It's only Tuesday??

We have been so busy doing so many amazing things that we decided to each talk about something from a different day.

On Tuesday, we started our day in the lab and classroom instead of heading straight out to the sites. It made field identification much easier and satisfying, not to mention that we were all pumped to go look for the new species by the time we left. 

In class, we learned about the importance of algae (singular - alga) as a food source for many other organisms which are the food source for larger and larger organisms - they're pretty much the bottom of the food chain. Algae also produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, which is pretty awesome (thanks trees of the sea!). Professor Hanisak taught us about the three major phyla, or divisions, of algae: Chlorophyta (green algae), Heterokontophyta (brown algae), and Rhodophyta (red algae). He also taught us how to distinguish between the three using characteristics such as how the organism stores food, the presence and/or abundance of flagella (tail-like structure that allows movement), thallus/body type, and reproductive methods. Testing for one of these characteristics might include staining a sample of an alga with potassium iodide to test for starch; if the test was positive, that would indicate that the alga was from the Phylum Chlorophyta and thus help in narrowing down the list of usual suspects during identification. 

Here are some of the species we looked at in class and also saw at some of our snorkeling sites:

Cactus algae - Halimeda incrassata

Mermaid's wine glass - Acetabularia sp.

Professor Hanisak left us with two important notes:

1- Further research is needed to better understand the factors that control the success of certain species of algae and what impacts they may have on corals. 

2 - Algaes is not a word!

After class, we were given a tour of the Keys Marine Lab facilities by Tony (I forget his last name!). Most of the microscopes we used in the lab were dissecting microscopes, which have less magnification than compound microscopes (found in most schools). He explained that the lab had minimal equipment and that the researchers were responsible for bringing any specialized instrumentation that they might need. The really cool equipment was outside :) 

Towards the back of the facility is the Wetlab Area where researchers can perform experiments that require a marine aquatic environment. The current saltwater system works by filtering in bay water through alternating PVC pipes, but this system requires de-gunking every two days in order to keep the filters from getting clogged with debris. Tony, however, worked with a few other colleagues to design and build a new saltwater system that provides fresh seawater at an optimum temperature of 26 degrees centigrade. The pipe in the bay is 30 ft deep and surrounded by rocks to help prevent absorbing any dissolved organic matter up the pipes. The water recirculates through the chiller (the big tower) that contains bio-balls. These bio-balls allow for the natural bacteria in the water to colonize using the ball as a substrate, and sort of like a fish tank  the bacteria is cultured over the next two-three weeks. During that time the pH levels out to between 8.1-8.2 pH which is the pH of the ocean, and the water in injected with oxygen when traveling through the tower and increases the dissolved oxygen (something we measured with the YSI last week!). 

So this cool design all trickles down into a large reservoir of filtered marine water that is ready to be used by an experimenter. AND Tony doesn't have to clean it every two days!

The current saltwater system, on the left; on the right you can see how "gunky" the current system can get

The easily accessible (and huge!) resvoir for the new system on the left, and the chiller that houses the bio-balls





The last, but very popular, stop was the "Tidepool", formerly the "Touch-Tank" but it now contains some species that would not be very pleasant to touch.

Wally checking out my sweet sea cucumber (left) ; Aaron holding a brittle sea star