Andrew Smith
Day 1:
Hello! I have joined the COAST project as my Sage Hill Service Learning project The group has 17 student members and two teacher advisors: Dr. Haney and Dr. Irwin. This year, we will be working with the Crystal Cove State Park to monitor the population size of local lobster larvae. To do this, we will be setting traps that will attract the larvae. These traps will be periodically inspected to collect data on the population size of the larvae that it attracts. We may also set other traps in the Newport Back Bay to asses the population sizes of other organisms. I am interested in this project because I am oceanography and marine biology interest me and I have don other projects in the past that have had to do with marine ecology. I love being around and doing things in the ocean. I also enjoy studying the endless amount of interesting information and facts about the sea and what lives in it.
Hello! I have joined the COAST project as my Sage Hill Service Learning project The group has 17 student members and two teacher advisors: Dr. Haney and Dr. Irwin. This year, we will be working with the Crystal Cove State Park to monitor the population size of local lobster larvae. To do this, we will be setting traps that will attract the larvae. These traps will be periodically inspected to collect data on the population size of the larvae that it attracts. We may also set other traps in the Newport Back Bay to asses the population sizes of other organisms. I am interested in this project because I am oceanography and marine biology interest me and I have don other projects in the past that have had to do with marine ecology. I love being around and doing things in the ocean. I also enjoy studying the endless amount of interesting information and facts about the sea and what lives in it.
Day 2:
During our second service learning day, I believe that I, along with the rest of the COAST group, got a large amount of work done. However, only now can I fathom just how much work lies ahead of us. Today, the first thing that we did was split the group into smaller groups that would dive into more detail on some of the subjects that concerned our research on the California Spiny Lobster (or Panulirus interruptus). The first group looked into the facts about the organism’s life cycle, reproductive characteristics, and the habitat that it generally lives in. The second group researched the different types of traps that we could use to track the population size of the lobster larvae. The third group looked into past lobster-population experiments that were done in the past. Once we finished that task, we set about making lobster traps based off of the ones that we researched. The traps consisted of a sheet of plastic with many relatively small holes in it in which we wove segments of rope. These pieces of rope were very long on one side of the plastic sheet and were also frayed at the ends in order to simulate the kelp/sea grass that the lobsters would normally settle in. Making these traps was very time consuming and frustrating because of the extreme delicacy and precision required to make the traps correctly. Finally, from an individual standpoint, I can now fathom just how complicated and sensitive the work ahead will be and how essential it is that I, along with the rest of our group, communicate efficiently and effectively in order to make as much progress as possible with our research.
Day 3:
Day 3 of service learning was extremely busy, but also very productive. Our group was split up into separate groups in order to accomplish certain objectives specific for the individual members of each group. For example, some students worked to schedule certain events in the coming months, some worked to create new traps, some worked with samples taken from a dock in the Newport Back Bay, and some, including myself, watched scuba-orientation videos and filled out the corresponding scuba knowledge forms. Even though we ended up watching over five hours of total video by the end of the day (it was the entire course), I still had a lot of fun learning about scuba-diving in detail with my friends who were in my group.
Now that we have completed the written part of the subs-certification process, we must complete five ‘confined-water’ dives (in a pool while being supervised by an instructor) and four ‘open-water’ dives (with an instructor in the ocean). Also, I most certainly feel as if I have gained a whole new array of knowledge and skills just from watching the orientation videos. I’ve learned that there are so many small details that you must be attentive to and responsible for while diving. Also, because there are so many ‘moving-parts’ when it comes to diving, problems are eventually bound to arise, and I think that after some practice in both the pool and in open-water scenarios, I will begin to feel more comfortable with diving while also being prepared to solve any problem that might arise. While I didn’t really feel connected to my community as a whole during this process, watching the videos with others, not just alone, made it a lot more enjoyable and, overall, productive, as if someone needed clarification on something, the others could provide it. In conclusion, day three of service learning this year was extremely productive and I can’t wait to get in the water and start diving!
Day 4:
The fourth day of the COAST project was very productive and I believe that, as a group, we made significant progress towards completing our goals for the year. First, the whole group met with Dr. Haney and Dr. Irwin to discuss our goals for today, which consisted of: scheduling the setting and collection of our traps, contacting the Ocean Institute of Dana Point to request permission to use their dock to hold one of our traps, actually setting some the traps that we could today, and introducing the group to the identification process of the organisms that we may find once we have collected our traps. Next, we divided into smaller groups in order to accomplish specific tasks. My group, which consisted of myself, Cole Callin, Daniel Fishmen, Matteo Merage, and Adam Watson, went to Cole's house, which is on the Balboa Peninsula, to set two traps on his dock. Before we arrived at Cole's house, we made a stop at Ace Hardware to purchase some large zip-ties, which we later used to tie the traps down to the dock's pylons. Adam and I volunteered to go into the water and attach the traps, which were made out of a strip of pipe that three sections of rope tendrils, to the pylons on the dock using the large zip-ties.
There had been a significant rainstorm for the past two days, so the water was very cold and dirty with extremely low visibility. Setting the traps was, absolutely, the most difficult part of the day due to the 'freezing' water and poor conditions. Once Adam and I swam in the water for a little bit to get used to it, we set the traps approximately three to four feet below the surface of the water at low tide, which ensured that they would be sufficiently submerged at all times. We will collect one trap in one month and we will collect the second trap approximately one month after that. Finally, Daniel and I have started to create a map of the locations of all the traps that the COAST group has set.
Day 5:
The 5th service learning day, which marks the half-way point in the year, was very productive. Also, today, as a group, we decided to move in a slightly different direction concerning the our main objective. While the initial goal of this project was to document and record data concerning the California Spiny Lobster off of the coast of Crystal Cove National Park, we have chosen to record data concerning the genomes and classification of microorganisms in our local bays and marine bodies. With this new goal in mind, my section of the overall group, which consisted of the same students as last time (Cole Callin, Adam Watson, Daniel Fishman, and Matteo Merage), drove first down to ACE Hardware to purchase a bucket, nylon string, and a weight, which were used when we set a new trap in the Newport Harbor, and next to Cole's house to remove one of the two traps that we set during the last service learning day. Unfortunately, the tide was very high when we arrived at Cole's house, which resulted in the trap that we set on one of his dock's pylons to be just under 6 feet below the surface of the water with low visibility as well. Next, we drilled a screw into the front of the dock, tied the new trap to it using a string that also had a weight on it, and dropped it down so that it was close to the bottom of the harbor. To remove the trap that we set last time, Adam and I jumped in the (cold) water with goggles and the bucket and cut the zip-tie that bound the trap to the pylon. We then sealed the bucket, now filled with seawater and the pipe-trap and returned back to Sage Hill. Back at school, we removed all of the organisms and sediment attached to the tendrils of the trap and filtered out the seawater using a sieve. We then meticulously sorted the different categories of microorganisms that we extracted from the bucket based off of their look and phenotype and stored the specimens in alcohol. Next service learning day, we plan to both remove the second trap that we set last time as well as the trap that we set today as well as start to sequence the genomes of the organisms that we found using PCR and gel electrophoresis.
Day 5:
The 5th service learning day, which marks the half-way point in the year, was very productive. Also, today, as a group, we decided to move in a slightly different direction concerning the our main objective. While the initial goal of this project was to document and record data concerning the California Spiny Lobster off of the coast of Crystal Cove National Park, we have chosen to record data concerning the genomes and classification of microorganisms in our local bays and marine bodies. With this new goal in mind, my section of the overall group, which consisted of the same students as last time (Cole Callin, Adam Watson, Daniel Fishman, and Matteo Merage), drove first down to ACE Hardware to purchase a bucket, nylon string, and a weight, which were used when we set a new trap in the Newport Harbor, and next to Cole's house to remove one of the two traps that we set during the last service learning day. Unfortunately, the tide was very high when we arrived at Cole's house, which resulted in the trap that we set on one of his dock's pylons to be just under 6 feet below the surface of the water with low visibility as well. Next, we drilled a screw into the front of the dock, tied the new trap to it using a string that also had a weight on it, and dropped it down so that it was close to the bottom of the harbor. To remove the trap that we set last time, Adam and I jumped in the (cold) water with goggles and the bucket and cut the zip-tie that bound the trap to the pylon. We then sealed the bucket, now filled with seawater and the pipe-trap and returned back to Sage Hill. Back at school, we removed all of the organisms and sediment attached to the tendrils of the trap and filtered out the seawater using a sieve. We then meticulously sorted the different categories of microorganisms that we extracted from the bucket based off of their look and phenotype and stored the specimens in alcohol. Next service learning day, we plan to both remove the second trap that we set last time as well as the trap that we set today as well as start to sequence the genomes of the organisms that we found using PCR and gel electrophoresis.
Day 6:
On the sixth service learning day, we amassed even more data in the form of more specimens that we collected while also starting to analyze the data that we collected last time. The first thing that we did today is, like the last two times, drive down to Cole's house on the Newport Peninsula to collect the final two traps (might I mention that the water was very cold, as always). The first trap that we collected was the one that had been tied to the screw on the end of Cole Callin's dock and it was submerged at a constant depth for about a month. Next, we swam over to his next-door neighbor's dock and removed the trap that had been submerged at different depths depending on the height of the tide for about two months. During our time at Cole's house, Mr. Rick Davitt, a photographer who often works with our school, took some photos of Adam Watson and I collecting the traps. Cole got out his drone and took a few photos as well.
When we arrived back at Sage Hill, we brought our two buckets, which were full of the traps and some sea water, back into the lab where we carefully sorted out the organisms, many of which were very small, using sieves and tweezers. The most interesting organism that we found was a massive flatworm, that we affectionately named 'Phil', that was about half a foot long. We then took tissue samples from specimens that we collected today and from ones that we collected last time and spent about 45 minutes isolating the DNA. In between today and the next time we meet for service learning, the isolated DNA from each specimen will be put through the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) procedure as a means to amplify each particular genome for further analysis and genetic sequencing. Overall, we were very efficient today in retrieving the two traps, sorting organisms, and isolating particular specimens' DNA, and collaborating with Mr. Davitt in the water was pretty fun as well. I am excited for next time as we will finally have data of each specimen's genome that we can analyze and upload to the scientific database that we've been working with.
Day 7:
We started our seventh day of service learning by reviewing the DNA amplification process of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which we used to amplify the DNA samples that we extracted from the organisms that we collected during the past two service learning days. We planned the day so that after we would completed the PCR process, which takes a few hours to complete, we would put the amplified DNA through the process of gel electrophoresis, which would help us identify certain genes in the genomes of the organisms that we collected. The PCR process involves taking a relatively small amount of DNA, adding it to a solution containing short primer sequences of DNA that bind to the original DNA once it is denatured as well as an enzyme (Taq Polymerase) that will bind to these primers and add on to them, thereby replicating the DNA. In order to initially denature the DNA, or split it up into separate strands, it is increased to near-boiling temperatures (around 90 C), then cooled down to around 50 C, which is the optimal temperature for the enzyme to bind to and replicate the DNA. The temperature is then increased to around 70 C and the process repeats. To start the PCR process, we divided up the DNA samples that we had extracted between the members of the group so that each person had 2 or 3 samples to work with (I had three). This allowed us, as a group, to collaborate and work more efficiently. After labelling with 6 PCR capsules (two for each DNA sample because we were working with two different primers), I prepared the capsules for the PCR process by adding the master solution, which contains a buffer and the polymerase enzyme, the two sets of primers, some distilled water, and ultimately the DNA samples. Later on that afternoon, we prepared some gel matrices for gel electrophoresis, which is a process of separating different sections of DNA based on size. It works through injecting the post-PCR samples of DNA into one end of the gel, running an electric current through it, causing the DNA to move through the gel due to the negative charge of their phosphate groups. However, the shorter DNA fragments move faster through the gel due to their smaller nature, allowing us to see and identify the different segments using DNA ruler. Unfortunately, we only had enough time to run half of our DNA samples and the results were sub-optimal as, for the most part, the amplified DNA was almost invisible under a black light, which we did not expect. However, my DNA samples were in the second half of the group, so there is still some hope!
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