Shark Dissection!

Hello!

As a start to our third day, we had our first quest. A quest is a combination of a quiz and a test due to its length being similar to a quiz and content being similar to a test. So far we have covered topics such as the anatomy of a squid, Charles Darwin’s theory of convergent evolution, and the phylum classifications of different invertebrates.

Now onto sharks! After our test we learned about various aspects of a shark’s anatomy and life style. Did you know that a shark’s skeleton is made out of cartilage and not out of bone? We are now able to identify the differences between sharks, bony fish, skates, and rays. We learned the impressive ways that sharks hunt and the various different ways that they can give birth. In using the DyKnow program for our lectures, we are able to see the images and notes that Mr. Daly and Mrs. Becker provide for us and write our own notes alongside them.

When we finished the shark biology lecture we dove into the shark dissection movie. Now, after watching the first two dissection videos we have gotten used to see the gruesome insides of sea animals. There is nothing better than watching Joy, one of the specialized scientists, rip apart the insides of the shark. We learned a lot about how the great white shark survives and how it evolved over time. It was a very interesting movie. After the movie, we went to lunch and prepared to dissect our own sharks!

Check out Joy and her Great White specimen! (Courtesy of PBS: Inside Nature's Giants)

After we got back from lunch, we pulled out the two small dogfish sharks! They were compacted into an airtight baggie with this greenish-yellow liquid. We have never smelled anything worse than when we cut open that bag and pulled out the dead shark. The room reeked for hours after- we learned the smell was from the preservatives. During the dissection, we looked at the fins and took a look at the rough scales on the shark. 

The female dogfish specimen!

Finally, we were allowed to cut open the shark! We snipped off the bottom jaw and took a look inside at their gill system and teeth. One group had the male dogfish and the other group had the female. The female shark was pregnant and there were three little baby sharks inside! They were each still attached to a yolk sac. After the dissection, the group left the smelly room and went on break to let it air out. 

Evan, Laura, and Seysha show us the baby sharks attached to yolks.

 Mr. Daly shows Michael how to cut into the shark.

As even more preparation for our journey into the unknown land of the Bahamas, we were given a crash course into 52 different species of birds and fish that we are likely to see during our trip. Our favorite bird was the Belted Kingfisher and our favorite fish was the Four-Eye Butterfly Fish. Hopefully we get to see both!

To finish our day we sang the Bahama national anthem. Although our singing is still a little off key, we will be singing like natives when we get there! 

Goodnight, 

Laura and Nick

Super Weaners!

Hi everyone, 

We are one day closer to the Bahamas! Yay! We started today with a DyKnow wrapping up how qualities of the ocean such as temperature, pH, and dissolved gasses affect marine life (and how it conforms to given water conditions). We learned how organisms “breathe” in the salty water and how marine organisms can be classified depending on how far away from the shore they dwell. We finally deciphered the difference between warm-blooded and cold-blooded marine animals, which transitioned us nicely into a DyKnow session surrounding marine mammals.

Elephant seals aren’t as cute as harbor seals, but they sure have funnier names. Mr. Daly explained the inner workings of Northern Elephant Seal rookeries to the class, as well as the concept of “harems”, the evolution of the “weaner”, and the rare but hilarious… wait for it… “super weaner”. A super weaner is a seal pup who has weaned from a mother twice and thus gets twice as big as all the other pups! We transitioned into talking about sea otters (who knew they were the size of a German Shepard!), polar bears (some of the only animals that actually hunt humans), and finally, whales. We learned the difference between baleen and sperm whales; baleen whales are named after their form of teeth, and sperm whales are named for the massive compartment of valuable spermaceti in their heads.

Whoever named elephant seals was a comedic genius. 

This information helped us transition into a whale dissection video (which was every bit as gross as it was entertaining). We were all amazed at how massive a whale body is! Our friend Joy walked us through the (enormous) anatomy of a sperm whale and exposed the unique spermaceti these whales carry and explained its importance in the whale’s echolocation abilities. As interesting as this dissection was to watch, we concluded that we’re all pretty happy with sticking to squid. What a great topic to cover right before lunch!

A less graphic snapshot of a sperm whale’s cranial anatomy.

Today after lunch, we learned all about marine invertebrates. In a short lecture, Mrs. Becker taught us about everything from Porifera (sponges) to Mollusca (squids, snails, and octopi), and even Cnidaria (coral and jellies). We broke down the defining characteristics of each phylum to help us better understand how these different animals are related. It helped that Mrs. Becker brought out her own collection of shells, and the remains of coral and other marine invertebrates so that we could actually hold some of the things she was teaching us about. She also made sure to include some warnings about what invertebrates we should avoid while we are in the Bahamas. A few that she made special notice of are fire coral and fire worms whose stings make it feel like you are on fire. Even with these warnings, there is nowhere near enough time to teach us about all the dangers that live in the ocean so, the general rule of thumb is: while we are in the Bahamas, we should not touch anything unless we are told it is okay.

Be careful not to touch a fire worm or risk feeling like you are on fire!

Following our afternoon break, we received a brief lesson on whaling before jumping right into a simulation of the annual IWC meeting. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a group supported by many countries to help regulate whaling and protect the majestic giants of the oceans. The IWC works to limit the number of whales killed every year so that they can repopulate to numbers that existed before humans began hunting them. Due to the long gestation period and low birth rates among most species of whales, the IWC has currently put a moratorium in place banning whaling worldwide. Since the IWC is merely a committee of scientists and people who are passionate about saving whales, they have limited power enforcing their moratorium. One of the challenges that we faced while role playing as different countries represented in the IWC is how we plan to deal with indigenous groups and others who disregard the moratorium. Ultimately, in the end, we agreed that we would strike down the moratorium and lift the ban on whaling. While this was not what the class actually agreed with, the materials that we were given suggested that whaling is an important part of the economy of many countries and there is a shared feeling that whaling is simply going to happen. This activity sparked a discussing among the students about why it is so important to protect marine life.

The logo of the IWC 

We are excited to continue to learn about marine life as we prepare for our trip to the Bahamas, and mostly excited for our first test tomorrow!

Helen and Evan

It's finally here! Our first day in Gates Mills...

Hello everyone!

As we walked into the first day of the Marine Science intensive, we were graciously greeted by two boxes of donuts (Mrs. B and Mr. D sure know how to start off a Monday). We’re spending the week at Gates Mills, and then flying off to the Bahamas on December 5th. Today we started off class talking about the trip, and looking at a map of the Island School campus. We saw where the dorms and dining hall were located, and we saw the general layout of our time there would be surrounding this one loop. Then we were told about the run-swims we’d be having every morning at 7, and how they were led by a former Marine (let’s hope they aren’t too intense for our sake).

Check out this fancy map Mr. Daly drew to show us the layout of the Island School and the surrounding areas!

We then started talking about the physiology of marine animals. We went into all the different systems, from circulatory to respiratory, and all the different ways animals could be sorted. It was interesting to learn about the difference in respiration between a human’s lungs and a fish’s gills (and to have some funny pictures of Mr. D thrown in the DyKnow slides as well). We then dived into a dissection of a squid, to learn about the physiology firsthand. This lab was super fun, but also kind of disgusting. We looked at every little inch of the squids, from pulling out their beaks to finding their eye lenses. We even wrote our names using the ink of the squid and the ‘pen’ found within it. By the end of the lab, our hands were covered in ink and squid juice, and the whole room reeked of squid. But luckily, Mrs. B came to the rescue with some scented candles!

  

Zach and Nihaal showing off their squid specimen.

 

Dalia and Sarah wrote this note to their specimen with the squid's own internal skeleton, known as a 'pen,' and it's own squid ink!

After we came back from lunch, we watched a movie about giant squids. We saw the scientists dissect the giant squid, and recognized lots of the same things that we had seen in our dissections from an hour before. We also learned about a giant squid’s life in the deep ocean, like how it catches its prey or reproduces (which is really strange by the way…). We then went off for a short 20 minute break before returning to class.

When we came back, we were welcomed by every senior’s favorite reminder of the ever-so-stressful college process: Mrs. Bischoff. She made sure to remind all of us what not to do while we were gone, lest we end up having to deal with more problems when we return. We then continued on with some more DyKnow about life in the ocean, and how energy moves up the food web (notice that it’s not called a food chain, because we are sophisticated marine scientists who know it's more complicated than that!). We ended class with an interesting rendition of the Bahamian national anthem, “March on Bahamaland.” None of us could figure out the rhythm or tune, and the pitch was a little too high for most of us to reach, but shout-out to Devlin for giving it his all. 

This is the Bahamian flag!

Only a week till the Bahamas! 

Nihaal and Zach

March On, Marine Science Intensive Alumni!

We'd like to give a big shout-out to our spirit-animal-finding, dish-crew-dancing, nightly-quiz-surviving Hawken Marine Science Intensive alumni! We are departing for our 4th trip this coming Monday and we invite you to follow along here with the Class of 2017. We will happily pass messages along to Liz and Stan for you, of course when Mr. Daly isn't off gathering early morning passionfruit or Ms. Post (now Mrs. Becker!) isn't searching for the elusive aplysia off Boys' Dorm Beach. Happy holidays from those of us about to sit around the invasive Casuarina Christmas tree! xoxo

Hello class of 2016, 2015, and 2014 Island School Intensive alumni!

Welcome!

Greetings,
As the fall intensive approaches, we have our eyes set on our trip to the Bahamas! On Monday, November 28th, our course officially begins. We depart for the Bahamas on Monday, December 5th and we will return on Friday, December 16th. Each day of the intensive, both in Gates Mills and on Eleuthera, students will post updates on this blog. Check back here and read about our adventures!
Mrs. Becker & Mr. Daly