Zooplankton and Coconut Island

Zooplankton Part I - 3/12/13

     This Tuesday we were with Sherril and Judy. We continued with our efforts on the study of what kinds of zooplanktons are present in the fishpond as well as its surrounding walls in Kane'ohe Bay. From this data we hope that Pae Pae can use it to determine what kinds of species are residing in the pond, if it is a nursery of some kind, the origin of the zooplankton (river-freshwater, brackish water, or ocean-saltwater).

     We were split into partners and assigned sites in the fishpond to collect zooplankton in a 153 micron net for 3 minutes about 20 yards in circumference around the marker point. 

• Tiffany and Sherrine - Center of fishpond
• Laura and Christian - Makaha 3 & 
• Michelle and Jake - Mangrove Island
• Pua and Jordan - 
• Michelle and Sherrine - 

   Along with the netting we also collected a bottle of water to measure for salinity using a basic floating hydrometer that used the buoyancy of the needle to determine the measurement in parts per thousand.

     Once we were done with our collections we headed back in to first observe the plankton in free swim, then killed them with 1 mL of ethanol to preserve them to quantify and identify. For each zooplankton concentrate collected 4 sub-samples were observed and quantified to increase accuracy as well as precision.

Zooplankton Part II - 3/16/13

     On Saturday we were lucky to go on island and visit Sherril on her home turf, Coconut Island also known as Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) or Moku o Lo'e. When we landed on island we were first greeted by Mike and Leon from the Community Education Program that were our hosts as we used their Learning Center lab facility and microscopes. Both Leon and Mike were both extremely knowledgeable about the history of the island, the creatures that inhabited the island, and the research conducted on island. They even told us the fun facts about how it was a zoo during Hawai'i's territory age, a tuna packing facility, and even a R&R during World War II.

     When we headed to the lab we continued with our work quantifying, identifying, and observing our sample collected on Tuesday. 

     After lunch we were surprised to experience what visitors of HIMB can sign up for through the Community Education Program. Leon and Mike setup a presentation and a fun lab mocking what happens on the Super Sucker. The Super Sucker is a boat that goes out occasionally in Kane'ohe Bay and vacuums the large invasive algal beds smothering the coral from sunlight. We learned that coral contains zooxanthellae,  a one-celled photosynthetic organism that provides the coral with necessary nutrients from the process of photosynthesis. So without sunlight the zooxanthellae cannot provide the coral with food and thus starving the coral reefs. 

     Once the algae is sucked up it is laid onto a a sorting platform where workers pick out different organisms that might have been caught in the mass of invasive algae. What the lab set up did was allowed us to be the "sorters" and "scientists". We took the bucket filled with invasive algae and the organisms caught in it and separated them into their general phylum. 

Basic Marine Phylum:

• Porifera - sponges
• Mollucs - clams, oysters, bivalves
• Cephalapods - octopus, squid, cuttlefish 
• Cnidarian - jelly fish, coral, polyps
• Annelids - segmented worms, fireworms, feather duster 
• Tetrapods - shrimps, crabs
• Echinodermata - brittle stars, sea cucumbers, tube-feet organisms, spiny skin organisms
• Tunicates - sea squirts
• Chordates - fish

     We also had a separate container for the invasive algae and native algae (fishermen's eye). 

     Once we were done with the activity we tallied up the number of each species in each phylum and set them all free, except the invasive algae which were probably bagged up and sent to taro farms as nutrient-rich fertilizer.

     After the lab we had a little extra time on our hands so Mike, Leon, and Sherril took us around the island for a lour of the learning sites as wells as the research sites located around the island. Some areas included:

• Eyes of the Reef - A network started up by researcher at HIMB on coral. The program educates the public about possible ways coral can get damaged. Either from predation, invasive species, coral competition, coral bleaching, coral disease, and even mistreatment by locals and tourists alike.
• Shark Experiment  
• Touch Tank - The learning site in part of the Community Education Program where visitors can experience and touch certain, different marine life living around the island. Animals included mushroom coral, sea cucumbers, tiger cowrie, collector urchins, and much more. 
• Octopus Tank - We were lucky that Sherril knew her stuff about this experiment since her roomate was the research in charge of the project. We observed the two different tanks that contained the night and dark octopus. Sherril also explained to us that her roomate was researching whether female octopus had multiple mates because they had the characteristic of housing sperm within themselves. So through genetic analysis, she hopes to find her answer!
• Tuna Tank 

Thank you HIMB for having us LAIP-ers visit! It was the best Saturday yet! Special thanks to Leon and Mike for hosting us!