of the striped bass, black bass, flounder, silver hake, periwinkle,  hermit crab and the other crab I can't identify with confidence, although I believe it was an Asian Crab. Tide was low when we left the Barking Crab, but continued waxing throughout the entire day. 

The first part of out day was deep sea fishing during low tide.

Using brown sea worms, we broke off into teams and fished off of the port side of the boat. There were two The bass was 38", the black bass was 14.5", the flounder was 12" and 9", and the hake was 7".  We did try to use the hake to catch larger bass, but we caught all of the fish with the sea worms. 

Our time on Lovells Island was spend in the tide pools exploring and sketching different animals. I found hermit crabs, slipper clams, and the schools of tiny fish almost immediately. The tide coming in gave ample time to sketch and explore the tide pool that was closer to the wrack line. We then looked for snails in the trees and someone actually found two! They had bright amazing shells and were gray when they came out of hiding. Their long bodies had two antennae on top and they were as slimy as one would assume snails would be. The periwinkles that we found are invasive creatures!!

The growing tide altered what we saw...and how we saw it. It was a true testimony to the power of the ocean!

My favorite parts of the day were listening to captain Charlie teach us and seeing the lobster boat with the BU student. Ok...to be fair...The after math was a load of fun as well!

Flounder:

flat fish found on bottom of ocean

use their color to camouflage themselves with the sea floor

 carnivorous and highly predatory

females release eggs into water as males release sperm

Striped Bass:

schooling species- smaller schools at younger ages

seven to eight narrow stripes lengthwise

historic name of: line-sider

can live up to 40 years and can grow up to 100 lbs

females grow significantly larger than males

Black Sea Bass:

found on the east coast

has dark patched with light spots- belly on slightly lighter than body

males have a fleshy dorsal hump

most adult males only weight 1.5 pounds, which is slightly larger than 12"

Change their depth with the season

Silver Hake:

also referred to as whiting

range from Newfoundland to South Carolina

aggregate in large numbers yet do not swim in schools

nocturnal - feed only at night

migrate with warmer waters

Periwinkle:

Invasive creature

dark shell

3/4"

dark body

Hermit Crab:

live inside snail shells

keeps head and several legs out of shell it takes over

have soft vulnerable abdomens

switches shells when it outgrows them

Asian Crab:

Invasive creature

banded legs, red spots

3" wide

Barnacle:

Northern Rock Barnacle

Invasive creature

most common intertidal barnacle

http://www.fishwatch.gov/seafood_profiles/species/sea_bass/species_pages/black_sea_bass.htm

http://thisfish.info/fishery/species/silver-hake/

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/weirdest-flounder

http://www.cptdave.com/striped-bass.html

http://thisfish.info/fishery/species/silver-hake/

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/recreational-fishing/black-sea-bass.html

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/flounder/

Hitchhikers

http://www.hermit--crabs.com/types-of-hermit-crabs.html

what I think, and hope, I saw at the Barking Crab....team HASHTAG

·      Sea Lettuce-

o   Vibrant dark green sea vegetable

o   Common in temperate and colder salt water

o   Ranges in size from 6-12 feet

·      Blue Mussel-

o   Found on rocky shores, most often in bays and estuaries

o   Anchor to hard surfaces

Feeds on “phytoplankton

o    

o   Important water quality indicators in Boston Harbor due to the fact that they are filter feeders

§  Filter particles out of water

§  Suspension feeders

o   MWRA (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority)

§  Tests mussels for PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons)

·      Tests show a decrease in harmful chemicals

·      Tunicates (Sea Squirt) (RED, WHITE, GREEN)

o   Colonial tunicate consisting of zooids

o   Also feeds on phytoplankton

o   Also feed on zooplankton, oyster and mussel larvae

o   Similar to mussel discharges filtered water

o   Unlike mussel, the discharge occurs into a common area used by zooids in cluster and filtered out of a pore

o   All zooids within a colony are the same color

o   Colonies can have up to 20 zooids

o   Broods larvae internally, fertilization of eggs occurs from males in nearby colonies

·      Lacy Crust Bryozoan

o   First identified on east coast in Isles of Shoals, Maine in 1987

o   Spread through ballast water and ocean currents

o   Zooids that are box like structures that sit next to each other

o   The entire colony looks “circular and white”

·      Atlantic Lobster

o   Live in water of less than 50 meters

o   Young lobsters do not migrate to open water

o   Usually olive green or dark brown

·      Atlantic Rock Crab

o   Trapped in lobster pots

o   Rock, sand or gravel bottom dwellers

o   Estuaries or shallow shores
  Front border rounded

Kenneth L. Gosner and Roger Tory Peterson “A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore From the Bay of Fundy to Cape Hatteras”
Norman A. Melnkoth “National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures”
http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/gallery/plants/sea.htm
http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/gallery/invert/bluem.htm
http://www.rimeis.org/species/membranipora.html
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=533
http://www.fishaq.gov.nl.ca/research_development/fdp/rock_crab.pdf

Collaboration....

We are all getting ready to take our descriptions and begin our hopeful identification!

my introduction to a world I thought I knew

When we got to the Marriott, I though I had a good handle on the wildlife that inhabits Boston Harbor. After all, I work here, I am a guide here, I grew up here...this is my passion. And then Bruce started speaking.

It wasn't really when he was speaking about the birds or the jelly fish, but about the sea weed. Pointing out the various kinds and colors, I was reminded that I have a lot to learn, especially about the ecosystem that is Boston Harbor. We studied species at the dock by the marina, and then we boarded the boat, which was to take us to George's Island, Hingham, Hull, East Boston, and eventually back to the wharf...and saw a world that was new to me.

Deer Island, with all of it's modern facilities, keeping the bay clean. The islands, some alive with the buzz of human activity, some deserted due to asbestos, and the waterways full of boats...some with skilled captains and others capsized after not following the rules of the water which ensure safety for all.

Overall, today was enlightening. Both as a lover of water and a resident of the Boston area. There is more to Boston Harbor than originally thought...it is pulsing with life, both biped and sea life, all essential to the cycle of life around us.

Going down the drain....

My name is Sonja Jasinski, and I am super excited to be in this class!! My fascination with water started when I was a little kid...growing up playing in the caverns of Hermit Island, exploring in the tide pools up and down the east coast, and spending my summers on boats. Since then, I have lived in several seacoast towns, most recently in Newburyport. I spend my free time doing anything water related I can, surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, rafting, boating and fishing. Bring on the new knowledge, I am ready, willing and able!

Today we watched water go down the drain in a sink. I believe what I saw was the water circling the drain in a clockwise motion. I am basing this on the fact that I was paying attention more to the ripples that the water caused than the "cyclone" center itself.

Rod (source 1) said that there can not be an absolute direction, because the body of water is too small to expect the Coriolis Effect to happen. He said you also have to figure in the level of the sink, and the design of the basin. The esteemed professors interviewed by Scientific American agree with Rod. You would need a specially designed tub or sink to create a consistent effect. Again, Snopes confirms where I was incorrect in class, stating that the body of water in question is not large enough for the Coriolis Effect to have an impact

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-somebody-finally-sett/
http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp
Rodman Chase