Introduction to Marine Plankton

Introduction
        Plankton comes from the greek word Planktos meaning drifter or wanderer. All types of plankton are unable to swine against current or wind. The four ways to classify plankton are by, food, color, lifestyle, and size. There are two ways plankton gather nutrition, photosynthesis and heterotrophic. Plankton that gather energy throughout photosynthesis are called phytoplankton, and plankton that eat from other sources are called (heterotrophic) are called zooplankton. Plankton can also be classified by color, the common colors are green, brown, red, blue-green, and golden. 90% of oxygen comes from the blue-green plankton. A holoplankton meaning being their whole life as plankton consist of algae and jellyfish, meroplankton meaning part of their life is plankton consist of barnacles, larval and fish. The last way to classify them is by their size, the largest can get up to 2mm, and they are called megaplankton, microplankton  can get from .06mm-.5mm, and the smallest  called untraplankton are .005mm.


Question:
What is the diversity of plankton in South Maui?


Hypothesis:
I hypothesize that we will find 50 plankton in the South Maui Harbor.


Prediction:
If we find more or less plankton at our first location we might find a different amount somewhere else.


Materials:
Plankton net, jars, journal, pipette, microscope slides, cover slip, I.D. book.


Procedures:


Collecting a plankton sample:

1.) Put plankton net into the water.
2.) Pull the net through the water so that plankton can be caught inside.
3.) Take the plankton net out of the water.
4.) Pull out the sample jar at the bottom of the net.


Turbidity:
1.) First take a sample of water
2.) Take the sample paper with different shades of circles
3.) Look through the sample and compare witch one you can see the clearest.
4.) The number next to the picture will be your turbidity.

Temp:
1.) Lower the thermometer four inches below the water surface.
2.) Keep the thermometer in the water for about two minutes, until there is a constant reading.
3.) Record the measurement in Celsius.


Dissolved Oxygen:
1.) Immerse a bottle in the water.
2.) Allow water to over flow for three minutes.
3.) Make sure there are no air bubbles.
4.)Add 8 drops of Manganous Sulfate Solution and 8 drops of Alkaline Potassium Iodide Azide.
5.) Cap the bottle, and make sure there is no air inside.
6.) Allow the sample to stand, when the sample turns clear, shake again.
7.)Add 8 drops of Sulfuric Acid 1:1 Reagent. Cap and invert repeatedly until the reagent and the precipitate have dissolved. A clear yellow to brown-orange color will develop depending on the oxygen content of the sample.


Salinity:
1.) Fill test tube (0778) to 10 mL line with demineralized water from the Demineralizer Bottle (1151).
2.) Fill the 0 - 1.0 Direct Reading Titrator (0376) to 0 line with sample water.
3.) Dispense 0.5 mL of sample water into titration tube by depressing plunger until tip is at 0.5 line.
4.) Add 3 drops of Salinity Indicator Reagent A (7460). Cap and gently swirl to mix. Solution will turn yellow.
5.) Fill the 0-20 Direct Reading Titrator (0378) with *Salinity Titration Reagent B (7461DR). Insert Titrator into hole of cap.
6.) While gently swirling sample, slowly depress the plunger until color changes from yellow to pink-brown. Read test result where the large ring on the Titrator meets the Titrator barrel . Record as ppt Salinity.
7.) If Titrator becomes empty before color change occurs, refill and continue titrating. Add original amount (20 ppt) to final result.


Phosphates:
1.) Fill the 50 ml graduated cylinder to the 50 ml line with the water sample. Pour into a 125 ml Erlenmeyer flask
2.) Use a 1ml pipette to add 1ml, of Sulfuric Acid, 36% to the flask. Swirl to mix.
3.) Use the 0.05 g spoon to add one measure of Ammonium Persulfate. Swirl to dissolve.
4.) Add a few boiling stones. Place the flask on a hot plate, small backpacking stove or Sterno and boil gently for 30 minutes. Add deionized water to the sample during the boiling to maintain a volume between 10 and 50 ml. Permit the volume to decrease to approximately 10 ml (about 1/4 inch of water) at the end of the boiling step, but do not allow the sample to go to dryness or to dense white sulfur trioxide fumes. Remove from the hot plate and cool.
5.) Add one drop of Phenolphthalein Indicator, 1% to the cooled sample.
6.) While swirling the flask, use a 1 ml- pipette to add Sodium Hydroxide dropwise until the solution turns faint pink. A volume of slightly less than 3 ml is required.
7.) While swirling the flask, add Sulfuric Acid, 36%, one drop at a time, until the pink color disappears.
8.) Quantitatively transfer the sample, which should be at room temperature, to the 50 ml graduated cylinder. After transferring the solution from the flask to the graduated cylinder, wash the flask with a little deionized water and add it to the solution in the graduated cylinder. Dilute the solution in the graduated cylinder to exactly 50 ml using deionized water and mix well.
9.) Fill a test tube to the 10 ml line with the test sample from step 9.
10.) Use the 1.0 ml pipette to add 1.0 ml of Phosphate Acid Reagent. Cap and mix.


Nitrates:
1.)  Fill sample bottle with water.
2.) Rinse and fill one test tube to the 2.5 ml line with water from the sample bottle,
3.) Dilute to the 5 ml line with the Mixed Acid Reagent, Cap and mix. Wait 2 minutes.
4.) Use the 0.1 g spoon to add one level measure (avoid any excess) of Nitrate Reducing Reagent
5.) Insert the test tube into the Nitrate Nitrogen Comparator. Match the sample color to a color standard.
6.) Place the reacted sample in a clearly marked container. Arrangements should be made with toxic material handlers for safe disposal. Please wash your hands after this water test is completed.


Turbidity: OJTU 0 (excellent)
Temp: 20.4c
Dissolved Oxygen: 0
Salinity: 1.02 or 26%
Phosphates: 2.09
Nitrate: 2
Time: around 12:50
current/tides/waves:
Wind:

How to mount and observe compound microscope and digital proscope.


Compound microscope:


First you take a slide and put a couple drops of the plankton sample using a pipette  and cover it with the cover slip.  Then you put it on the lowest setting to view, make sure that you plug in the microscope so you can clearly see the sample better.


Digital Proscope:


To use the digital proscope you need to mount the scope on the stand. Next put a few drops of the plankton sample in a petri dish, once you have that open the proscope software on the computer. Put the tip of the microscope in the petri dish slightly touching the plankton sample, this will help it to focus on the computer to see it more clearly.


Conclusion:
     My question in the beginning of this lab was, what is the diversity of plankton in South Maui. When we used the proscope to identify plankton we found about six different species. There was a lot of the same species that we kept seeing throughout the scope. My hypothesis was not correct because we found less then 50 different species in the South Maui Harbor. If we went to multiple beaches we could have possibly found more species of plankton.


Possible sources of error:
    Some errors could have been that we miss identified the plankton species according to the I.D book. Other errors could be that we counted or identified things that looks like plankton such as air bubbles or algae.

Beach Profiling

Introduction: Beach profiling is a way to measure the profile of a beach using a GPS, transect line, rise tool, run tool, and compass. By using this method we can study how the waves and winds affect the structure of the beach. Some factors that get in the way of beach profiling are rocks, big branches, or trees.

Procedure: beach profiling

1.) Gather materials

2.) Use the GPS to mark where you are on the beach 

3.) Connect the transect line to the faded zip tie on the top of the beach and pull it down perpendicular to the water.

4.) Use the compass to find how many degrees it is facing the water.

5.) Stand the rise tool up till the level is straight

6.) Put the run tool at the end of the rise tool, make sure its leveled

7.) Read how many centimeters

8.) Continue this all the way down to the foot of the beach



Sand Origins pre-lab

Introduction: In this Lab we wil be testing different sands from a number of beaches in the area to see if they are either biogenic sand which is anything living or pre-living in the ocean that produces into sand, or detrital sand which is washed away rocks from cliffs that are blown away from currents.

Question: Which beaches in South Maui are Detrital and Biogenic?

Hypothesis. I hypothesize that big beach is biogenic and black sand beach is detrital.

Prediction: If big beach is biogenic, when we do the experiment the sand will crackle, if its detrital it wont do anything.


Procedure:
1.) Gathered materials
2.) Went to Big beach and Black sand beach
3.) Collected and Observed sand from those beaches.
4.) Put sand in beaker
5.) Added 20 drops of vinegar to sand
5.) Observed to see if the sand crackled and popped.



Materials: Pipette, Beaker, Sand, Vinegar, Journal, Plastic Cup

 Black Sand Beach

Big Beach















    On Monday we went to the beaches to collect samples of sand. I observed that the sand at Big Beach was light brown with more of a fine texure and had a thinner feeling. Black sand beaches' sand was more rocky, and dark with light colors mixed together, it was also thicker and felt more dirty.

On Wednesday we tested the sand and found that both big beach and black sand beaches sand reacted to the vinegar, which made them snap and crackle, I was a little surprised that the sand from black sand beach was detrital, but I think it was because their was some lighter color sand from elsewhere that was blended in with that sand.

Conclusion: My question was which beaches in South Maui are detrital and biogenic. I hypothesized that Big beach would have biogenic sand and black sand beach would have detrital sand. My hypothesis was half correct, Big Beach did have biogenic sand but black sand beach did also.

Some errors could have possibly occurred, if we added too much vinegar to the sand during the experiment, also if the sand was accidentally mixed together with other sands.

BIG BEACH

                                       BLACK SAND BEACH

Classmates observing sand

Final Whale Observation

     In our science class we did a lab on whales. My question was will their be more whales earlier or later in the season? To figure this out we went to our fist location at Mc Gregors Point and later in the season we went on a whale watch. From my observation their were more whales during the whale watch. I think this because the mothers gave birth and now they are all migrating back home with their babies.           


The whale watch was a fun experience and I enjoyed watching for whales and learning more about them.

This Graph shows that we saw more whales later in the season on the whale watch.

Whale Observation

     On Monday we went to McGregor's point to observe whales. The purpose of this was to use our clinometers to see how far the whales were from our point of view, and by using the formula Distance = Elevation x tan (angle of inclination).
     My questions is "will there be more whales earlier or later in the season"? My hypothesis is that there will be more whales earlier in the season because that's when all the whales are migrating and later they all will migrate back so we might not see as much.
     My experience and McGregor's point was interesting, my favorite part was looking for the whales and measuring them with the clinometer. One challenge was the when we looked in the clinometer it was some times hard to tell what angle the string was hitting because of the wind. We saw a bunch of whales that were spouting

Marine Phyla Lab Reflection

     In this unit we learned about all the different types of Phyla. There are nine different types of marine Phyla, they are Mullusca, which are clams, oysters, snails, and squids, Arthropoda are lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. Echinodermata include starfish and sea urchins. Nematoda are hook worms and round worms. Platyhelmithes are flatworms and tape worms. Cnidaria include coral, sea anemones and jellyfish. Porifera are sponge-like creatures. Annelids include earth worms and leeches, and Chordata refer to fish. What we did was we went to the fish ponds and layed down a quadrant five times in a random placement and counted all the marine phyla we could find and tallied them on our data sheet table, then we averaged them out with the wholes classes data to see which was the most present and more in diversity.

     My research questions was Which marine Phyla are going to be more present in the south Maui tide pools, and which one will have a larger quantity? My hypothesis was that the Phyla, Chordata, Echinodermata, and mullusca will be more present in the tide pools. My hypothesis in having to find mollusks the most in diversity was correct because that was the most that we found. Some sources of error were that we could have miss counted creatures in the quadrant, the tides could have been different either high or low at different times, or that some creatures might have moved out before we got to count them. 

     My favorite part of this lab was the experience of going out to the tide pools and finding all these marine phylum's that Ive never seen before. I also learned new skills on making a better lab and making pie graphs.

Geocaching

For the past few weeks we have been experimenting with geocaching in our science class. Geocaching is a world wide hunting game that you do to find caches by using a GPS. We used a site called Geocaching.com to get the exact coordinates to put in the GPS according to caches around the kihei area.

I learned that geocahing can be difficult at times and that its very important that when you find a cache that you put it back in the same place.

Our results were that we found one cache and the other locations we looked we could not find them.

 This is a picture of a few people in my group looking for the cache, but unfortunately we did not find it.