Casie UR- The Talk Of The Park

This week I stated my copper experiment. I drove down to Blue Springs Sate Park and visited the St. Johns river. I was very excited to pick through the plethora of Water Hyacinths found there. I was armed with a 5 gallon bucket and my field notebook. I could tell that more Water Hyacinths had grown since my last visit as they were very easy to spot. I waded through the plants (half expecting an alligator to jump up out of no where) where I sunk knee deep into muck. As I was picking the weeds a boat tour was slowly creeping by and the tour guide stated talking about me to his guests. He explained to them what the Water Hyacinth is and how they have a negative effect on the local ecosystem. It was very unexpected and flattering, so I waved 'hi' to the people on the boat and when it docked some of them even came over to ask me more about my project! It was an amazing feeling.
On Tuesday Dr. Woodall and I stared filling the tanks with distilled water (4 liters)  and adding 3 plants to 3 out of the 6 tanks. Unfortunately we did not have the plant food or copper until Thursday so today I went into the lab and added the key ingredient. I put  approximately 0.02 mL/g of copper sulfate to all 6 tanks and then added plant food to them as well. Dr. Woodall and I will be monitoring
 the tanks for 1 week from today. I will make sure that the water level stays consistent through out the week and we will find out next Thursday what the results yield.

A Broken Car Won't Stop Me

Trini the car, being towed yet again

    This week I have begun planning my trip next Sunday to preform a transect on the St. Johns River.  This week my car has also broken down for the third time this semester.  As much as I adore my car, it does have a history of breaking down when I need it the most.  Therefore, I have decided to rent a car for the trip so I won't end up stranded.
    I am planning on leaving with my materials at 7 am Sunday morning, keeping all my samples chilled in a cooler for the duration of the long trip.  I will be taking samples at Alpines Grove park in Jacksonville, Spring Park in Green Cove Springs, Willow Point in Seville, Lake Monroe Wayside Park in Sanford, and near Catfish Hotel in Titusville,

Dylan Radford UR, First Clorophyll Extraction!

This was a fairly interesting week in lab. Our class was divided up and while the others were at Tomoka getting on the boat, my group was in the lab ready to run the tests on our water samples that we were required to bring in. My water sample was retrieved from Sawgrass Point Dock along Spruce Creek. When we first got to class our speaker gave us a presentation on what we would be doing, new equipment we would be using and why it is important to know the Chlorophyll levels in different water ways and ecosystems. After that, we were to go back to the lab and start running our normal tests that we did the first time we brought water samples to class. This included testing things like Salinity and Filtrate. Now that all of those categories was tested we had to let our samples soak in a chemical. after 30 minutes of letting our samples soak we got to use a new instrument called a Fluorometer.

Fluorometer

This scientific instrument is used to collect Turbidity and Aquaflour measurements. It gets These readings by shining UV light through your sample and Identifying the levels of Aquaflour  and turbidity. Finally after we all got our readings from our samples, we put the information into Excel and made a bar graph that had some pretty interesting results. I think it is pretty amazing that I am able to use all of these different kinds of scientific instruments in class. I can tell that it is preparing me for what is to come! I am really excited for next week because it is my groups turn to go out on the boat in Tomoka. I have never been on the Tomoka river even though I have lived near it my entre life. It should be a fun experience!

Garth UR - So, what Next?

So, where to go? This topic has been so broad that is has taken a little help to find a focal point. Although the direction of this project has changed the heart and purpose remains the same. There are a number of points which I wanted to illustrate during the course of this project. The first issue was to shed a little light on climate change. The second was to find a direction which I could focus and address, an issue which affects us all, an issue close to home.

I will now primarily be focusing on the Water hyacinth. One aspect which is particularly interesting which I addressed in presentation, was the temperature sensitivity of the water hyacinth. This is important because as temperatures rise I believe the growth ratios of this plant will increase as well. So, with this said, for my experiment I will use three small aquariums and three heating plates to control the water temperatures. Casie and I  will be locating local samples. I will pull data from the Saint John’s Water Management District for summer temperatures as far back as I can go. The second will be recent summer temperatures and the third will be several degrees higher based on current warming estimates. This plant is tropical, growing optimally from water temperatures ranging from 77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.  As a highly invasive species the hyacinth has been a rising global issue for years, harming local and global ecosystems, trade and communities.

Alex, UR Strike that power pose!!

Good evening!!
In class last Friday, I was an evaluator for all the other students who presented their IRP's. I really enjoyed listening and critiquing everyones projects, they are all off to a great start and I'm excited to see the end results. I myself am terrible at presenting in front of class so it was helpful to see what we should and shouldn't be doing while giving a presentation. All the students that presented that day were very comfortable for the most part and all seemed very knowledgable about their topics. The discussions after each presentation were very informative, here are some Do's and Don'ts we came up with...
          DO'S                                                                                DON'TS

• Have an "attention getter" in the beginning               - Don't use fillers... ex) "um, uh, like"
• Make eye contact                                                       - Don't put too many words on slides   
• Practice, practice, practice!                                        - Don't read from your notes
• Use pictures                                                               - Don't use dark text on dark background
• Keep slides to a minimum                                         - Don't go over time

  

  Casie and her powerful power pose!

  We also learned that you should ALWAYS "power pose" before each presentation, and it really did make a difference each time someone did it. Everyone did a great job overall and I'm looking forward to see what everyones conclusions come to and how everyone will take their critiques into consideration!
  See some of you on Friday :)
  
  
  Watch this video!!
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc 

Christian Vinciquerra, UR: Project reviews

Shark project being presented

So last week our class presented their projects progress thus far and myself as well as other option two students were the reviewers and critics. We had the opportunity to ask our questions about everyones projects and point out different flaws in their presentation so when they present at the end of the semester their final project will be perfect. So learned a lot from these projects but the project I found most interesting was the one on solar panels and which degree facing south is best for their coordinates. The reason I found this project interesting is it can be beneficial to everyone who has solar panels. I have solar panels on my house for my pool, however, they can be used for almost anything. I also really enjoyed the sharks presentation. Sharks is a topic that i enjoy and look forward to seeing the map that is going to be created at the end of her project. I will be keeping an on her projects and possibly link it to my blog. Some characteristics I enjoyed from these presentations was how much effort was put into them. You can really tell who is trying to be one step ahead and who is not really putting their best foot forward. The graphs were great through all the projects, I still see everyone trying to figure out the font size from excel and that is great. I liked how everyone, whether or not their presentation was presented well, they all got experience presenting their work and can feel more comfortable from their final presentation. For the final presentations I am looking forward to them and expecting each and every one to absolutely perfect. I few things about peer reviews that I didn't enjoy was I felt like everyone was watching me write and two, I kind of wish I could have decided on a topic so I too could have presented. Overall I really enjoyed watching these presentations. A lot of understanding about how the process works was learned and to always have bigger font instead of risking smaller font.

Monica, UR- Catching Solar Rays

 I am doing my IRP on solar energy. In my introduction I will be talking a little bit about the history of solar and how it is environmentally friendly. Then I will go into what is known about the performance vs the angle of the solar panel. I will state my scientific question: What angle performs best at my location (latitude 29 degrees). I also changed one of my angles again due to new information I found. I will be talking more about why I choose the angles that I did.

                              MATERIALS

• (3) ECO-WORTHY 20W 12V Solar Panel
• (3) Unlimited Solar U-MO-0112 mounting kit
• (3) Metal Fencing Post
• Protractor
• Southwire TECHNITIONPRO TRUE RMS IV MULTIMETER

My backyard set up of solar panels

             

                            METHODS

• Assemble solar panels (will get in more detail during final presentation)
• NO SHADOWS/ Panels Facing South
• Collect data using multimeter (will do demo on how to measure volts and amps)
• Collect data at 12pm each day

Projected Graph

My data collection will be getting the volts and amps of each solar panel, multiplying them to get the Watts or power produced. I picked the cluster bar graph because It will overall show my data for each day. Each day I will collect my data at the same time for consistency. I also will be writing the date/outside temperature and weather data.

WHAT WAS ADDED/FIXED:

I just copied and pasted my last Blog because I didn't have to change much. I added the direction that my panels are facing and added that I will be taking my measurements at 12 pm each day in my methods. I also fixed my citation of a website: Landauhttp, C. (2015) Optimum Tilt of Solar Panel. Retrieved from www.solarpaneltilt.com.

Stephanie Guyotte, UR- Where do you want to live?

Hello everyone,
This is my proposal for my research project if you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments section.

What is known and unknown about clearnose skates-



Clearnose Skate

The clearnose skate or Raja eglanteria are found on the eastern coast of the United States from Massachusetts to the northern end of gulf of Mexico. The skate can withstand water temperatures between 5-27℃, salinity of 12-35ppt, are benthic, and can be found in estuaries and inshore at depths around 100m but have been found up to 330m. The clearnose skate is identifiable by some of the following characteristics; translucent patch of sink around the nose, a single row of thrones along the mid-ridge on dorsal side from shoulders to end of tail, vary in color but will have darker spots and bars on dorsal side and plain white on ventricle side. Males have a pair of claspers and females are oviparous (lay eggs). The skate is often caught as bycatch by commercial fishermen during otter trawling. The clearnose skate is studied widely in captivity, but currently natural habitat and population is not well known.  
Scientific Question-
What type of habitat holds the highest concentration of Raja eglanteria (clearnose skate)?

Methods and materials-

Inshore Habitat (google)

Mangrove Habitat (google)

Estuary Habitat (google)

  Using fishing gear, I will be fish at three different habitats; inshore, estuary, and mangrove to look for clearnose skates. The following measurements will be taken; salinity and temperature of the deep water (because this is where the skates are found), weather conditions, time, sex, body dimensions (wing to wing and tip of nose to tip of tail), overall appearance, and location. Whatever bycatch I catch will be noted as well. I will catching and releasing everything. To find salinity, a sample will be collected with a brown Nalgene bottle from as close to the bottom as possible by lowering the bottle with the lid on into the water column then open the lid letting the deep water flow in. Then the sample will be brought back to the lab (stored in the refrigerator) and tested using the refractometer. Temperature will be found using a waterproof thermometer attached to a fishing pole and casted out to reach the deep water. Location and weather can be found using a cell phone. Sex can be determined by the presents or lack of claspers. Body dimensions will be measured with a sewing tape measure.



Interpretation-
My main focus is to look at the clearnose skate population at different location. However with all the information I am gathering, I might find other interesting connections like the different in coloration of skates from an inlet population Vs the onshore skates.

This is a possible graph that could be used to represent the data collected (this is NOT real data).

References

        Miller, M. 2013. "Raja eglanteria" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 30, 2017 at http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Raja_eglanteria/

Ha, D., Luer, C. & Sulikowski, J. 2009. Raja eglanteria. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T161658A5474334. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T161658A5474334.en.

  


            

Steve Cofone, UR - Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.

                                           Micro Plastics

It’s in the water, but is it in our food supply?

What we know is that it is in our water supply, both fresh and salt

water. Maia Mcguire, UF Extension agent for this area has done extensive research and data collection. Here is a link to her Awareness Map .

She has concentrated mostly on sampling the water in and around Florida.She is a wealth of information on the subject.

 We know it's in shellfish, and there was a study in England that documents

microplastics in 10 species of fish from the English Channel. 504

Fish were examined and plastics found in the gastrointestinal

tracts of 36.5%. (Lusher, 2017)

Scientific Question: Are Microplastics found in the digestive tract

of bottom feeding fish?

Map of my fishing spots for this Independent Research Project

Randomly chosen fishing spots 1-4 (right click open in new tab)

 What I will need and how I will preform my project:

Materials

•Fishing equipment                                

•Sample Preservation material/Ice, cooler

•GPS Unit/phone/Field Book(550f)

•Analysis Laboratory (microscope)

 Methods

-Fish each spot at best times to catch fish, log pertinent

information with gps coordinates.

-catch fish, preserve intestinal tract,

-bring to the lab at school and

examine/measure/count microplastics, I will then graph and evaluate

Questions....Comments....Suggestions??

References:

•Lusher, A. (2017). Occurrence of microplastics in the 

gastrointestinal tract of pelagic and demersal fish from the English

 Channel. Sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017, from 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X1200

5668

Casie UR- IRP

ST. Johns River

 For my Independent Research Project I decided to take a dive and look at invasive plants in our wonderful state. I chose the Water Hyacinth.
 The Water Hyacinth is an invasive plant native to South America, they were brought over to the U.S in the 1880's where they were used as an ornamental plant. No one could have guessed the negative impacts that the Water Hyacinth would have on our local environment.
Over the last several months I have been investigating the impacts that the Water Hyacinth has on the environment. I found that they out compete indigenous plants in Florida by reproduce rapidly in a body of fresh water. They choke out water ways by producing daughter plants that literately clog up the body of water, limiting aquatic life and  reducing recreation . They also cause oxygen depletion, when they decompose they release a high level of nutrients back into the water causing the oxygen levels to decrease in the area where the Water  Hyacinth is present.
After all this research I stumbled across some amazing uses for this invasive weed. Some of which include creating bio-ethanol, sewage purification and heavy metal accumulation. This lead me to form my scientific question "What is the reduction rate of Copper when the Water Hyacinth is present?"
The method to my madness-
I will gather 6 fish tanks, 3 will have the Water Hyacinth and 3 will not (these will be my control) and fill them with distilled water. I will then add the appropriate amount of nutrients that the Water Hyacinth needs to thrive. After doing this I will add copper sulfate to all of the fish tanks and put them in a light box. I will monitor the change in copper sulfate over a weeks time.
The Materials-
Water Hyacinths 
Fish tanks
Copper Sulfate
Distilled water
Light Box
Nutrients

Known locations of Water Hyacinths in Florida

Hach DR/890 Colorimeter ( This will measure the amount of copper) 
I hypothesis that there will be a decrease in the amount of copper in the tanks over time.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment and I will be happy to respond in my next post!

Pam, UR - Micro flora and fauna of brackish and saltwater marsh

Life on earth is supported by tiny plants and animals in the water column you'll never see. These microscopic organisms are the primary producers and foundation of the aquatic food web along with oxygenation of the water.

The organisms to be tested for will be more than 80 um size, with anticipation of collecting phytoplankton and zooplankton. The sample areas are the Tomoka River basin and northern Indian River Lagoon.

My scientific question: What is the diversity between brackish and saline marsh micro organisms in the water column?

Materials Used:
- 80 um Plankton net
- rope used to attach net to boat, length yet to be determined
- microscope, type yet to be determined

Method:
-  take samples as described below from brackish water Tomoka River basin and Indian River Lagoon estuary
- from boat determine start point, lat/long waypoint, take water sample for salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and any other factors available
- drag plankton net along top of water column for specified distance
- at end point take lat/long waypoint, water sample as above
- bring plankton net to boat and elevate so sample drains to lower end of cup.
- empty cup into collection receptacle
- put on ice, store in refrigerator until available lab time

Carly, UR - Shark Life

Sharks have taken over my life in the past year, but especially in the past couple months while researching and refining my independent research project (IRP).  It's pretty cheesy, but sharks inspire me.  They're these strong, but relatively simple creatures.  They work smarter, not harder.

Lydia, one of OCEARCH's icon Great White Sharks

But sharks also have a lot to tell us about our world, primarily the ecosystems they inhabit.  If they're not doing well, then that system is struggling as well.  What happens then when we effect their ecosystem?  With our earth rapidly changing because of human impact on things like climate, is that currently having an effect on sharks?  We know most sharks are ectotherms and how biothermal regulation works, so with sea surface temperatures(SST) rising is there a correlation between sharks and those SSTs?

Female Tiger shark tracked over one year by University of Miami

The University of Miami is focusing on an aspect of that, climate change and sharks.  They have tagged a few sharks, primarily Tiger and Great Hammerheads. The satellite tags have sensors for temperature, depth, and acceleration to study the optimal range for the species.  The map to the right here shows the pings of a female Tiger shark the University has tracked over a year with temperature ranges.  This is something I would like to do with the online data available to me through OCEARCH and WindyTV.

I plan to use these resources to compared multiple individuals among 4 different species of sharks: White, Blue, Tiger, and Mako.  I've chosen these species because 3 of them are ectotherms, while the White is an Endotherm.  Using multiple individuals will allow me to guarantee that I will get regular data, because sharks aren't always going to be at the surface to get a ping.  I'll record their data a couple times a week, using current and monthly average SST from WindyTV since ping coordinates aren't readily available on OCEARCH I'm estimating the average temperature will relay more information.

There's a lot of work to do, but from this I hope to learn more about the creatures that inspire me and whether the positive or negative correlation of sharks and sea surface temperatures can help us predict what's to come.

Fins and Grins,
Carly

Dylan Radford, UR My evaluations!

Presentation!(not a picture I took when I was leaving)

On Friday in class I participated in being an Evaluator for people who were presenting their IRP's to the class. My experience while I was evaluating was actually very informative. By watching other people present the information they have so far in their projects really helped me to see what to do and what not to do when I have  project of this scale and need to present it to an audience. At first I thought that a lot of people were going to be very nervous but our class is pretty laid back and it was easy for everyone to get comfortable with their surroundings. I doubt that this would be the feeling if you were presenting to a conference of some sort. I learned a lot about what I should include in slides and what I should leave out. I was also able to learn little things to make yourself less nervous when speaking and how to transition between one topic and another better than saying "um" which I tend to do a lot. I really enjoyed Kelly-Ann's presentation because she had an amazing hook to start and was very interested in what she was presenting. I think that a lot of peoples presentations would have been that much better if they and a griping and engaging hook like Kelly-Ann's presentation. Everyone is at about the middle stage of their projects and I know that there will be improvements and conclusions made to their presentations before the final. I think everyone did a really great job on Friday, even if their projects need some tweaking , everyone presented really well! I cant wait to see some of the conclusions to these projects and I hope that in the future I will be able to put presentations like this together.

Kelly-Ann UR - What Do You Ask Yourself Before You Swim?

     Before you get into a freshwater source here in Florida, have you ever considered if it is safe?  Those of us living in Florida become accustomed to looking out for alligators, snakes, and other dangerous wildlife, however there are dangers we cannot see as well.  Nitrate, a nutrient naturally found in freshwater systems, can reach toxic levels due to anthropogenic enrichment.

Algae Bloom in 2005, St. Johns River

     The St. Johns river is the largest freshwater body in our area.  It has been classified as a class 3 water source, which means it is supposed to be safe for recreational use.  People do often fish, swim, and participate in other activities that put them within direct contact with the water of the river.  However, regular toxic algae blooms indicate that there may be elevated levels of nitrate in the river, since algae blooms are caused by high levels of nitrate and phosphorus.  Although the photo shown to the right is from 2005, there have been reports of toxic algae blooms as recently as last summer.  Naturally, nitrate levels tend to be less than 1 mg/L in freshwater sources.  Certain species of fish are sensitive to nitrate levels above 0.06 mg/L.  Levels above 10 mg/L are toxic to humans.  We know that excess nitrate is making its way into the St. Johns river due to the use of fertilizers, storm runoff, industrial waste, failing septic systems, and other human based sources.

St. Johns River Map

     Based on what is already known about the nitrate in the St. Johns river, I am investigating if the nitrate levels in the St. Johns river is safe for fish and human recreation. In order to answer my scientific question, I am going to be preforming a transect of the river, taking surface samples at five locations along the river: in Jacksonville, Green Cove Springs, Lake George, Lake Monroe, and the St. Johns Marsh.  I will be preforming the transect in the previously listed order, which follows the river from in the opposite direction of its flow.  I will be preforming the complete transect in one day.  The samples will be analyzed using method 1002l with a HACH DR/890 colorimeter to quantitatively measure total nitrate concentration.  I will visually present my data in a line graph, which shows changes in concentration of nitrate over distance.

Sources:
Behar, S. (1997). Testing the waters: chemical and physical vital signs of a river. Retrieved February 9, 2017, from https://fosc.org/WQData/WQParameters.htm
Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/issues#nutrients
Maher, J. R., P.E. (n.d.). Water quality and the st. johns river [PDF]. Department of Environmental      Protection.

Monica, UR- Solar Energy

As you all know I am doing my IRP on solar energy. In my introduction I will be talking a little bit about the history of solar and how it is environmentally friendly. Then I will go into what is known about the performance vs the angle of the solar panel. I will state my scientific question: What angle performs best at my location (latitude 29 degrees). I also changed one of my angles again due to new information I found. I will be talking more about why I choose the angles that I did.

                              MATERIALS

• (3) ECO-WORTHY 20W 12V Solar Panel
• (3) Unlimited Solar U-MO-0112 mounting kit
• (3) Metal Fencing Post
• Protractor
• Southwire TECHNITIONPRO TRUE RMS IV MULTIMETER

My backyard set up of solar panels

             

                            METHODS

• Assemble solar panels (will get in more detail during final presentation)
• NO SHADOWS
• Collect data using multimeter (will do demo on how to measure volts and amps)

Projected Graph

My data collection will be getting the volts and amps of each solar panel, multiplying them to get the Watts or power produced. I picked the cluster bar graph because It will overall show my data for each day. Each day I will collect my data at the same time for consistency. I also will be writing the date/outside temperature and weather data.

Steve Cofone, UR - Checking the tide chart and moon phases

Chelsey, UR, Saltwater Tanks and More Saltwater Tanks

Another late post I apologize sincerely,

While I cant find anything on my exact topic because it seems as if no one has done this project before, there is of course a million things on saltwater tanks and the proper way to keep them (salinity levels, how long you should leave a light on for fish, etc.) so I thought it best to put some of my findings on the subject of aquarium tank setup and upkeep on here.

  When starting a saltwater fish tank, the first thing you need is to have the proper water, because if not, your fish or other creatures will die. Purified or distilled water is your best bet at starting your tank out right, although now a days they make all sorts of filters and purifiers to make dirty water safe and clean. Next step is to pick the right salt for your tank and mix it properly (Instant Ocean is the typical choice). Now unless your tank creatures are from brackish waters or a place with higher salinity levels, 35ppt saltwater will be perfect for your tank. Let your tank sit for 12-24 hours before adding any live beings, and measure your salinity levels using a refractometer. Make sure temperature and salinity is adequate and your ready to go!
  Upkeep on saltwater tanks is very important and vital to your tank survival. Make sure to always have some extra salt for when you need to clean your tank and change your water. When changing the water, make sure to measure and record salinity and temperature of your tank, and always use clean water. Too much deviation from original water levels can cause your animals to die or go into shock. Also, when water is evaporated, replace with only fresh water not salt prepared water, because salt remains behind when water is evaporated from a tank.
  This finding about replacing with fresh water is very important to my experiment because now I know to only replace with fresh water, so I do not disrupt the balance of salt when conducting my experiment. Threw my research on the topic I also discovered the right levels of salt I need to start my experiment, 35ppt. I also found out how long to let the saltwater sit first before I start my experiment, 12-24 hours to get accustomed to the water.  I hope to find out more throughout the class and while conducting my research!

Great source on the topic
http://successfulreefkeeping.com/learn/reef-tank-101/salinity-mixing-saltwater/

Chelsey, UR, Methods and Other Fun Stuff

I know this is very over due I won't lie I totally forgot about it and slipped up. So I'm here now to get my blog up to date.

IRP:
The impact UVB light and a fan system have on the stability of salinity and temperature in a controlled laboratory tank study.

Materials

• 1 Lightbx
• 1 Fan
• 2 400-700 nano meter range, 40 watt, 48 inch plant and aquarium lights
• 7 2.5 gallon aquarium tanks
• Instant Ocean
• Distilled water 
• 3 pieces of live coral 
• 1 Refractometer
• 1 thermometer 
• 1 ruler 
• 7 water filters

Methods

• Fill tanks to designated water level
• Let sit overnight
• Mix instant ocean into water until 35ppt salinity in 6 of the tanks
• Leave one tank with just distilled water
• Anchor a piece of coral into three of the saltwater tanks
• Designate a time frame for lights and fan to be on 
• Measure salinity, temperature, and water levels daily for two weeks then every two days for remainder of experiment
• Record results 

I will be using the coral in three of the tanks to see if the live corals also have an effect on changes in salinity and temperature compared to tanks with just salt water. 
This entire project will be done in the lab of Dr Woodall at Daytona State College.
I hope at the end of my project I will have figured out the perfect settings to keep a saltwater tank at while experimenting or just keeping an aquarium of your own. 

Lyle UR I Got a barrel full of Plastic

Hey there again! I was back in the l was back in the lab again this week and got some more great results. This oyster was from my third site that i got samples from. This oyster was smaller than the last one at 2 grams but the results weren't to shabby. Last weeks oyster weighing 4 grams produced 12 micro fibers and this week an oyster weighing 2 grams had 9 micro fibers
in it. That is a 4.5 micro fibers per gram. I still used the same methods that I have been doing since I started. The cool thing about this oyster is that most of the micro fibers that I found were red in color unlike most of the others had a blue or green micro fiber inside of them.
I am finding most of the micro fibers within the gills of the oyster. With that being said I don't know if the fibers are being processed and going through the digestion track. Next week being spring break I will either be out on the water doing more research or enjoying bike week, either way im going to enjoy my time away from school and relax a little bit.

Amber Hanick, UR- Here Sharky Sharky Sharky

Hello all,

Rigging the rods

Last Friday 3/3/17 was our second day in the field at Ponce Inlet. Our mission for the day was to shark fish off the shoreline of the Inlet and reel in as many sharks as possible to get an A in the class according to Dr. Woodall haha. As we arrived on the shoreline and began scoping out our field site conditions and area, we concluded first that the pier was no longer going to be the site of our fishing as the whipping wind gusts were crashing waves against the jetty and making the pier unsafe for fishing. We then moved along to site 2, the high energy habitat we seined on our last day in the field. This area was a lot more passive as far as waves and wind was concerned and the only issue now was sand being carried by the wind ending up in places sand should not be. We rigged all the rods up, baited them and began casting our lines out into the inlet. Everyone waited anxiously for one of the rods to show that something was biting and had gotten caught on the circle hooks. Unfortunately, this was not the case and the next 2 and a half hours were spent with lines casted out, close eyes on the rods, but also was bonding time with our classmates and time spent having fun no matter what our field day results turned out to be, and that's what I call optimism in unfortunate circumstances. I believe that our catch was unsuccessful due to the whipping wind gusts at time exceeding 25 mph and the currents being high energy and strong at our site which caused difficulty in luring in the sharks. Since the wind played such a huge factor in our activity and caused changes in our original plans, I decided to create a line graph for my "fun graph" that showed speeds over our study time at the inlet. Even if our day in the field didn't go as desired or as we planned, it was undeniably an adventure, learning experience, and a great day with lots of laughs and fun!
Over and Out,
Amber

Enjoying our fun in the sun!

Stephanie Guyotte, UR- Skate break

Raja eglanteria (clearnose skate) (from google)

Raja eglanteria or the clearnose skate is a common skate found off the east coast of the U.S. from Massachusetts to Florida. R. eglanteria migrate down to the warmer waters in the winter to escape to cold and to reproduce. R. eglanteria are oviparous meaning they lay eggs. during mating the male will bite the females pectoral fin to get a grip then will bend its beneath himself and the female, then we all know what happens next. The process can take up to four hours due to the consistence of the males sperm and the fact that the female can store sperm in their shell-secreting oviducal glands for up to tree months for later use. Two eggs are fertilized at once and are released when ready; the second will come out anywhere from minutes to hours after the first. The eggs of R. eglanteria will then plant themselves in the mud below but not fully submerged for after the blastodisc stage small "air" hole(s) open in the shell of the egg and R. eglanteria will circulate the water thru the egg with its forming tail. When R. eglanteria is ready or becomes too big (about 12 weeks) they will rip through the shell and be fully formed. The egg casing then get washed up on shore. The clearnose skate eggs are laid between December and May and a single female can produce up to 66 eggs in one season. Water temperature must be 20 degrees C or the eggs will not survive. Salinity must be 12ppt-35ppt (for adult for sure not sure about eggs).

Formation of blastodisc (b), cleavage(c-e), start of head
formation (f) (source2)  

Last stages of formation (source2)

Almost all of the information gathered about reproduction and skate eggs was obtained in captivity, this is because the clearnose skate in particular just make good specimens to study for their size, availability, and they are easily maintained. The thing is there is not much information about where clearnose skates lay eggs (other than off the coast of Florida) in the wild. I am going to try and see if there is a particular area where they like to lay eggs or if they just let them drop where they are. I have two possible methods; go out and find eggs and note location then clear them from the beach ( I will do this at several different beach locations) then go back the next day at the same time to the same area and try and find new eggs. This will tell me that those eggs have only been there no more than 24 hours, then taking into account tides, currents, and other factors try and calculate how far that egg could have traveled in 24 hours. I could then fish for clearnose skates in this area or muck around and try to find eggs in the water (without disturbing the eggs if possible). This approach has many variables that could make this very inaccurate such as the fact that the egg could have been in the water for days before washing ashore and just trying to calculate something moving through water is very difficult. My other approach is very similar but instead of trying to calculate where they came from, I could look at where the eggs are and are not found on the beach and see if a larger concentration is found in one area over another and again look at tides and currents then trace them back that way, then fish again. Looks like I will be having a beach filled spring break!





References:
1. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/index.php?cID=2110
2. https://link-springer-com.db06.linccweb.org/article/10.1007/s10641-007-9219-4              

Monica Barrick, UR- Getting closer!

One of three solar panels.

I recently got my solar panels I ordered on Amazon and now I'm just waiting for the adjustable solar panel brackets. They should be here by the end of the week, then I will set up my panels at my three different angles. I'm happy I got the adjustable brackets because it will keep my solar panels from moving from strong winds. These solar panels have very good reviews on Amazon but I read one review saying that the wires actually take up a lot of the energy so if its a huge loss of power I may need to get better wires.

This Information is on all solar panels.

 I have learned a lot just by looking at the information on the back of my solar panel.  

Here's what they mean:

Pmax- Maximum Power

Vpm- Maximun Power Voltage

Ipm- Maximun Power Current (AMPS)

Voc- Open Circuit Voltage

Isc- Short Circuit Current

Now to find Pmax you simply multiply Vpm to Ipm. In other words Volts X Amps = Watts. This solar panel has the maximum power of 25 Watts. Open circuit voltage is the maximum possible voltage when the current is zero. Short circuit current is the maximum current when resistance (voltage) is zero. So far so good, can't wait to test these bad boys out.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:   http://nature-log.blogspot.com/2010/01/definitions-of-solar-power-terms.html

Christian Vinciquerra UR, Shark fishing wasn't so bad

Last class we met at Ponce Inlet again. I was beyond excited for this one because we were shark fishing. Shark fishing is something I do often but i usually do it from boats not shoreline, so I was a little out of my element. Unfortunately we had to improvise and move locations because of foul weather. There was a reed flag on the lifeguard tower and winds were howling. 

Line in the water

Jetty was all whitecaps

We tried to walk onto the jetty and people were losing their hats. We moved to site 2 from the seining lab in hopes to catch some sharks. Unfortunately we did not catch anything. We were all a tad disappointed, however, it wasn't the worst class I've attended. We literally were fishing for a class and it was relaxing. Just siting in a beach chair on the beach and with a line in the water. I chose to sit on the end of the our class so I didn't talk to Chad or Dr. Woodall too much. I did have the chance to connect with some of the other students and talk. So due to no sharks being caught there is no data I can report this week.

Pam, UR - A girl and her plankton net.

plankton net 80um 

I did a little test today taking a 'student' plankton net to the Tomoka River to see what I could catch. There were some speedy little Cladocera Diplostraca, Water Fleas. They were amazingly fast and furious in their activity. There were several other zooplankton which I have not identified yet. Interestingly the word zooplankton is derived from Greek meaning 'wandering animals'. But this was just a test, sticking my toe in the zoo water so to speak.

What I really want are those beautiful little diatoms. (Not something from a nightmare) When the real search begins in my two research areas the plankton net will be conical, about 5' with a container at the end. The mesh is 80um and the cup at the end with mesh of same size

The microscope I used for the test is also pictured. It had good lighting and focus, but not as close up as I would have wished. But I'm sure the college has some special high power microscope hidden away somewhere.