USFSP Days Two and Three

Yesterday we embarked on a journey teeming with surprises, discoveries, learning opportunities, and invaluable experiences aboard the Weatherbird II. 

The Weatherbird II

After being briefed on safety precautions and emergency procedures, we left the harbor of St. Petersburg and headed out to open sea. Then came the surprises! Waves trumping five, six, and even seven feet rocked the vessel as we held on to the rails (and our lunches) for about three hours. It was during that time that I saw my favorite organism of the day: flying fishes! I completely underestimated the extent to which they can glide out of water- over 100 feet! 

Finally, we reached the first station. Having been assigned groups and one of five tasks, my peers and I dove into our work, starting with the CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth), which both measured parameters electronically (such as dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, etc) and took water samples for the bottom, middle, and upper water column for later testing. 

The CTD. When I saw a picture in the classroom, I envisioned it being
the size of a microwave oven. I was shocked find that it was about
7 feet tall and was extremely heavy.

The second group used a Neuston net, shown below, to capture neuston plankton, which I learned are characterized by their habitat location, on the water's surface. As the picture below depicts, the net is designed to stay on the surface to catch said plankton. 

Neuston Net 

Next, the bongo nets were deployed, designed to capture plankton further below in the water column. 

Bongo Nets (2). Shown on the surface- in reality, they collect plankton approximately
one-third to one-half down the depth of the location. 

Thirdly, the Capetown Dredge was used to collect benthic organisms. 

Pulling in the Capetown Dredge after collection.

The loot! Lots of sand dollars and sea stars. 

Finally, my group performed an otter trawl, which what you think of when you think of a traditional fishing net. A diagram below represents how it looks in the water, because on land it simply looks like a pile of tangled cords.

Otter trawl, missing a sea turtle escape hatch that was present on our net. 

After all 5 components of Station 1 were complete, we headed back inland to the second station. The ride back was a lot smoother; I even faked a smile for this picture! Just kidding. We had to wear stylish hard hats and life vests for safety. 

Classic hard hat/life vest combo. 

We performed the same five collection tasks at the second station, located near the Skyway Bridge. This gave us fine grounds to compare night vs day, and inshore vs offshore. For each component, excluding the CTD, the net or collection vessel was deployed for 20 minutes, while the vessel traveled forward slowly. The first two collected plankton in a jar at the posterior end of the net, but the Capetown Dredge and Otter Trawl required extensive sorting, identifying, counting, weighing, measuring, and recording of various species. 

Sorting the contents of Station 1, Dredge 

Weighing and measuring fish. Thats me on the right, recording! 

We had a long, arduous, and demanding day at sea, arriving back in port around 3 am. There may or may not have been some complaining at the time (especially during those last few hours..) but hey- this is a real world scenario that gives us real world experience in our futures as biologist, all of which most students our age lack access to. Learning about taxonomy and physiology in the classroom can seem as abstract as outer space, but seeing, feeling, and smelling it in a dissection tub before your eyes on a lurching boat while walls of sea spray crash up and over the deck makes science a whole lot more of... an adventure. 

Whaat? He's a good kisser... (Mean Girls quote.. Anybody? No?)

Oh! And Day Three:

We set up stations where we analyzed plankton samples, identifying and tallying individuals. We also identified shell species collected yesterday. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go out on the vessel again, but a tropical storm brewing may dictate our plans for us.