​A JOURNEY THROUGH GRADUATE SCHOOL AND THE KELP FORESTS  OF THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN
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The synergy of science, communication and exploration

Catalina Chronicles Pt 3

2/17/2017

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2/12/2017
Catalina Island, California
 
After three and half days of diving and living on Catalina Island, we were finally ready to start wrapping things up. The weather finally cleared and on Sunday morning we greeted by bright, beautiful sunshine. Although we had accomplished quite a lot over the weekend, we had one last experiment to conduct before we could pull the chambers and break down our gear. While the dissolved oxygen sensors left inside the chambers gives us an understanding of what the community of algae is doing over a 24-hour cycle, Genoa also needs to know what the individual species are contributing. And by contributing, I mean how much oxygen they can produce via photosynthesis versus how much they can consume via respiration. In other words, what is going on during the day (photosynthesis) and what’s going on at night (respiration). Just like our own cells, plants and algae also respire, consuming oxygen as a form of cellular metabolism. 
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Cold water is giving giant kelp a chance to out compete Sargassum
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Genoa changing a light filter
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Close-up of Sargassum in the photosynthesis vs. irradiance experiment
​In order to do this Genoa (Tristin, and I) conduct lab experiments that help us generate photosynthesis vs irradiance curves. Irradiance is a measure of light; we expose algae to different light levels, from total darkness to full irradiance, and measure the amount of dissolved oxygen either produced or consumed. Once we get the data we can plot it as a curve, a P vs. I curve, which helps us visualize the relationship between light and dark, and oxygen consumed versus produced. We can then couple that with the data from the surveys in Genoa’s plots, which gives us a nice pairing of field and laboratory data.
 
Genoa also does incubations in the field with blades of giant kelp; because giant kelp blades are so big it’s more efficient to measure their productivity directly rather than generating a P vs. I curve. These kinds of “in situ” measurements give us a really good understanding of what giant kelp is doing in its natural environment.


​ All in all, we had a really successful field trip. It’s no easy feat to try and do a whole season’s worth of data collection in three and a half days. But this is what ecologist’s dreams are made of. Sunburnt and tired, we had a two-hour ferry ride back to San Pedro, and another two-hour car ride back to San Diego. On Monday morning it was back to business as usual.




​

Thanks for reading about our Catalina Chronicles! Be sure to check back in as the spring semester develops.
 
Cheers,
 
-Baron von Urchin
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Sunday morning brunch on the dive boat
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Sunset on Catalina Island
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Catalina Chronicles Pt 2

2/14/2017

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Picture
Project principle investigator Genoa Sullaway swims above the Sargassum
2/10-11/2016
Catalina Island, California
 
Genoa, Tristin and I awoke in the pre-dawn gloom early on Friday morning. After an incredibly long journey from the mainland to Wrigley Station, with just enough time to get an evening dive in on the night of 9th, we were ready to suit up and flush Genoa’s experimental chambers. We had the dive locker all to ourselves; it seems as though the forecasted weather kept most people off of “The Rock” for the weekend. But not us, we have diving to do and data to collect!
 
Much like the work the Edwards’ Lab has been doing in the Aleutians, Genoa is investigating the effects of an incredibly invasive alga, Sargassum on local patterns of Net Community Production. Since about 2012, Sargassum has rapidly spread along the coast of Southern California, replacing giant kelp as the dominant species on many temperate rocky reefs. Sargassum is an annual species; unlike giant kelp individuals which can live for multiple years, Sargassum dies back each summer. The implications of the loss of giant kelp and the rise of Sargassum on many rocky reef communities in Southern California has yet to be fully understood. 
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Genoa and Tristin prepare to flush a chamber
So, for Genoa’s work we’re up at 6am flushing the chambers, surveying the community and keeping the experiments running. Since Genoa’s site is so close to the field station, we have the option of running back in between dives to get out of our wetsuits/drysuits, and grab some food before getting back in the water. A luxury we're not typically used to. 
 
In terms of diving, just to give you an idea of what we’re working with, imagine trying to hike through really, really dense shrubs when you should be strolling through a forest. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve gotten stuck in giant kelp on almost every dive I’ve been on. But hey, it happens. Sargassum is a whole different beast. The winter months are the peak growing/reproducing time for this annual species; across the reef at Genoa’s site the Sargassum covers just about every surface, from rocks to buoy lines, and even other algae. Not only does is grow in dense, bushy clusters, right now it can be over two-meters tall, blocking almost all of the light on the bottom! 
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To hold the chambers down we lay heavy chain around the chamber's skirt. Genoa and Tristin get in their pre-dive workout
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Tristin McHugh swims a nearly 15lb bag of (positively buoyant) Sargassum back to the boat
As we were conducting surveys and setting up chambers, we would occasionally have to kick up out of the "Devil Weed" just to make sure we didn’t get separated from on other, even if we were within touching distance. However, recent storms (including last year’s El Niño) have brought cold, nutrient rich waters to Southern California, and it seems as though giant kelp is making a comeback!
 
Be sure to check back in for the final installment of our Catalina Chronicles.
 
Cheers,
 
-Baron von Urchin
 ​
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Divers Genoa (left) and Tristin (right) kick above the Sargassum after taking samples
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Catalina Chronicles pt 1

2/11/2017

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Nothing like a change of plans at 7am
2/9/2016
Catalina Island, California
 
It was cold and foggy in the pre-dawn morning as we headed to the Southern California Marine Institute in San Pedro, California. Between lab mates Genoa Sullaway, Tristin McHugh and myself we had enough field gear and food to fill two cars; the three of us were headed to Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles for part of Genoa’s thesis. For the next four days we would be diving out of the Wrigley Institute of Environmental Sciences, USC’s field station. However, before we could start diving, we had to first get to the island.
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Four days worth of field gear. Thankfully Wrigley has SCUBA cylinders!
As we drove towards San Pedro we were informed that the Miss Christy, Wrigley’s small ferry, couldn’t operate in the channel between the mainland and Catalina due to the thick, persistent fog. As a grey dawn broke we started scrambling for solutions. We only had a limited number of days at Wrigley before we had to get back to San Diego and graduate school obligations. As it turns out, the commercial ferry operator, Catalina Express, doesn’t run between San Pedro and Two Harbors, the small “town” near Wrigley, on Thursdays. They do, however, operate between the Port of Long Beach and Avalon, Catalina’s little town. With minutes to spare we got to Long Beach, unloaded all of our gear (seven large totes, six chambers and personal gear), parked the cars in San Pedro and then loaded all of our gear on the Catalina Express just before it departed for Avalon.
 
As we steamed across the channel Genoa ran logistics, trying to figure out how we were going to get from Avalon to the field station. Thankfully Wrigley had sent a van to Avalon to pick up another stranded passenger; we caught the driver just in time to load all of our gear, once more, into the van. An hour later, over muddy roads and running creeks, we made it to the field station. Just before the sun set all of Genoa’s chambers were in the water, we made it!
 

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After a long morning we were finally underway!
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The view from the mountain road between Avalon and Wrigley. Under all that fog is the Pacific Ocean
Although we hit several roadblocks, no one lost faith that we would get to the island before it was too late. There’s never a dull day in the field, it’s what keeps us coming back for more. Thanks to the crew of the Catalina Express for putting up with us and all of our gear.
 
Stay tuned for more updates about our underwater adventures on Catalina!
 
Cheers,
 
-Baron von Urchin
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No rest for the weary; it's dive time!
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Keeping Tabs – Observations and Citizen Scientists

2/2/2017

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PictureLooking up the stipe of a giant kelp plant (Macrocystis pyrifera) in the Channel Islands National Park, California
February 2nd, 2017
San Diego, Ca

After nearly two weeks of the US government’s new administration’s deplorable policy towards scientists and the research that the tax payers help fund, people are still speaking out. This still isn’t a political forum, but I did want to highlight some of the ridiculous steps colleagues at government agencies are having to go through to get their results where they should be, in the hands of the general public.  
 
In other news, there has been a recent rise in projects that utilize citizen scientists to help collect and process data. These projects can range from field collections (Reef Check) to crowd-sourcing projects that can be done from one’s own desk. If you’re interested in getting involved, even for just a few minutes a day, check out Floating Forests! They’re doing some really cool work; it’s super fun and easy to get involved. Thanks to Kyle Neuman for sending this project my way.

No matter where in the world you are, or your background, I encourage you to get involved in projects that ignite your interests and passions. That's what science is all about!
 
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more phycological updates as the field season starts to ramp up!
 
Cheers,
 
-Baron von Urchin. 

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    Author

    ​Pike Spector is currently a Research Operations Specialist with Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

    Click here for Pike's Github Repo! 

    Tweet @BaronvonUrchin
    for more phycology fun! 

    Curious about Pike's ( now completed) master's thesis? Check out the Common Word challenge! 

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