Carmet Beach Trip on April 20, 2015

     After our early morning trip to Carmet Beach on April 20, 2015 I wanted to learn more about the species I know as the black turban snail. When I visit the tidepools I seem to regularly see these snails however on this particular trip I seemed to see a lot more of them. The snails were in groups of 5-10 in the pools of water left in the high-mid intertidal after the tide lowers so since the species stuck out to me I decided to find out a little more about them.

     The black turban snail goes by the scientific name Tegula funebralis and is an intertidal species. The shell of the snail, as it says in the name, is black however they are easy to identify because the black layer on the top of the shell is often worn down to a pearly white and even further to a reddish-orange as can be seen in this picture of one from Carmet Beach.

     The snails foot is also black in color and their shell can range anywhere up to 3 cm in length. The shell of the Tegula funebralis is made out of calcium and continues to grow with the snail throughout its lifetime. Because the shell is constantly growing with the snail, the snail must maintain a adequate level of calcium in its system. When a snail dies it will leave behind its shell and theses empty shells are often found in the intertidal to be inhabited by hermit crabs.

     The black turban snails have a range that stretches from the Vancouver Islands of British Columbia, Canada down into Baja California, Mexico. They live throughout the rocky intertidal in the mid intertidal and in tide pools. Typically the snail is only found in the outer coast and not in protected coasts like the Straight of Juan de Fuca or Puget Sound. An interesting fact is that they are often found in dense populations, so 5-10 snails like I witnessed is actually not a large group for them.

     The Tegula funebralis is a herbivorous algal grazer that tends to feed on soft, fleshy algae such as Macrosystis, Nereocystis, and Rhodoglossum and Gigartina. It will eat other algae such as Ralfsia if those types are not available. On the other hand the black turban snail is food mainly to the Pisaster sea star and some carnivorous snails. When the snail is being attacked by predators, it will detach and roll if it is on the side of a rock and attach to the shell of a predator  snail to escape being eaten.

References

http://www.centralcoastbiodiversity.org/black-turban-snail-bull-tegula-funebralis.html

http://nrs.ucop.edu/host/curricula/hermitcrabs.html

http://eol.org/pages/481567/details

http://biology.fullerton.edu/biol317/murray/fall97/tegula_snails.html

http://0-dx.doi.org.iii.sonoma.edu/10.1007/BF00397079

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/12738/C_funebralis.pdf?sequence=1

Trip to Bodega Head and Duncan’s Landing on April 16, 2015

          On April 16^th my marine ecology class took our third field trip and this time it was out to Bodega Head in Bodega Bay, CA. It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Bodega with clear sky’s and the sun shining bright so we all had a great time. When we first walked down to the beach I noticed that there was an extremely large number of by-the-wind sailor’s that had been washed up on the shore. I had seen the same species on the shore of Horseshoe Cove which is very close to Bodega Head but this was at least 100 times the number I had seen 2 weeks prior. At first I was confused because the wind was not even very strong so I was wondering why so many had been blown in and how many could possibly be still out there so I thought I would do some research into this species.

          The by-the-wind sailor’s are a species of hydrozoa called Velella velella and are related to the Portuguese man-of-war. This species in particular however does not have a strong enough sting to be felt by human touch. These Hydrozoa enjoy warmer waters so with the current warmer than average temperatures off the coast, they are thriving and moving in closer to the shore. With gentle winds the Velella velella tend to use their sail direction to move 45 degrees to the direction of the wind and keep them out at see but when the winds are too strong they loose control. Strong surface winds cause them to spin out of control and follow the path of the wind, which sends them, sailing into the shore.

            Apart from all of the unique animals that I found when searching through the intertidal and the mudflats I also found some marine plant life that really interested me. While walking on the shore of Duncan’s Landing, I found a piece of algae that appeared to be some type of macroalgae with another smaller algae attached to it’s large blade. After asking my professor, Dr. Shannon Lee, I found out that the large blade was a type of red algae known as Chondracanthus exasperatus, which is more commonly known as Turkish Towel. This type of macroalgae has a range that stretches from Baja California up the west coast of North America to Alaska. The color of the specie varies but above Point Conception in California, it is mostly brick red such as the one I discovered. As for the smaller algae that was growing off of the red algae; that required some more investigative work. After doing some research of red algae online I was able to narrow the smaller algae genus to Plocamium after determining it was apart of the division Rhodophyta. There are about 40 species of Plocamium so without further testing I could not determine exactly which species it is.

            It would be very interesting to be able to study the two algae and determine which type of symbiotic relationship they have. Since I only found the two species attached on the shore I cannot say weather it is mutualism, communalism, or parasitism without seeing how they behave in their environment but I would really like to know.

References

http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_27973071/wind-carries-blue-velella-onto-monterey-bay-beaches

http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/onlinepubs/g03004.pdf

http://www.weather.com/science/nature/news/velella-jellyfish-west-coast-wind

http://www.mbari.org/staff/conn/botany/reds/devon/home.htm

http://www.seasonsinthesea.com/mar/kelp.shtml

http://www.mbari.org/staff/conn/botany/reds/eric/PHYS.HTM

http://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=4937

Bodega Marine Lab Tour on March 26, 2015

     On March 26, 2015 our marine ecology class visited the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab (BML) in Bodega Bay, CA. Not only was this a great opportunity to learn about research opportunities available to California students but also to get insight into a research facility of my dream school. After graduating from Sonoma State, I hope to move on to attend veterinary school at UC Davis. It is the top veterinary school in the nation but with hard work I am hoping I can make the cut. While on the tour of BML, I asked our tour guide if there were any veterinary students doing research there since I have an interest in the marine field of veterinary science. I was surprised to learn that there actually are some students from the UC Davis Veterinary School that are working out at the BML researching salmon. After doing a little research on the internet, I was able to discover that there is a whole program of BML dedicated to the study of salmon so I thought that would be an appropriate topic to expand on.

     Salmon are a symbolic fish of the Pacific Northwest and the Pacific salmon have a strong reliance on high-quality freshwater and marine conditions in order for their survival. When the salmon population dropped to historic low levels, the researchers of BML took it upon themselves to research the salmon and try to reverse the declining rate. The team has studied “the winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Sacramento River and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) along the central California coast” which are both endangered according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Endangered and Threatened Marine Species under NMFS' Jurisdiction list (1, 2).

     The BML anadromous fish research facilities are home to the salmon research and have been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), NOAA Fisheries, and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) for work with endangered species. The facility has various sized tanks that include “state-of-the-art computer-monitored salt and fresh water flow-through systems” (3). These facilities are able to house the salmon in healthy, stable conditions while the researchers study them but because of an increase in the winter-run Chinook salmon, the BML had to stop their captive bloodstock program in 2004 and are currently have no research happening however between 1988 and 2005 the program has produced 200 publications on salmon ecology and research.

Although there is not any current research too look at within the last 10 years, NOAA produced a report in 2005, after declaring the coho salmon of the central California coast to be endangered, that is a final draft of the coho salmon recovery plan.

Figure From The NAOO Coho Salmon Recovery Plan

     The plan estimated that it could take 50 to 100 years and cost roughly $1.5 billion to recover the salmon California coho salmon but because of the economical benefits the salmon have brought to California throughout history it would be worth the cost. The overall goal of the plan is to prevent the extinction of and “ensure their long-term persistence towards a viable, self-sustaining, and eventually harvestable status”(4). Because the salmon levels are so extremely low and the factor of dealing with the both marine conditions as well as terrestrial conditions parallel to the river spawning locations the recovery is not an easy task but definitely a very important one. It is going to take a lot of work and research to determine how to bring back this population so anyone with a strong desire for fish and marine ecology should look into potentially researching this species.    

References

1. http://bml.ucdavis.edu/research/research-programs/ecology-evolution-conservation/salmon-research/

2. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/esa/listed.htm#fish

3. http://bml.ucdavis.edu/facilities/anadromous-fish-research-facilities/

4. http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/recovery_planning/salmon_steelhead/ domains/north_central_california_coast/central_california_coast_coho/ccc_coho_salmon_esu_recovery_plan_vol_i_sept_2012.pdf

California Academy of Sciences Field Trip on March 12, 2015

Going to the San Francisco based California Academy of Sciences with my marine ecology class was a great experience. Not only did we get a behind the scenes tour, but we also got to experience what it takes to be a marine biologist at an aquarium. I have a passion for the veterinary field and after learning that the museum has their own wildlife veterinarian, I was very intrigued. The tour guide mentioned that every animal gets an exam once a year and there was even sample x-rays of creatures such as frogs. I take countless numbers of x-rays while working as a technicians assistant and I can say that I have no idea how you would take an x-ray of a frog or fish. I deal mostly with cats and dogs and have assisted in x-rays of an owl but having to x-ray aquatic animals or small amphibians sounds like it would be quite a challenge. It has also opened a new interest in the possibility of becoming a marine mammal veterinarian.

            After doing some research it is actually quite difficult to have a career in the marine veterinary field, as there is a very limited number of options for jobs. Not only are there limited job opportunities but also there are also few educational opportunities to pursue aquatic animal medicine. A majority of the United States 30 veterinary colleges have programs that focus on dogs, cats, horses, and food animals but there are a limited number that offer special training in marine science. You may be able to take a class or two that specializes in marine animal medicine but that is not sufficient experience to prepare you for a career in the field.

            According to the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine (IAAAM) the best way for a person who is interested to pursue a career in this field is to gain all the experience with marine animals possible. They state that working at an aquarium or marine mammal rehabilitation facility while an undergrad will start you on the right path but it requires much more than this. Since there will not be a great amount of exposure to marine animals in veterinary school, there will likely not be any job offers in the aquatic animal medicine field right after graduation. Upon graduation, externships at a facility that specializes in aquatic animal medicine will be the best way to gain experience in the field and become a competitive candidate for future aquatic animal medicine positions.

            For undergraduates like me, there are few opportunities to get your foot in the door. Although the opportunities are   there, they are also very competitive given their limited nature. After the tour of Cal Academy, I am currently applying to an internship at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA to work in their Molina Animal Care Center. I have always had a passion for the marine sciences and even considered being a marine biologist so if I am able to have an experience working with marine animals my passion for marine animals and the veterinary field could possibly become a future career for me.

Photo By: Andrew Reitsma/Aquarium of the Pacific

            The things that I am most specifically interested in are marine mammals. I know Sea World has been in a very negative light lately but I have always been extremely fascinated by it. It is rare that humans are able to interact so closely with animals and I enjoy being able to. My favorite species of aquatic animals happens to be the sea otter so I thought I would do some research on this topic as well. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is an endangered species that is native to the North Pacific Rim. What was once a flourishing species now has a population that is estimated to have declined over 50% in the last 30 years. This reduction in population size is a direct result of human impact. In elementary school we learn that the Russians came to California and killed a great number of sea otters for their fur, but if this fur trapping has stopped why is their population still estimated to be declining? Well this is due to numerous other human activities such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill (IUCN).

I have never heard of this horrific event before so I thought I would look into it. On March 24, 1989 (almost exactly 26 years ago) an oil tanker headed for Long Beach, California hit a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska and spilt 11 million gallons of oil into the ocean. This was the largest oil spill in American history at the time and became known as the Exxon Valdez spill. The spill had an enormous impact on the marine life in the area and still to this day scientists are finding traces of oil on the Prince William Sound coast that has not biodegraded. The species that was impacted the most were seabirds as there was tens of thousands of birds that died as a result of the spill (PBS). The second most impacted animal was the sea otter with estimates of 1,000-5,000 otters killed by the spill.  As we learned in class, sea otters do not have blubber to keep them warm so when oil gets on their skin it effects their ability to keep warm causing hypothermia and also gastrointestinal problems when consumed. In 2009 it was estimated that the sea otter population was the last of the species to return to what is believed to be the pre-spill numbers of about 2,000 but studies on the effects of the lingering oil remain (USGS). Events like this show us that we need to be more responsible about our environmental impact and take better care of our environments.

Photos By: Chris Wilkins/Getty Images

References

1. IAAAM-Getting Into Aquatic Animal Medicine

2. Aquarium of the Pacific-Molina Animal Care Center

3. IUCN Red List-Sea Otter

4. USGS-Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research Program     

5. PBS-25 Year Later