It’s ALL about the People
There were two trips that were offered in my high school advanced biology course in the spring of 2016. One was an optional, two-day long whale watching trip in January, while the other to Catalina Island was a mandatory, four-day excursion in March. The photo above was from the former, as are the other two down below. Considering that the Catalina Island adventure was more focused on educational/academic purposes, though, I will be writing primarily on that one here.
Watching Dolphins Catch the Boat’s Waves and Observing Whales from a Distance
Again, it’s ALL about the People
Included amongst the various activities that I had the privilege to participate in at the island were snorkeling, dissections, tide pooling, swimming, kayaking, boat rides, visiting an aquarium, hiking, journaling about the experience, and some all-around relaxing and entertaining free time! Any academic aspects (i.e. lectures, dissections) were documented within my field notebook with the corresponding date, as well as location, time, weather, temperature, and sea conditions. All in all, living on the boat itself really wasn’t too bad! Warm meals were provided, there were places to hang up wet clothes and wetsuits (highly recommended to bring those!), two bathrooms, booths in the main “living area” of the boat where activities could be performed indoors, two places to hose off and wash hair after having been in the water, a nice, high vantage point from the upper deck, and sleeping bunks down below with small mattresses. Not to mention, the captains, staff, and friendly dog were absolutely phenomenal!
Out Enjoying the Water (Do you see the Seal Lying on the Rock in the Background?)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) at the Boat and Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)
The first day at the island involved snorkeling at Duck Cove, a squid dissection, and a plankton lab where we examined the critters under a microscope.
Taking Notes during Lecture Time and Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) Swimming
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Basking
The second day, we dissected a bony fish, shark, went kayaking to Cabrillo Beach in order to go tide pooling, and visited the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (not to mention celebrated one of our colleague’s birthdays!).
Dissecting a Shark
Hanging out at the Tide Pools. Can you Spot the Sea Hare (Aplysia californica)?
Demonstrating the Stickiness of the Sea Anemone’s (Anthopleura elegantissima) Tentacles
The agenda of the third day included some more snorkeling at Abalone Cove, as well as kayaking (don’t flip over :), a hike on the island near Lion’s Head, and an echinoderm lab that consisted of observing a sea star and dissecting a live sea urchin and sea cucumber (fortunately the animals couldn’t feel any pain!). Finally, the fourth day topped everything off with being in the water once again at Torqua Springs.
About to go Kayaking and View of the Ocean from the Island
Kayaking over to the Island and then Taking a Hike
The final assignment was comprised of putting together a photo journal documenting the entire trip, as well as picking 10 species we saw/studied for which to create “species profiles.” Here we noted through direct observations what habitats they lived in, and any particular behaviors and adaptations they exhibited. My corresponding Word document for that part of the assignment is attached below (“H” stands for “Habitat,” “B” for “Behavior,” and “A” for “Adaptation”).
