tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76472062470763943312024-03-13T02:58:10.335-07:00Research Methods in Marine EcologyFall 2009,
Savannah State UniversitySSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-19160429237636332312010-12-07T15:41:00.000-08:002010-12-07T15:41:38.966-08:0010.04.2010: Plankton Sampling Cruise<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRCMbyuEcUAC6kyAF6RjFC-8xr54opBJyTD1CnzDHSbOHySKGUMdl5g8Tflo0jMgYlHC2OQ68GBNTGTIjGDC1SfEdK7f_D6GjXdsfYmQn8vOLubKT6ZWtvWc5tmGzrQYpfO9HaNcyxuU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRCMbyuEcUAC6kyAF6RjFC-8xr54opBJyTD1CnzDHSbOHySKGUMdl5g8Tflo0jMgYlHC2OQ68GBNTGTIjGDC1SfEdK7f_D6GjXdsfYmQn8vOLubKT6ZWtvWc5tmGzrQYpfO9HaNcyxuU/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a>For this lab exercise, we had this opportunity to go on a sampling cruise to perform some net tows targeting plankton (animals that can’t swim fast enough to swim against water currents). A plankton tow is a very common method of capturing smaller planktonic life forms; oceanographers use this method often in studying the open oceans. Plankton tows use conical nets which are towed at low speed. Plankton is captured in the cod end; a cup at the end of the net which has three small openings covered in 500 µm mesh, the mesh allows water to flow all the way through the net and partially into the cup to prevent specimens from escaping. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfU8raV7xQ0eAydijoTIu-tvJora8DdZqA8kxzkI0597sPd9Q53WmlzM8E4c6ekFDOG57csxIXMvZMezJmlP5eBgHV0mc3gniogRuQXvIFWcuhPIinWR_F7i4AYlahT6lMjFkeBKi4nsw/s1600/P1010057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfU8raV7xQ0eAydijoTIu-tvJora8DdZqA8kxzkI0597sPd9Q53WmlzM8E4c6ekFDOG57csxIXMvZMezJmlP5eBgHV0mc3gniogRuQXvIFWcuhPIinWR_F7i4AYlahT6lMjFkeBKi4nsw/s320/P1010057.jpg" width="320" /></a>Our journey began on Savannah State’s R/V Sea Otter, once the two large motors were fired up, we were off, slowly. On this beautiful day we were able to perform two different types of tows with the time we had. We used a bongo net, which has two separate nets that are attached at the ring openings. The first tow performed was a surface tow in which the net is pulled just below the surface of the water targeting organisms which stay or migrate near the surface. The location of the tow was near the SSU docks, but quite a ways down the Herb River in a long, straight, 30 ft deep area which allowed us to run the trawls with no impediments. The primary issue in using the bongo net is to get the nets even on the horizontal plane; once the nets are placed correctly the tow may begin. We ran our surface tow at .77 knots for 5 minutes, the collection cups were rinsed into our sample holders and samples were preserved in 70% ethanol. The second tow for the afternoon was an oblique tow, where the net is lowered to the bottom for the beginning of the tow and slowly pulled up sampling the entire water column from bottom to surface. For this second tow, the Sea Otter was run at 1.6 knots for 2 minutes. When the nets came up they contained a large amount of bottom sediment, our nets must have hit the bottom of the river at the beginning of the trawl. The samples were stored in ethanol and the Sea Otter and crew headed back for SSU docks. We viewed part of our sediment sample in a Plexiglas chamber, the only obvious specimen was a crab larvae with a very long spine. In the lab on campus, we observed several stages of crab larvae and phytoplankton was clearly visible.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10UTzZbyNg1OUyEbPa0gE6-RMlYy1bOC6ckLFX9PnD7CKRHZ5mSzUiJbv2T9vop-dz0_U0G73jdWnXCRyBnSAxPu1dvSMcskPMbU5axqhZBWkYxtz9i4EwfX0JVfOrsPAnH_vcm1xGHs/s1600/P1010106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10UTzZbyNg1OUyEbPa0gE6-RMlYy1bOC6ckLFX9PnD7CKRHZ5mSzUiJbv2T9vop-dz0_U0G73jdWnXCRyBnSAxPu1dvSMcskPMbU5axqhZBWkYxtz9i4EwfX0JVfOrsPAnH_vcm1xGHs/s320/P1010106.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-28900419000905057062010-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:002010-11-29T18:34:24.612-08:00Zooplankton Tow Sample AnalysisWe conducted our second indoor lab assignment on October 11, 2010. We analyzed the two plankton tow samples (surface and oblique) from the October 4, 2010 outdoor lab assignment. Surface tows were characterized by being able to see the net at the surface. Oblique tows were characterized by the net being at least 4 m below the surface. The objective of this lab was to utilize dissecting microscopes to assess the abundance of copepods from two milliliter (ml) water samples from surface and oblique plankton tow samples.<br />
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Copepods are vital marine organisms that prey on phytoplankton in coastal ecosystems. They serve as important prey items for shrimp, small fish species, and crabs.<br />
The plankton samples were collected using bongo plankton net with 1 mm (500 µm) mesh and collection container attached in the middle. The bongo plankton net was towed behind the boat at a speed of 0.77 m/s. After each tow, the bongo net was brought aboard and the collection container was removed from the net. We used saltwater to wash the plankton samples from the collection container into separate containers labeled either “surface” or “oblique”. <br />
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In order to assess the abundance/ number of copepods per sample, 1 ml pipettes were used to remove a 1 ml water sample from the surface and oblique plankton tow samples. One water drop of the plankton samples were placed in 36 miniature squares of a water sample tray. Each tray was observed under a dissecting microscope. The number of copepods per miniature square was calculated for both plankton tow samples. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_4S8awVfAvTUgXNr4dCosDfB0m_m8tPA495nf6eLq3i9s5xuLVNkW9SCCfxeQStaWhpI7d7mm7JquEzZbpRp4UIBKdMgAXEFWptJ6fPJLxlC4RPifou4lAJMPbdOrIN9j374ZZsPCN4/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_4S8awVfAvTUgXNr4dCosDfB0m_m8tPA495nf6eLq3i9s5xuLVNkW9SCCfxeQStaWhpI7d7mm7JquEzZbpRp4UIBKdMgAXEFWptJ6fPJLxlC4RPifou4lAJMPbdOrIN9j374ZZsPCN4/s320/1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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Both the surface and oblique plankton tow samples produced low numbers of copepods and other zooplankton.SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-69052569771810251292010-11-01T10:18:00.000-07:002010-11-01T10:18:18.461-07:00Estuarine Sediment Grain Size Determination<span id="goog_806185577"></span><span id="goog_806185578"></span>Marine geologists analyze sediment grain sizes to understand the composition of earth within a survey site. Through this analysis, they can predict sediment composition changes when the information is combined with other datasets (weather, land use). On September 20, 2010, the research methods class conducted an estuarine sediment grain analysis exercise. <br />
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Sediment cores collected from a previous survey (blog post 9-10-10) were procured for this exercise. A stacked series of cylindrical mesh sieves and water were used to manually separate the sediment grains according to the following sizes:<br />
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Coarse sand -1000 µm <br />
Medium sand - 250 µm <br />
Fine sand - 125 µm<br />
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The contents of each sieve were rinsed with water before they were transferred into pre-weighed collection dishes and dried in a laboratory oven for 7 days. The samples were weighed after drying.<br />
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The Station A core had a calculated dry weight of 8.41 g. Coarse sand was in 2.26 g (27%) of the sample. 3.06 g (36%) of the core was medium sand. 3.09 g (37%) of the core consisted of fine sand (Figure 1; Table 1). <br />
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The Station C core had a calculated dry weight of 62.13 g. Coarse sand constituted 14.57 g (23%) of the sample. 9.32 g (15%) of the core was medium sand. 38.24 g (62%) of the core consisted of fine sand (Figure 1; Table 1). <br />
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The Control core had a calculated dry weight of 82.36 g. Coarse sand was in 2.11 g (3%) of the sample. 10.66 g (13%) of the core was medium sand. 69.59 g (84%) of the core consisted of fine sand (Figure 1; Table 1).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe6YSc5dVR3bLn_Ux-U8AqG-BoRGMWg4_ODpu6pJXUiWLYcoZvoSCFZvLIvgj3k-Z4Htur3QK2Ok1VIgDAozCVI3xG6kScT5kKuMrTfHKAM_YcsZpNda8rdH2qpCjoAa6yR0NH9wMyqA/s1600/Sediment+grain+size+chart+11.1.10.compress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe6YSc5dVR3bLn_Ux-U8AqG-BoRGMWg4_ODpu6pJXUiWLYcoZvoSCFZvLIvgj3k-Z4Htur3QK2Ok1VIgDAozCVI3xG6kScT5kKuMrTfHKAM_YcsZpNda8rdH2qpCjoAa6yR0NH9wMyqA/s1600/Sediment+grain+size+chart+11.1.10.compress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe6YSc5dVR3bLn_Ux-U8AqG-BoRGMWg4_ODpu6pJXUiWLYcoZvoSCFZvLIvgj3k-Z4Htur3QK2Ok1VIgDAozCVI3xG6kScT5kKuMrTfHKAM_YcsZpNda8rdH2qpCjoAa6yR0NH9wMyqA/s1600/Sediment+grain+size+chart+11.1.10.compress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGbnj-wl5BqmNnq7juCIzm0rq7pfrzzGxjqA93s6rrQPC2T1rmRVbJMsw6oXm3a-3d5F00KOAu8dsuBnyWgdsIISh3iPpJehsD3Y0qXHS90KRo24UQkU_7fgZt-xELkVxJEwRXjxtFJE/s1600/sediment+grain+gif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UScc8uP7Ywpy1ckQLMdq7NesFZFOaR-QqRi3D33ShUvJa-HkgUFWJV9filMdiJUDdYoNv87ZXKqBR5gURzPETQbhPllxIBVA5rQPwI8m4aKcR3v4vrXKLHwL5S7O9LNQgi8T7Zf4V3Q/s400/Sediment+grain+png.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">Figure 1 - Estuarine sediment grain size to weight composition. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Skidaway Island, GA</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UScc8uP7Ywpy1ckQLMdq7NesFZFOaR-QqRi3D33ShUvJa-HkgUFWJV9filMdiJUDdYoNv87ZXKqBR5gURzPETQbhPllxIBVA5rQPwI8m4aKcR3v4vrXKLHwL5S7O9LNQgi8T7Zf4V3Q/s1600/Sediment+grain+png.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe6YSc5dVR3bLn_Ux-U8AqG-BoRGMWg4_ODpu6pJXUiWLYcoZvoSCFZvLIvgj3k-Z4Htur3QK2Ok1VIgDAozCVI3xG6kScT5kKuMrTfHKAM_YcsZpNda8rdH2qpCjoAa6yR0NH9wMyqA/s1600/Sediment+grain+size+chart+11.1.10.compress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Table 1 - Dry sediment weight of sieved samples. Skidaway Island, GA.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 373px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 16.5pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none double; border-width: medium medium 1.5pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.9pt;" valign="bottom" width="113"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none double; border-width: medium medium 1.5pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.1pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Station A</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none double; border-width: medium medium 1.5pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="bottom" width="84"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Station C</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none double; border-width: medium medium 1.5pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Control</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.9pt;" valign="bottom" width="113"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Coarse sand</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">1000 µm </div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.1pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">2.26 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="bottom" width="84"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">14.57 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">2.11 g</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.9pt;" valign="bottom" width="113"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Medium sand</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">250 µm</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.1pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">3.06 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="bottom" width="84"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">9.32 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 15.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">10.66 g</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 16.5pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none solid; border-width: medium medium 1pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.9pt;" valign="bottom" width="113"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Fine sand</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">125 µm </div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none solid; border-width: medium medium 1pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.1pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">3.09 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none solid; border-width: medium medium 1pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="bottom" width="84"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">38.24 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none solid; border-width: medium medium 1pt; height: 16.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">69.59 g</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.9pt;" valign="bottom" width="113"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Total weight </div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.1pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">8.41 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="bottom" width="84"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">62.13 g</div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: medium none; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 66pt;" valign="bottom" width="88"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">82.36 g</div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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In conclusion, the sediment cores in this exercise contained high quantities of fine and medium grain sand. <br />
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A plausible theory: This area experiences high tide differentials (8 feet / 2.4 meters twice daily); yet the energy of the water as it enters and leaves the study site is low. As a result, sediment grains of smaller size are able to settle and accumulate since the water is flowing at a relatively steady rate.SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-53974029862590767472010-10-08T23:13:00.000-07:002010-10-08T23:44:56.132-07:00CTD Cruise on Country Club Creek<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;">On August 30, 2010 the graduate research methods class left the Savannah State University creek side dock to embark on a CTD cruise. A CTD<span style="color: black;"> is an essential oceanographic tool used to measure various water parameters such as Conductivity, Temperature and Depth of sea water.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KaIWVsU7D0UDthSitsh08CYDxk4iqu34vUyz-M7hmVL-QtOFdXdwPvT04C4kgimBkJskIccqsxw4IF5zTIuaYsTKYGN_Tqyza8SDQiRJVwflSoj73-dpyNbTF8o5Vsi59lnsXfr5g0E/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KaIWVsU7D0UDthSitsh08CYDxk4iqu34vUyz-M7hmVL-QtOFdXdwPvT04C4kgimBkJskIccqsxw4IF5zTIuaYsTKYGN_Tqyza8SDQiRJVwflSoj73-dpyNbTF8o5Vsi59lnsXfr5g0E/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuciVm8ODvE7QiYKbbTxlV2xbn3rxZVhWZiHrJARGABpbSydur43nMls9RNfIVhFxTln0Ok9tN_fk3ylNwzXdemqSrDa7dw5HQ98C0VvLn24pviez5PtiivmQ-EYCB34ak1yYa2YCCw6I/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuciVm8ODvE7QiYKbbTxlV2xbn3rxZVhWZiHrJARGABpbSydur43nMls9RNfIVhFxTln0Ok9tN_fk3ylNwzXdemqSrDa7dw5HQ98C0VvLn24pviez5PtiivmQ-EYCB34ak1yYa2YCCw6I/s320/3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The CTD can be considered as a device designed to take vital signs of the ocean and house a multitude of sensors which can measure a host of water characteristics at different water depths. The CTD can also record data continuously both vertically as it descends through the water column and horizontally at different depths as it is pulled behind a boat. Information recorded by the sensors on the CTD are electronically sent via a data cable to an on-board computer system (laptop). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One major goal of this research trip was to deploy the CTD and record temperature, conductivity (salinity), density, depth, fluorescence, PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation), and oxygen saturation. This information was continuously gathered as the CTD was lowered into the water column to a depth of 1 m above the bottom. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFmssvGrbE16_plWCFgc4jH3ekuM-AJ4AtMeV969jyGqqfCO970G9Y6QXd7sRF7kanS_WreLHmk_NhxcmkMI5ftDzqK67VMHHM06Vb0v5DvpSftdRfMNneKU4rZMuTs_Bl5gXuPQzeNQ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFmssvGrbE16_plWCFgc4jH3ekuM-AJ4AtMeV969jyGqqfCO970G9Y6QXd7sRF7kanS_WreLHmk_NhxcmkMI5ftDzqK67VMHHM06Vb0v5DvpSftdRfMNneKU4rZMuTs_Bl5gXuPQzeNQ/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> The exercise was structured so that every student had an opportunity to have hands on experience on deploying the CTD, operating the laptop program and retrieving the recorder. One drawback of this device was that it was necessary to have “sea legs” to deploy the recorder without causing damage to the sensors. In rough or choppy waters this may be impossible unless a crane or some other mechanical deployment device was used.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZImItIe58aWNMo3ZSoLolf77I2f7PP6nlZEZQ_adj6XkEkzKS5iPuhg_7qBqjNu-wI67ThVQUC4mPzHz9jtA0P3Vdy2tn08IalfU67C7m8-8wCkvMDTRn8qNK-Yknrbk5zDbZ_cHnJ2E/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZImItIe58aWNMo3ZSoLolf77I2f7PP6nlZEZQ_adj6XkEkzKS5iPuhg_7qBqjNu-wI67ThVQUC4mPzHz9jtA0P3Vdy2tn08IalfU67C7m8-8wCkvMDTRn8qNK-Yknrbk5zDbZ_cHnJ2E/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We recorded GPS coordinates to mark the locations of CTD deployment. This is a very important step to perform especially when recording along various transects. The data collection went without any glitches and we obtained a good data set. My part in data analysis was to investigate the photosynthetic component in the water column<b>. </b>Photosynthetic cells in pelagic plants (1-70 µm) such as phytoplankton absorb sunlight to produce necessary sugars required for life, during this process they emit a type of radiation known as fluorescence. The intensity of fluorescence emitted by these plants is recorded by the CTD as it descends through the water column. The fluorescence intensity data sent back to the laptop can therefore give an indication of the abundance and vertical distribution of phytoplankton in the water column. Fluorescence (phytoplankton abundance) was maximum (35.8293 mg/m³) at a depth of 1 m, was lowest between 3 and 6 m, but increased near the bottom at 8 m. These results suggest that there were three layers within the water column that differed in the abundance of phytoplankton, with the lowest abundances occurring in the middle of the water column.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cj7deOh-IhUtF827XX1C39arPQeoryJ_Li_NzQb7EJGX4x_-TIvi4And5HyS9hsU4AlbaEcpXJnp556AD8E6KBU-IzJTbLxbcbTcHR_9It3wEpc7ZmaBJRPw3zwzpVu03pDADRwV5Ik/s1600/Gold+Graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cj7deOh-IhUtF827XX1C39arPQeoryJ_Li_NzQb7EJGX4x_-TIvi4And5HyS9hsU4AlbaEcpXJnp556AD8E6KBU-IzJTbLxbcbTcHR_9It3wEpc7ZmaBJRPw3zwzpVu03pDADRwV5Ik/s400/Gold+Graph.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The second part of this activity was to obtain grab samples of benthic substrate by deploying a Ponar grab. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl8tUmh2A1UA3y2v_xuzz0pNOTSxMZFsM147weDMe1murotbI5xIjV-YTJbTWmvsPkKdxq4Rch39QjO-IWG_0Anyama8S0YlUQ6WerPMcDVTwR6qn-nmoxx0vjrEw23jntTB73M-Zt0Q/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl8tUmh2A1UA3y2v_xuzz0pNOTSxMZFsM147weDMe1murotbI5xIjV-YTJbTWmvsPkKdxq4Rch39QjO-IWG_0Anyama8S0YlUQ6WerPMcDVTwR6qn-nmoxx0vjrEw23jntTB73M-Zt0Q/s320/7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Ponar grab was very light weight and easy to handle. It was so easy to handle that J.J. slung it out as if she was playing a game of horseshoe! Of course as far as she appeared to throw it—it some how ended up going off 2 inches from the stern of the boat. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLp8IRPuiupYFC8a0uUOp_aHp9F5dsd2Rf0HIq32b-QLb1yQg5QQHjUV59hPbrwqAeioDFuZPNv6EuQOQ0h5JHrIMo0IxWWZUuGnPaniZK084ld6y-S2cce_MVAPrd_C5zdCkI3K5gd4o/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLp8IRPuiupYFC8a0uUOp_aHp9F5dsd2Rf0HIq32b-QLb1yQg5QQHjUV59hPbrwqAeioDFuZPNv6EuQOQ0h5JHrIMo0IxWWZUuGnPaniZK084ld6y-S2cce_MVAPrd_C5zdCkI3K5gd4o/s320/8.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-EngMWooc03diRePkU3l6xAaTPuaInL0yBUGEUGFZnqt5h1Ix5Iw_LiBM0y7Ml9BNSpnnSJjmx2yDOO89zITuwJDQAGgkAXh-fIsvbXhQzRdNy3iRWQUYNVBXIfpPLcz5epAO8K6GV8/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-EngMWooc03diRePkU3l6xAaTPuaInL0yBUGEUGFZnqt5h1Ix5Iw_LiBM0y7Ml9BNSpnnSJjmx2yDOO89zITuwJDQAGgkAXh-fIsvbXhQzRdNy3iRWQUYNVBXIfpPLcz5epAO8K6GV8/s640/9.jpg" width="480" /></a> Not all Ponar pulls resulted in sediment grabs. There were a few areas that seem to have rocky outcrops or compacted sediments that the grab could not penetrate.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisENCI17q8u7IqoAQEJr4iDwhXbuqVXS4n5NtbhzqjVWxuzvehKdzJK_w9NhkKNdvptQnFKOFREY3xbWA4A2Q9yIDmO6IC0jaFvLM-c61hIURiVpbgKDW_x5JBMTLXxHb_78MzGMALgT0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisENCI17q8u7IqoAQEJr4iDwhXbuqVXS4n5NtbhzqjVWxuzvehKdzJK_w9NhkKNdvptQnFKOFREY3xbWA4A2Q9yIDmO6IC0jaFvLM-c61hIURiVpbgKDW_x5JBMTLXxHb_78MzGMALgT0/s320/1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The first couple of tries with the Ponar grab were quite successful! We got a healthy serving of sediments and other benthic organisms which were immediately placed in ziploc bags and kept in a secure place for future analysis.<br />
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If you want to get a taste of the lab research experience (with a hint of Island music in the background) simply click on this link: Enjoy!!!!!!!!<br />
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</div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-75174226773659274752010-10-06T14:49:00.000-07:002010-10-06T14:55:21.211-07:00Spectrophotometry –long name easy procedureOur first indoor lab assignment was conducted on September 13, 2010. The objective of this lab was to use the spectrophotometry technique to determine the phosphate concentrations for water samples collected from three different marine/aquatic environments. <br />
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Phosphate is an essential but limiting nutrient required for marine and aquatic plant/algae growth. Phosphate occurs naturally in the environment, usually in sediments and rocks. However, surface runoff (water) mainly caused by rainwater that is unable to infiltrate the soil, creates a way for phosphate as well as other nutrients to enter marine/aquatic systems. High concentrations of phosphate usually result in over-enrichment (eutrophication) of the marine/aquatic system, causing the phenomenon called algal blooms. These blooms use up so much oxygen that fish and others species die. However, when phosphate concentrations are low there is very little productivity (algal growth) and the environment is considered nutrient poor (oligotrophic). <br />
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In order to assess what phosphate concentrations may be associated with varying marine/aquatic environments, water samples for this assignment were collected from the following areas: 1) a brackish water creek surrounded by marshlands that flows along the backside of Savannah State University (SSU), 2) a phytoplankton tank that is a part of a controlled biofuel study being conducted by a fellow graduate student, and 3) the effluent (outflow) of a wastewater treatment plant that receives high mineral and nutrient loads.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40IobmAj1u2f8DCx1DAerj6m2GpDwpyFoR1hWbbUpeiB9pq-kM6FcPhH1OtfrV4nRJQVhYBwT77oAEE6MVHmkfFDGafgtpz33BRmPHh2StGR5vhF5G0vAMOdqmYmfv8U4pcengv7-0PU/s1600/DSC_0294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40IobmAj1u2f8DCx1DAerj6m2GpDwpyFoR1hWbbUpeiB9pq-kM6FcPhH1OtfrV4nRJQVhYBwT77oAEE6MVHmkfFDGafgtpz33BRmPHh2StGR5vhF5G0vAMOdqmYmfv8U4pcengv7-0PU/s320/DSC_0294.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting water sample from Phyto-tank</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonLsQfyL8vIrKN6h-IdDDASODlu3n3glye20goPofD9tNgfedJXdfiMjnJcPrWY-LNHtgesAvWTlSvC53XdUEEAp2V4b-SSN_7v7oC5j8ni38yqyYcFujikfjJZj-bna0DQ8afaz6np0/s1600/DSC_0288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonLsQfyL8vIrKN6h-IdDDASODlu3n3glye20goPofD9tNgfedJXdfiMjnJcPrWY-LNHtgesAvWTlSvC53XdUEEAp2V4b-SSN_7v7oC5j8ni38yqyYcFujikfjJZj-bna0DQ8afaz6np0/s200/DSC_0288.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Spectrophotometer</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The technique used to determine the phosphate concentrations for each water sample was called spectrophotometry. This technique utilizes light absorption to determine the concentration of particles in solution. The instrument used for this technique was the spectrophotometer: a very sensitive by precise apparatus. Our first step was to calibrate the spectrophotometer with 10, 15, 20, 30, 50 and 100 µL standards of a known phosphate concentration (50 mg L-1 PO43-), using the molybbdate blue complex phosphate determination. This determination tells us how much and how well light pastes through a sample, therefore, the amount of light absorbed by the sample is equal to its concentration. For analysis, this determination required preparing a concentrated mixed phosphate reagent and a color developing solution, which were placed in 1-cm cuvettes. 2 mL of each standard was placed in the 1 cm cuvettes and 250 µL of concentrated mixed phosphate reagent and 100 µL of the color developing solution was added.. Each standard was placed one at a time in the spectrophotometer, and the phosphate concentrations were recorded.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWFy8BLTC7WPZoZP8mcq7kWi7Ii77mL4CwCTmN7o0xPkQTviWP23U6sh7sZ2dGdCGDE6QsJNyTOd037-Gn7UyHRR7z3MPiZhOZdawERXd3TXVuDmPowRak3SJSz19AMBFMljbvyLmNEY/s200/DSC_0257.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuvettes containing water sample</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This completed our calibration process. Our next step was to prepare the water samples collected from the three different sites. The preparation technique for these samples was exactly the same as for the standards: 2 mL of each sample was placed in 1 cm cuvettes and 250 µL of concentrated mixed phosphate reagent and 100 µL of the color developing solution was added. Each water sample was placed one at a time in the spectrophotometer, and the phosphate concentrations were recorded. </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAj8W1wvwzIiRK1SX_S-f85IXsauhddeB6pGC7SveRv_VreRfU4zdO27FhvED8JtTg5XYjbpHWWnVsH_ndZAGcdbxVCDqUofUw5cy3X6eaGEaCQe3G1dUYtBW9oN8BPEHTDsp0lZv03kg/s1600/DSC_0301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAj8W1wvwzIiRK1SX_S-f85IXsauhddeB6pGC7SveRv_VreRfU4zdO27FhvED8JtTg5XYjbpHWWnVsH_ndZAGcdbxVCDqUofUw5cy3X6eaGEaCQe3G1dUYtBW9oN8BPEHTDsp0lZv03kg/s200/DSC_0301.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtney preparing samples for processing</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The phosphate concentration data collected from the standards was used to construct a calibration curve, and the phosphate concentration data collected from the water samples were compared to this calibration curve. The unit used to represent concentration was absorption (arb), because that the amount of light absorbed by the sample was a reflection of its concentration. The major finding was that that wastewater effluent had the greatest concentration of phosphate with 0.291 arb, followed by the estuary with 0.022 arb and the phyto tank with 0.004 arb. These observations could lead to the hypothesis that high phosphate concentration may be associated with high nutrient loads. Hence, the result from the water sample collected from the wastewater treatment plant was as expected; it had the highest levels of nutrients. While the photosynthetic activity occurring in the phytoplankton tank, which was full of algae using up the nutrients, may have resulted in it having the lowest phosphate concentration. </div><br />
<u>Water Sample Absorbance (Arb.)</u> <br />
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Macrotank (estuary) 0.022<br />
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Wastewater (effluent) 0.291<br />
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<u>Phyto tank 0.004___________<br />
</u>Results table showing the water samples arb ratios.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWFy8BLTC7WPZoZP8mcq7kWi7Ii77mL4CwCTmN7o0xPkQTviWP23U6sh7sZ2dGdCGDE6QsJNyTOd037-Gn7UyHRR7z3MPiZhOZdawERXd3TXVuDmPowRak3SJSz19AMBFMljbvyLmNEY/s1600/DSC_0257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-37034925349773448152010-09-10T06:37:00.000-07:002010-09-10T06:37:10.870-07:00Visiting the Oyster Restoration site at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography campusOn August 10th, 2010 the research methods class visited the oyster restoration site located on the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography campus. The site was recently restored with pallets of oyster material in April and July of 2010 and is being monitored for the amount of sediment that accumulates over time. Four areas labeled (1, 2, 3, and control) within the site were designated and markers were placed at three different locations off of the beach. These three transects were located near the water, near the shoreline, and in between. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our job was to measure the length of the markers at that specific time in all areas to determine if sediment is accumulating or eroding from the shore-line and using the measurements of previous months we can determine the sedimentation rate of the shore-line with or without the addition of the oysters. We also took 2 sediment core samples for each transect at the site so that we can examine the grain size distribution and the types of macroinvertebrate infauna that will be done at a later data. We placed all of our samples in Ziploc bags and when we arrived at the laboratory on campus we quickly placed our sediment samples in the freezer to preserve them and our macroinvertebrate samples in a mixture of formalin and rose Bengal in order to stain and preserve the living organisms that we want to identify. </div><br />
The sedimentation rate for the land had the highest average at 0.53 ± 0.03 cm/day while the control site on land was at 0.02 cm/day (Table 1). The sedimentation rate for the middle area averaged 0.48 ± 0.36 cm/day while the control site had zero sedimentation during the 64 day period. The site closest to the water had the lowest sedimentation rate of 0.21 ± 0.32 cm/day while the control site had eroded at a rate of -0.04 cm/day. It is apparent that the sedimentation rate of the restored site is increasing compared to the control.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMJgxnM_EpJBbWHQUiFV0qSZjgSkTDa4pgVeZn1rMh-0YY7EpcGrqs0-ZTYfMjdcma6qsyQQAR9tnOcV9ns5dttTDtrghDNop5GqoS2YRt-WbogQGQ2UwFDNfHYzMnhfKUPRaJxf0CKs/s1600/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMJgxnM_EpJBbWHQUiFV0qSZjgSkTDa4pgVeZn1rMh-0YY7EpcGrqs0-ZTYfMjdcma6qsyQQAR9tnOcV9ns5dttTDtrghDNop5GqoS2YRt-WbogQGQ2UwFDNfHYzMnhfKUPRaJxf0CKs/s400/Picture1.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Table1: This table represents the sementation rates from July 19, 2010 to August 22, 2010 in three distinct areas of the site. The control site sedimentation rate is represented in red.<br />
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This is a photo taken of the oyster restoration site.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnlB35o07cJ5BCVhKI3bjUEbP-Fkw3qytyL29FJn0kgGLYk5wW8AAhQjW4vpm_g4_ulkSnrvMvU03Yh20q7QLGVdnDdLvI7uf_nmLmJc_WJrnaKcvLCzW0yqPqQesAM5Asmt5x48fyYo/s1600/New+Image4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnlB35o07cJ5BCVhKI3bjUEbP-Fkw3qytyL29FJn0kgGLYk5wW8AAhQjW4vpm_g4_ulkSnrvMvU03Yh20q7QLGVdnDdLvI7uf_nmLmJc_WJrnaKcvLCzW0yqPqQesAM5Asmt5x48fyYo/s320/New+Image4.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">These are the markers that we used to measure the depth of sediment.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigAWecT6fwmsKdIZQqI9kBudxNDKNt9z8tJpYsnYQ2WvqK0gmF8jH3xiZzpq1hvXGFblhXyLWiAQ8wipqxVT-i0YPE-GBeYn7oO6Agooop93CN0-JyL7BAGlAH6uJNcGab3EQaNiCFpNI/s1600/New+Image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigAWecT6fwmsKdIZQqI9kBudxNDKNt9z8tJpYsnYQ2WvqK0gmF8jH3xiZzpq1hvXGFblhXyLWiAQ8wipqxVT-i0YPE-GBeYn7oO6Agooop93CN0-JyL7BAGlAH6uJNcGab3EQaNiCFpNI/s320/New+Image.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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The sediment tubes that were used to captured the sediment near the depth markers.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXcRysE-x6R6sJ7bhyN1rV5fD7kJ3HExnPEkHmZyXGJPR25klK4MyltXWY8zLfT97E9vmxt_y4mDjw3ZQZnZq5dPPfLWdkgUKjTyVO6SrQky4eE7QWf0kgmOAnTajiOWwEh61yl5Pyms/s1600/New+Image3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXcRysE-x6R6sJ7bhyN1rV5fD7kJ3HExnPEkHmZyXGJPR25klK4MyltXWY8zLfT97E9vmxt_y4mDjw3ZQZnZq5dPPfLWdkgUKjTyVO6SrQky4eE7QWf0kgmOAnTajiOWwEh61yl5Pyms/s200/New+Image3.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The red liquid used was rose Bengal to preserve our sediment samples in the laboratory.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXY8dD9rH6VFXAdOhAoAjau_B2OhMQUSk8ZN05WrtxGhqnmSGKFoX5oqkXL7I0AXtKDIltmMrwzMO5WXGxaa46HVURkxVJYmQeJdKxrXhKxhMQa0-8LnecAtcFMaLperK_8dJjsMQYjaQ/s1600/New+Image5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXY8dD9rH6VFXAdOhAoAjau_B2OhMQUSk8ZN05WrtxGhqnmSGKFoX5oqkXL7I0AXtKDIltmMrwzMO5WXGxaa46HVURkxVJYmQeJdKxrXhKxhMQa0-8LnecAtcFMaLperK_8dJjsMQYjaQ/s320/New+Image5.JPG" /></a></div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-70893142326337474312010-08-16T07:16:00.000-07:002010-08-16T07:19:55.284-07:00A New Year, A New ClassThe new semester is underway at Savannah State and today is the first day of Research Methods in Marine Ecology. Throughout the semester, the students and I will be discussing our class activities in the field and lab and reporting what we learn.SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-16096979111029384452009-10-24T07:34:00.000-07:002009-10-24T08:13:31.767-07:00Sediment plates and Long-term data!by CJ Carroll <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqSCoEfc_69HTh1Zs7S13YilpeIkaJfaxGyJnvXh9P9hFgmYLy_sDtBFHc_I4jiFsWNSTKX9Hg5AoHzmXVWPoQ7uDjvfWrqMTLq73lkwrzNXcST9pSQTciY2SyvvAUuJYEWj8wg6xH-A/s1600-h/deploying_plates.JPG"></a><br /><br />This blog summarizes the past two activities completed by the Research Methods in Marine Ecology class.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoD7_tYM25Y7ZKCIXu66gks7s7QaIC2_hsypPn4Q1d_6GG8wA5kOyzYAdCDy95m1Zo9Jd_Rx_vtvKttnUYvrZTWImJ3GBW2DUoe7dHhY0y80kcEgfztoWTZjdu5oVFe9ga91n4LCuZiUk/s1600-h/deploying_plates.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396178764824579154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoD7_tYM25Y7ZKCIXu66gks7s7QaIC2_hsypPn4Q1d_6GG8wA5kOyzYAdCDy95m1Zo9Jd_Rx_vtvKttnUYvrZTWImJ3GBW2DUoe7dHhY0y80kcEgfztoWTZjdu5oVFe9ga91n4LCuZiUk/s200/deploying_plates.JPG" /></a>On October 6, 2009, we collected and analyzed sediment plates that were submerged in the creek behind SSU for about 6 weeks. This was completed to determine what organisms would settle and grow on the plates. Also, pairs of plates were set at different levels in the water column to determine if different things settle in different areas. The three areas in the water column were the surface, the middle of the water column, and the lower intertidal area. After six-weeks on being in the water the sediment plates were pulled up with the aid of a net to capture any vagile organisms (opposite of seesile organisms) that are hanging on to the plates. If organisms were large enough to distinguish individuals or individual colonies with the naked eye, then the individuals and colonies were counted. For organisms that were not large enough to see with the naked eye the percent of composition on the plate was determined. All six plates were analyzed at the dock, photos taken and then plates clean.<br />The surface sediment plates were dominated by sea squirts, different types of algae, and mobile invertebrates (e.g. crabs and shrimp). The middle of the water column plates contained different types of algae, shrimp, and crabs, but not in the levels seen at the surface. Also, bryozoan colonies and titan acorn barnacles were found in the middle of the water column. The lower intertidal plates were either a muddy slime or mostly empty. A little bit of green filamentous algae, titan acorn barnacles, and bivalves were also found. Diversity was calculated for each area using the Shannon-Wiener Biological Diversity Index, which measures on a 5 point scale with 5 being diverse and 1 not diverse. The lower intertidal area was the least diverse with an index of 0.91 and the middle of the water column was the most diverse with an index of 1.53.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRTCmxvjuI189CgjkNHMJAbtQbklM15q87HRraFAzSscj-1cxUVTy-CjbnXJkEq-tpiuHky_w9OHOCduDmfHdUo205Vft7n0h0amv8ICRD7OgSJC0p7xy-lWfZcQjNNh7VA2wXK15fKI/s1600-h/surface.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396180653730845986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRTCmxvjuI189CgjkNHMJAbtQbklM15q87HRraFAzSscj-1cxUVTy-CjbnXJkEq-tpiuHky_w9OHOCduDmfHdUo205Vft7n0h0amv8ICRD7OgSJC0p7xy-lWfZcQjNNh7VA2wXK15fKI/s200/surface.JPG" /></a><br />This is a photo of one of the surface plates covered in green filamentous algae, sea squirts, and brown-green algae.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgif4GG4QVPEc7EIJC0vInxJzdylmjAGJMlp07siWtvBqW6ZIPRbJPbKK0-csyggHfxPBSeZW50zmfJdGghI8OiSBMgXca4sb521x-4VLFK5EfeL8qyLjyKu_e4PO88csT0wPPLjoYrON0/s1600-h/mid_1.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396182372261641890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgif4GG4QVPEc7EIJC0vInxJzdylmjAGJMlp07siWtvBqW6ZIPRbJPbKK0-csyggHfxPBSeZW50zmfJdGghI8OiSBMgXca4sb521x-4VLFK5EfeL8qyLjyKu_e4PO88csT0wPPLjoYrON0/s200/mid_1.JPG" /></a><br />This is a photo of one of the plates that was lowered into the middle of the water column. It is covered in brown algae, brown filamentous algae and bryozoan colonies.<br /><br /><br />On October 13, 2009, we downloaded long term data from the National Data Buoy Center’s website. The data was downloaded from the 2008 Standard Meteorological Data and provides information about offshore conditions. The erroneous data was deleted and the wind speed and wave height separated. Averages and standard deviations of both categorized and graphed. When comparing the two graphs over one another, a clear trend presents itself. As the wind speed decreases, the wave height decreases. As the wind speed increases, the wave height increases. This correlation leads to the hypothesis that the wind speed has an effect on the wave height.SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-16286266595198540432009-10-05T17:22:00.000-07:002009-10-06T13:23:02.712-07:00Sediment sampling<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYw16HhH17fsEMpQV8ZM8fqMm9Vrh8caNdquv_BwsDiO5TQd-POD8h4XuptDmxDUKDKKzgHTJy5domn_pOqfpePCpPZtUDqriMlkg2NX2fytQ-Dgu6FiCWT_9RcHR5Tv_gxmQ0oj42OU/s1600-h/S6300178%5B1%5D.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389312329136361586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYw16HhH17fsEMpQV8ZM8fqMm9Vrh8caNdquv_BwsDiO5TQd-POD8h4XuptDmxDUKDKKzgHTJy5domn_pOqfpePCpPZtUDqriMlkg2NX2fytQ-Dgu6FiCWT_9RcHR5Tv_gxmQ0oj42OU/s200/S6300178%5B1%5D.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Written by Dana Davis<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br />On September 29, 2009, our class went into the marsh at low tide behind Savannah State University's marine science building and collected sediment samples. Push corers were used to collect sediment from 5 different sites. The push corers used were clear, hard plastic tubes that opened on each end, similar to a paper towel roll. By pressing the push corer straight into the ground until sediments reached a marked line of 10 cm, the sediments were collected with little disturbance of the environment. The sample sites began at the outer edge of the marsh and continued towards the creek at intervals of about 3-5 m apart. Next, the sediment samples were taken back to the lab to be sieved and weighed. A sieve consists of several plates with different sizes of mesh in between in order to separate the different sized sediment particles. For each sample, the sediment was placed on the top of a sieve beginning with 500 micrometers, then 250, 125, and ending <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHQYTNKY-2BFizG9dqEc0T9isGE4jpwJ4C-Lwct8AvhDSUddnLxcKEsp2JbB-RyNpL3OfcOVyjgYqjf1QB5be4fPbX1YM_A4i0yQHss5xihp_-UnsNcb9q0bo_p_nzPyn2-gaFcGDiBU/s1600-h/S6300180%5B1%5D.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389312656565864162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHQYTNKY-2BFizG9dqEc0T9isGE4jpwJ4C-Lwct8AvhDSUddnLxcKEsp2JbB-RyNpL3OfcOVyjgYqjf1QB5be4fPbX1YM_A4i0yQHss5xihp_-UnsNcb9q0bo_p_nzPyn2-gaFcGDiBU/s200/S6300180%5B1%5D.JPG" /></a>with 63 micrometers. Tap water was used to help transfer the sediment through to each plate. This was a time-consuming task, and 4 of the 5 samples were separated out. Next, the sediments were placed into the dryer on pre-measured tins for 24-48 hrs. The sediments were then re-measured when completely dry. </div><div><br />The 500 micrometer sieve was not included in further calculations due to the large amounts of plant matter, debris, and rocks in all samples. The largest percent of sediment for all 4 samples was deposited in the 125 micrometer sieve consisting of fine sand. For sites 1 and 3, the samples collected farthest from the creek, the majority of sediment was composed of fine sand particles followed by medium sand particles. Sites 4 and 5 were collected closer to the creek and were comprised of mostly fine sand particles with very fine sand being the next abundant sediment. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 152px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389318945990810834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vCiLmZEKDq_vKya_3JtcxrUpoxBxu3rwOZr8TWIY1nBOA93UXRrGdfToqlcskraba9uASTT_Lael-xp3SQtyhfL1fpPwWqBfRd2rCe6HP4dyxrxOqc1mExlwfJ6y5U0BO_v3F8x_N3M/s200/S6300181%5B1%5D.JPG" />The picture above shows a sediment sample after sieving and drying. The top left is the 500 micrometer collection then going clockwise to the 250, 125, and 63 micrometer samples. </div><div></div><div></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 201px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389584267533571506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozdmSUjw5-d17ZcZ4BGO7naPiyJ6rWrhHQ0VOJB-Ep8FkMD3Uu61Kj7_nMikPACLc2SNSUioiTYjBsDjwqsRmbX2Rukkm6PDkCljYNaZ4Io2D0kWQPhG3qA6blX_omcYdBk1zR8Fmrn8/s200/New+Picture.png" />The figure above shows the percentage of different sized sediments (250, 125, and 63 micrometers) for each site.</div><div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-18555674399677223902009-09-20T12:49:00.000-07:002009-09-22T14:46:46.511-07:00Periwinkle snail: effects on plant biomass<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZRE2mb89CEmibaFfirUTc1B0mKgyYru1DGfuTLJ5XgKpCCSngojyyIBjOupm0QoyoKZONs71WETfHvfARo5tHmXYjBDCkBjICDMUfo35AvY4DfoN7E9M3D4VygoDw-uL8KbY2miWhIQ/s1600-h/opening+cages.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383904248807494482" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZRE2mb89CEmibaFfirUTc1B0mKgyYru1DGfuTLJ5XgKpCCSngojyyIBjOupm0QoyoKZONs71WETfHvfARo5tHmXYjBDCkBjICDMUfo35AvY4DfoN7E9M3D4VygoDw-uL8KbY2miWhIQ/s200/opening+cages.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Written by Donna McDowell</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><div style="text-align: left;">On the 22nd of September, it had been two weeks since the cageing experiment of periwinkle snail <span style="font-style: italic;">Littoraria irrorata</span> on saltmarsh cordgrass <span style="font-style: italic;">Spartina alterniflora</span> was initiated. Today was the day for the class to go outside and record the findings of the experiment. The weather was great and all were happy to be in the field. Students went out to untie the tops of the cages and unveil the findings.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once cages were opened the teams then had to count the number of snails, measure height (mm) of 5 plants within each experiment, count radulations per plant, and assess % damage. The three densities of snails in the experiments were: 13, 600, and 1200. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTHtqFlUAOEkNZdH66KMNgizrEVmwPQQY0umTzPSJxLKHdeilKHbye5SkZto2gwWaqQ97JRgYWgpQ2vJn4aRviI151c4LLh4ykIvOkbE1NBLvVUHrn-eZl-1QlLp1_E4AD0sT9c7IMd0/s1600-h/snails+in+high+density-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383644249298760642" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 111px; cursor: pointer; height: 151px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTHtqFlUAOEkNZdH66KMNgizrEVmwPQQY0umTzPSJxLKHdeilKHbye5SkZto2gwWaqQ97JRgYWgpQ2vJn4aRviI151c4LLh4ykIvOkbE1NBLvVUHrn-eZl-1QlLp1_E4AD0sT9c7IMd0/s200/snails+in+high+density-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>Sometimes within the experiments there were unfortunate victims. We found dead shrimp, fiddler crabs, and a mummichog. After all the data was collected the snails were returned to the marsh to live their happy fungi-eating lives.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRVi5UG-NXZyO8bfXfIXmBNGS-FNN1fsPVCljcmFva2_6oZHj3aPhPab1hsnPly2IIyXYTlvhMCuR9eAm_3JVoRPxuTkjlq2KkOt_n2EpqfEokW_CvcKgneiVCmAY2T7EwzfsEOq1P3s/s1600-h/mummichog-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383646086743517922" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 157px; cursor: pointer; height: 92px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRVi5UG-NXZyO8bfXfIXmBNGS-FNN1fsPVCljcmFva2_6oZHj3aPhPab1hsnPly2IIyXYTlvhMCuR9eAm_3JVoRPxuTkjlq2KkOt_n2EpqfEokW_CvcKgneiVCmAY2T7EwzfsEOq1P3s/s200/mummichog-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The mean plant height was highest for the medium treatment, second for high, and third for lowest. Also, the mean number of radulations was greater for the medium treatment, 19.2, than the high treatment, 8.8, probably due to more marshgrass being alive to count the radulations. The percentage damage, of course, was greatest for the high treatment, 82%, and lowest for the low treatment, 2%. </div><div><br />Click on figures to view large version<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZnoVVFD98nmENUJcLQ-SXz36oITWmXMr04rcVIU_ukQHbOdwq7WMWv5_VXAj94dBJVL7SyzEKfWp0glS_UDFOfi53UMIbZIp3gQ0K_8zbRnIvjCO_qHxWUP0bzt0bMTY9nxKBVpjUis/s1600-h/snail_table1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383927337186744562" style="width: 243px; height: 120px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZnoVVFD98nmENUJcLQ-SXz36oITWmXMr04rcVIU_ukQHbOdwq7WMWv5_VXAj94dBJVL7SyzEKfWp0glS_UDFOfi53UMIbZIp3gQ0K_8zbRnIvjCO_qHxWUP0bzt0bMTY9nxKBVpjUis/s200/snail_table1.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5wxXODysMbsI2aorWNTQxByJzMy4rPBRk88t_iU0U1Ic3unexd7p5xCnc14Gooxun_gDWHFOzSh3BubXR_LugCVCgjiST8NI22BZDn9Ta9NKn9mYLlA69V95VzDDajgPcsJs27ONE-Q/s1600-h/snail_table2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383927632203446082" style="width: 240px; height: 119px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5wxXODysMbsI2aorWNTQxByJzMy4rPBRk88t_iU0U1Ic3unexd7p5xCnc14Gooxun_gDWHFOzSh3BubXR_LugCVCgjiST8NI22BZDn9Ta9NKn9mYLlA69V95VzDDajgPcsJs27ONE-Q/s200/snail_table2.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H0dwvE6weEUb97xPtbMCv8BxMZk7A1CzCKbBQXffNrkgbUu3KD3h3n1h0gLsiTYOznMHx2fFZkmQE1TXYJNYbfhb7i-sZXCiDPrz6BS5BunxZ6Kk90WpVxjsbrlXhdoO6t4SWn39_hI/s1600-h/snail_table3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383927948137041266" style="width: 241px; height: 125px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H0dwvE6weEUb97xPtbMCv8BxMZk7A1CzCKbBQXffNrkgbUu3KD3h3n1h0gLsiTYOznMHx2fFZkmQE1TXYJNYbfhb7i-sZXCiDPrz6BS5BunxZ6Kk90WpVxjsbrlXhdoO6t4SWn39_hI/s200/snail_table3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-32296220920557303632009-09-15T15:08:00.000-07:002009-09-16T15:04:13.447-07:00The waters are teeming with plankton!Written by Amber Wilkinson<br /><br />This week, September 8, we looked at plankton in the water column 0.5 um and larger. Before conducting two plankton tows we discussed diel vertical migration and larval transport. Diel vertical migration is a behavioral pattern in which organisms come up to the surface at night and down during the day. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGsWXf90k70V5XSF_pnUvM2ScXxTPwIl5ZIoX856GTMjGfxWMt0elwstAJI0E09-tmq3ppxO_rYyxxUEL1k7cxfQvlmAfVfblRZ3dpLyuAETX8KIvIH6L-pGqmfIhKRmVTcuhzyp3Da0/s1600-h/nets.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGsWXf90k70V5XSF_pnUvM2ScXxTPwIl5ZIoX856GTMjGfxWMt0elwstAJI0E09-tmq3ppxO_rYyxxUEL1k7cxfQvlmAfVfblRZ3dpLyuAETX8KIvIH6L-pGqmfIhKRmVTcuhzyp3Da0/s200/nets.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382188266330853650" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The collection method was new to me. Plankton tows I have done in the past were off the side of docks and boats that are in neutral. This method used a bongo net which consisted of two plankton nets side by side resembling bongo drums. The bongo layout allows for replicate samples for each tow. Tows were conducted for 5 minutes. Tow 1 sampled the top meter of the water, and tow 2 sampled the entire water column (an oblique tow). The boat speed for our plankton tow was 2 knots. We sampled against the current and in the wake of the boat. If you want to measure the volume of water sampled, it is not recommended to sample in the wake of the boat because the prop creates turbulence, disrupting the sample area.<br /><br />After a 5 minute tow, the net was rinsed in the water by holding the net’s ring and dipping the net in the water vertically 2-3 times to get most of the sample down in the cod end. The cod end is the end of the net wh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI39gSaPD_fIbIWNKSBP59T7pvw-CL6LP0oU0V9zJi-f07PlLiprjUeUZlFplK5niAS9IfORf-xAECvYftDxGPd2QXRr2aSQWyTrcI2dDC47C0i0UeD7l60Xm1L4ce6KPDBeURbhfRbFQ/s1600-h/sieve.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI39gSaPD_fIbIWNKSBP59T7pvw-CL6LP0oU0V9zJi-f07PlLiprjUeUZlFplK5niAS9IfORf-xAECvYftDxGPd2QXRr2aSQWyTrcI2dDC47C0i0UeD7l60Xm1L4ce6KPDBeURbhfRbFQ/s200/sieve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382188987046082162" border="0" /></a>ere the sample collects. Our nets have mesh openings in the cod end to allow for more water flow. Before conducting another tow, the net was rinsed for 30 seconds in the water without the cod end to minimize contamination between samples.<br /><br />To keep a lot of water out of our sample jars (more condensed samples) the contents from the cod end can be rinsed into a sieve than from there into the sample jars. For the purpose of our class, we looked at our samples in Pyrex dishes (9x13in). <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmeKGA0tJnxiULdSbXMP-t3qLMvBzJ-RKK8t7Iri9s9uNUmQa1lxi5r78psyG-F9fwaBzkvUlCMc_E9PIzSF7kx2e7Cmgbm8CsEIWnZLTlnIe4cw9TqTnqUrEspQu40Hq3AVWyYVx1-0/s1600-h/scope.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmeKGA0tJnxiULdSbXMP-t3qLMvBzJ-RKK8t7Iri9s9uNUmQa1lxi5r78psyG-F9fwaBzkvUlCMc_E9PIzSF7kx2e7Cmgbm8CsEIWnZLTlnIe4cw9TqTnqUrEspQu40Hq3AVWyYVx1-0/s200/scope.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382188260343444834" border="0" /></a><br />Back in the lab, we observed the samples under dissecting microscopes. The diversity amazed us, there were fewer species near the top. The surface tow contained crab larvae and a skeleton shrimp. An interesting observation was that the crab larvae followed the light from the microscope when we were looking at the different species in the petri dishes. This may suggest why we found so many crab larvae near the surface. Also, there was greater diversity throughout the water column. Juvenile shrimp, mature smaller shrimp, larval fishes, parasitic isopods, crab larvae, and a lot of plant matter were in the oblique tow.SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-12927963920863413352009-09-08T05:45:00.000-07:002009-09-15T20:22:44.172-07:00Community Dynamics and SettlementTop-down regulation of Spartina alterniflora (saltmarsh cordgrass) by the periwinkle snail<br />September 1, 2009<br />Written by Kelli L. Edwards<br />The salt marsh community is regulated by a trophic cascade. Although some communities are typically structured in a pyramid, some consist of an inverted pyramid. These inverted pyramids are most likely to be associated with pristine aquatic communities, where there are much larger animals and fewer trophic levels. Despite the differences, each trophic cascade consists of the primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and so on.<br /><br />Each one of these trophic cascades is regulated by either top-down regulation or bottom-up regulation or both. Top-down control is determined by how many predators or consumers are present, while bottom-up control is determined by how many resources are present (Silliman and Bertness, 2002). Plant biomass is greatly controlled by predators and their feeding ativities. Beyond other environmental factors such as nutrient availitiblity and salinity, top-down control may be a key determinant of marsh grass growth.<br /><br />In a 2002 paper, Silliman and Bertness investigated the effect of top-down regulation with the periwinkle snail <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Littoraria irrorata</span>.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5UBJTcH4TCGQiYSB1IwdYXUi3Bcn2sFMHAhfAnPkMchyphenhyphenG-LkTuRPEkfqtEZLy0bzLpidVQzhUdrPyau1SNisIu24nCJn-QhhBHYxCpxpn_ibxwq_FQE72B94o1iVCyj0oLb4-8gBR48/s1600-h/Periwinkle+snail+on+Spartina.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 167px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379097541028066322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5UBJTcH4TCGQiYSB1IwdYXUi3Bcn2sFMHAhfAnPkMchyphenhyphenG-LkTuRPEkfqtEZLy0bzLpidVQzhUdrPyau1SNisIu24nCJn-QhhBHYxCpxpn_ibxwq_FQE72B94o1iVCyj0oLb4-8gBR48/s200/Periwinkle+snail+on+Spartina.jpg" /></a> This snail feeds on a fungus which grows on the <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Spartina</span> grass. With enough snails, they can devour a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Spartina</span> population. The periwinkle snail does have natural predators which help to indirectly regulate the consumption of <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Spartina</span>.<br />For our class activity we investigated the principle of top-down regulation. We are to assess the effects of density-dependent snail grazing on <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Spartina</span> grass growth by maintaining constant snail densities in isolated cages. <img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7D5XSlMiagvU4Na0QtlE0w-x_Xg-SB37CEXrzSuy76THaW4Lde4-eYvJGmuMw9q0x0o1r8hBNkhNdEjQmJ9igy9XqDNE4AsKz4AhpZH_hMySEcuOK6j37QOY5um2IlEkK5evSGOha4Q/s200/P9010721.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381896852885815714" />Snails were put into cages at low (13 per meter square), medium (600 per meter square) and high (1200 per meter square) densities. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOdLfVc1LhPJC1f8Gxln1LtuoUevjXYbFjeF_S36S_P0MWndjVWa6BozZakAfvXszozkY00P6bNbNyLjzKYenTDAanvXmBjItRUKnx_MQnnzvn4zTGOCyRBW0fJdYoHCntN1qMHE5OkY/s1600-h/P9010721.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOdLfVc1LhPJC1f8Gxln1LtuoUevjXYbFjeF_S36S_P0MWndjVWa6BozZakAfvXszozkY00P6bNbNyLjzKYenTDAanvXmBjItRUKnx_MQnnzvn4zTGOCyRBW0fJdYoHCntN1qMHE5OkY/s1600-h/P9010721.JPG"></a>Over the course of the next 2 weeks, we will monitor the growth and consumption of <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Spartina alterniflora</span>.<div><br /></div><div>Low density:<div><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTKx21QV8z_0L90d_iXa_V7heGprDU_AldUScco7Y0kEu-MzdvJxNmS1C2ZHYRaa2I7I8XNR9-1ai9gDOtfkR9A5serSYXWXyVE-S9JT-hfwLs62F4nna4p-ZLeVkd_3O3Cp8h1JnUww/s200/P9010718.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381898377840314866" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Medium density:</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqctPAQI2I2aQ_GIloAURIKAT0GghS3zw21NbQtNtjFzSrYo1kmuUQPiFfQthNDwq1XlSAYTbKXDsNwQzn7Zjij7BU5HpdVKQW9jaD672cbR8GQxFB7xKNYtHkP_q44VEsN62t7Kt3XRU/s200/P9010719.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381898387949720146" /><div><br /></div><div>High density:</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gJFe2YA8Q1UC5fPKPFBbQnNF6GEiEPHpkyGVSXzfMapiKFP0vNJJRH7Ks5O5MW8VHzts3b_dy-BU7XoN1pZzcSQBqxcWLl-HmCXnoJ-MAcAQk65nguE1qb4uMnTfzQUIvSvLQdoKgiU/s200/P9010723.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381898402190752930" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-4671277312283562992009-08-30T21:17:00.000-07:002009-09-08T07:29:33.836-07:00Estuarine Transect<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc5dOsM88AgeFZbdPN35XthMXhZE8K_vWBSJUmbjM45Rhtv4cl_WPZCDfpqu6-1Z_N0iqCcGbzPdBvw_0KpT-GkuLxCKLp8ixXo2WV7LxidfCNsY9ujTXSeG8Xp_9f2hCvO70k9pgEJk/s1600-h/Creek+Bank.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376504270008884882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc5dOsM88AgeFZbdPN35XthMXhZE8K_vWBSJUmbjM45Rhtv4cl_WPZCDfpqu6-1Z_N0iqCcGbzPdBvw_0KpT-GkuLxCKLp8ixXo2WV7LxidfCNsY9ujTXSeG8Xp_9f2hCvO70k9pgEJk/s200/Creek+Bank.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />August 8, 2009<br />Written by Kelli L. Edwards<br /><br />We began our afternoon setting sail from the Savannah State University dock, located at Country Club creek with the bright hopes and aspirations of completing one successful estuarine transect. After much confusion with boating troubles, we launched out into the water on the Pontoon. Although much older than the Tiger II and the Sea Otter, the Pontoon, playfully re-named the Pelican, the Pontoon made for a rather pleasant ride. The purpose of this sail was to combine the useful knowledge we just obtained about changing salinity with hands-<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8Up5EIQZozoPHSpC6ksDM_2hLin1iAnEM0ucaDiL7nAD40kWYollmPi2iwpCJJMJ2MR_63QwK4-nvJKhM8uMe-fsIgNoPYmx2fxggPmxQAhSfpCPOSOkxVBTy0Kq5IMBkL5DQqXYYgw/s1600-h/CTD.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376502531128999058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8Up5EIQZozoPHSpC6ksDM_2hLin1iAnEM0ucaDiL7nAD40kWYollmPi2iwpCJJMJ2MR_63QwK4-nvJKhM8uMe-fsIgNoPYmx2fxggPmxQAhSfpCPOSOkxVBTy0Kq5IMBkL5DQqXYYgw/s200/CTD.JPG" border="0" /></a>on-experience using the CTD.<br /><br />This handy gadget is approximately 40lbs according to estimation and is deployed off the deck of any seaworthy vessel. Most CTD's record salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and depth. Each student was given their own specific detailed activity. CJ recorded location using the GPS and kept track of depth, Amber helped Dr. Ogburn with deployement and retreival, Dana helped with GPS monitoring along with CJ, and Donna was our personal photographer and navigator. With myself, "Captain Kelli" guiding us along the waterway, our class successfully reached 4 stations, with the farthest located in the Wilmington River.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGjRBow-9_HW-qkwJszfy0dx3Z3jlf8StfIBXL_TCKYOhCfyJixmizwnzXAAixHoaIgTLtFVEc5RFTNQMcVnvYV-Mo5N3Oyj8bPBJyADHJ1S8MN_ZPTj9daXuNr5vPpmXVwKpikwAePM/s1600-h/Dr.+Ogburn,+CTD+Launch.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375993719713136690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGjRBow-9_HW-qkwJszfy0dx3Z3jlf8StfIBXL_TCKYOhCfyJixmizwnzXAAixHoaIgTLtFVEc5RFTNQMcVnvYV-Mo5N3Oyj8bPBJyADHJ1S8MN_ZPTj9daXuNr5vPpmXVwKpikwAePM/s200/Dr.+Ogburn,+CTD+Launch.JPG" border="0" /></a>Dr. Ogburn carefully instructed each student on the launching of the CTD. This device must be regarded with much care because of its sensitive nature.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0ubmKa0crY36FUtL1U1wbQQz1xE6gHWg_Z5NOnEvN1hbPxSyOI4LdAiXVOivCeZY0cKYJYzSm5A3v95GjXT0RjYf-02JaTf0u_tx4sFDoeEb0GfZTnJ6zDp5xySZZPP-jpaHfLzcpt4/s1600-h/Amber+and+Dr.+O.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376503281921140562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0ubmKa0crY36FUtL1U1wbQQz1xE6gHWg_Z5NOnEvN1hbPxSyOI4LdAiXVOivCeZY0cKYJYzSm5A3v95GjXT0RjYf-02JaTf0u_tx4sFDoeEb0GfZTnJ6zDp5xySZZPP-jpaHfLzcpt4/s200/Amber+and+Dr.+O.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFHCOJ10oHLkhaagdjYrV4lDr97eGogI0CIFGSX5VkfZlOvgIsUYg61x0Az3JG2v7K4ZuSxvVSy1O1XamBV3Sp9-6t6A7D5r88MgZHjqnTFzFj3kKPxVJCxgdTmanVCwaOBz9NfRk1AI/s1600-h/Learning.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376003469701158338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFHCOJ10oHLkhaagdjYrV4lDr97eGogI0CIFGSX5VkfZlOvgIsUYg61x0Az3JG2v7K4ZuSxvVSy1O1XamBV3Sp9-6t6A7D5r88MgZHjqnTFzFj3kKPxVJCxgdTmanVCwaOBz9NfRk1AI/s200/Learning.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBpM8huI0-qmn9hNpe0Vn165AluVSvZVeYBzgkhlVB5LektW5IfueOf6p5jSUlth6qw_2RBT5aqkLMxakcCnt7ZLz0K_lhaksyXZCEX-dDvu-Xg_fueX7zwZKMd_17LzqeP0ybNqEy2E/s1600-h/Captain+Kelli+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376001969939672018" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBpM8huI0-qmn9hNpe0Vn165AluVSvZVeYBzgkhlVB5LektW5IfueOf6p5jSUlth6qw_2RBT5aqkLMxakcCnt7ZLz0K_lhaksyXZCEX-dDvu-Xg_fueX7zwZKMd_17LzqeP0ybNqEy2E/s200/Captain+Kelli+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />For my portion of our study, I looked at the changees in salinity with depth and location as we moved along our transect.<br />Salinity ranged from 29.2-31.3. According to the data collected, there is not much change in salinity with respect to depth. For our first location in the Wilmington river, the greatest depth (10.356m) and the lowest depth (0.824) varied little when it came to salinity(31.3 and 31.1 respectively). Salinity typically changes in response to depth when the water column is well stratified. With our waterways being both partially mixed and well mixed because of our tidal system, the water column is pretty universal with respect to salinity. One of the most interesting points of this lesson is that salinity changes dramatically in response to freshwater runoff. According to Blanton et al., there can be rapid changes in salinity in response to freshwater input. Even more fascinating is the effect of climate on salinity. In months of dryer almost drought-like conditions, salinity is much higher than in times of heavy seasonal rains. Over the course of time there have been dramatic changes in salinity of coastal Georgia Waters. Considering our season of tropical storms and high freshwater discharge, one can expect continual lower salinity as compared to those years of drought.<span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"></span><br />Even vegetation changes in response to environmental fluctuation. In 2004, Higinbotham et al. found that vegetation is characteristically distributed along estuaries in response to the salinity gradient in the Altamaha and Satillia estuaries. Juncus (<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Juncus roemerianus and Spartina cynosuriodes</span>) was found in salinities ranging from 21-1, brackish marsh vegetation (<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">S. cynosuroides and S. alterniflora</span>) was found in salinities ranging fom 15-1, and vegetation catagorized as freshmarsh was found upstream at salinitieis less than or equal to 1.<br /><br />Overall, this day was extremely successful in understanding the various changes that waterways undergo in response to environmental fluctuation.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiTgdMY4MCH0K8o6eWyeRO8rL3BlaNo54fjQbu6fkiXAefIgMbTtUUMBRbFjJRSSTbxudzFL8QxS-Cw3AELU2C0doisa7uE6ro6m_AVoa7lS5hScmCbMFPVTLluqj-Jdx5NS0TBZnwGU/s1600-h/Dr.+Ogburn,+Deployment.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376002588231392834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiTgdMY4MCH0K8o6eWyeRO8rL3BlaNo54fjQbu6fkiXAefIgMbTtUUMBRbFjJRSSTbxudzFL8QxS-Cw3AELU2C0doisa7uE6ro6m_AVoa7lS5hScmCbMFPVTLluqj-Jdx5NS0TBZnwGU/s200/Dr.+Ogburn,+Deployment.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGz4Q06TfqtAHHlMwTWsd0EJ4VYtPqT3_zP1Lvf3-r8XPMGGb2xWmg3wvZa41tCjbThqqavKSkg6LB1u4FCMKWg_36daEB3rnMOpsW-Yg8amfB1KzNUkxkkZovfr4SLozkYYULevQLus/s1600-h/Smiles.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376001142944967330" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGz4Q06TfqtAHHlMwTWsd0EJ4VYtPqT3_zP1Lvf3-r8XPMGGb2xWmg3wvZa41tCjbThqqavKSkg6LB1u4FCMKWg_36daEB3rnMOpsW-Yg8amfB1KzNUkxkkZovfr4SLozkYYULevQLus/s200/Smiles.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-G0rYISnb-aYiMU1LqUTaj4bPPoh76752Mmvmx18lmaSKVmOJndRShUJwaTrAohHAG2l8_jZ37OM-2hAy2X-OVJ0iUUdOabHd61TbB2Mgun7BNm3Qcz-8o3DYJciwGEt-OSAjWudI7Q/s1600-h/CJ's+tongue.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376002283655878242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-G0rYISnb-aYiMU1LqUTaj4bPPoh76752Mmvmx18lmaSKVmOJndRShUJwaTrAohHAG2l8_jZ37OM-2hAy2X-OVJ0iUUdOabHd61TbB2Mgun7BNm3Qcz-8o3DYJciwGEt-OSAjWudI7Q/s200/CJ's+tongue.JPG" border="0" /></a>SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-78895892035284277712009-08-19T10:44:00.000-07:002009-08-19T11:40:52.241-07:009.18.09 - Where are we and what is the water like today?Written by Dr. Matt Ogburn<br /><br />Our first day started out the usual way, with introductions and a review of the syllabus. I gave an introductory lecture on the scientific method, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and water column properties. These properties include things like salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, light and others that describe the physical, chemical and biological conditions in the water. After my lecture, which hopefully didn't put too many of the students to sleep, we took a variety of equipment out to the Savannah State dock to measure some of these properties in Country Club Creek.<br /><br />Place is very important in science, so we attempted to compare the estimates of our location given by three identical (somewhat old) Garmin 12 GPS handheld receivers. Despite the fact that I tested them out before class, two of the three had low batteries and quit on us before getting a reading. After class, I changed the batteries and completed the comparison in the parking lot outside of my lab building. All three gave measurements within about 3 m of each other or within one parking space (see photo below in which each yellow pin indicates the position given by one GPS unit). The image was created using Google Earth.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371744013630411426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41G-1macNYhHS97xkFX0LWxJXJ40rP9Sf61fkDm3LHQbJ7ktK7TcOSsas5RAo-7DsVf0RUmalfmVwJC3J890RLsfH9RQaWZvZmdZT8yfggEj2MS-o617VcA-6CKqFO0JDhhb6Wgwg29M/s200/gps_comparison.png" border="0" /><br />One thing that is immediately obvious when you visit the Georgia coast is that our water isn't very clear. We used a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secchi_disk">Secchi disk </a>to measure turbidity (how cloudy the water is due to suspended particles) and were only able to see it to a depth of just over 1 ft. In clear water, a Secchi disk can be seen at depths of over 100 ft! We also measured salinity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen using a variety of instruments from simple <a href="http://www.indigo.com/Test-Strips/pH-test-strips.html">pH strips</a> and handheld <a href="http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product?storeId=10101&Pr=p_Product.CATENTRY_ID%3A2011796&productId=2011796&CustomerMemberID=ChMIocGP_aawnAIVR4XtCh2mXRovEAIYAg&CustomerMemberID=ChMIocGP_aawnAIVR4XtCh2mXRovEAIYAg&catalogId=10101&redir=k216836&redir=k216836">refractometers </a>to the workhorse <a href="https://www.ysi.com/portal/page/portal/YSI_Environmental/Products/Product_Family/Product?productID=WQS_85">YSI 85</a> and somewhat more capable <a href="https://www.ysi.com/portal/page/portal/YSI_Environmental/Products/Product_Family/Product?productID=WQS_556">YSI 556</a>. Not all of these instruments agreed on every measurement, highlighting my point during lecture that it is essential to make sure an instrument is properly calibrated before using it to collect data.<br /><br />Stay tuned for more pictures and future posts from the students...SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7647206247076394331.post-76580852130209116832009-08-19T10:27:00.000-07:002009-08-19T10:42:45.054-07:00WelcomeWritten by Dr. Matt Ogburn<br /><br />Thanks for tuning in to the blog for Research Methods in Marine Ecology Fall 2009 at Savannah State University. The class, made up of 5 Marine Science graduate students, will be exploring the waters and marshes around Savannah, GA while learning a variety of techniques marine ecologists use to study our coasts, estuaries and oceans. The students will be writing weekly updates and posting photos of our activities. Find out more about me at my <a href="http://web.me.com/mattogburn/Matt_Ogburn/Home.html">website </a>or check out my blog <a href="http://from-the-shore.blogspot.com/">From the Shore </a>on coastal and ocean science, policy, conservation and education. To learn more about undergraduate or graduate programs in Marine Sciences at Savannah State University check out the <a href="http://www.savannahstate.edu/scitech/scmath/html/marine/degree.html">program website</a> and <a href="http://www.ssufisheries.com/">NOAA Sponsored Programs at SSU</a>.SSU Research Methods Classhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01614008354211932526noreply@blogger.com0