03-04 Research Projects | Marine Science Experience Home Page | BioWeb Home Page
| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Jerry Huang and John Young |
| Project Title: Mud Analysis with Van Veen Mudgrab | |
| Abstract: Question:
What was the difference between mud found on land and the mud found in the
sea? The mud on land provides a home for organisms such as worms. The mud
found in the sea provides a home for bottom dwelling sea life, which are
an integral part of the food web. Methodology: We decided to use the Van Veen Mudgrab to pick up the mud from the bottom of the ocean; we then brought it up and tested its temperature with a thermometer, observed its texture, and looked at the color. Results: We observed that the mud in the harbor was not brown, but a greenish color because of the deceased organisms that fertilized it along with the dead plants. The texture was also different from land mud; it was not very thick and slimy, as we had known land mud is from past experiences, but, actually, the ocean mud was very thin and full of sediment. Finally, we found that the temperature of the mud was about 18-19 degrees Celsius. In conclusion, we have discovered that land mud and sea mud are different because they are in different environments. |
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| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Ashley Fong, Nichole Adrian, and Hannah Galloway |
| Project Title: Water Conditions in the L.A. Harbor and the Rock Pile | |
| Abstract: Question:
How are the conditions of the water different between the two trips in
regards to visibility and the color of the water? Methodology: We collected water samples at two sites, the Rock Pile and inside the L.A. Harbor and used the secchi disk and the Forel-Ule Color system. Results: The Forel-Ule color was more on the brownish-greenish side whereas the water near the harbor on the Forel-Ule color was a blue-green. For visibility, the water at the Rock Pile was 10.5 meters deep and in the harbor the visibility was only 3.5 meters. In conclusion, the water conditions may differ greatly from pollution, but further testing must be performed to confirm this idea. |
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| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Alex White and Maddie Lawrence |
| Project Title: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! | |
| Abstract: How are the looks of the halibut and the queenfish different? Finding this out is an important way to identify the fish and learn a little bit about their behavior. We received our data by taking a boat trip, and using an otter trawl inside the L.A. Harbor. We measured the fish using their standard lengths, as well as compared mouth sizes and shapes. The halibut was much larger and has a bigger mouth which allows halibut to eat other large fish. While the queenfish was much smaller, and has an expandable jaw, which is helpful for eating smaller food such as macroplankton, crustaceans, and small fish. | |
| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: James Schuchert and Ridge Abraham and Russel Paulson |
| Project Title: Temperature | |
| Abstract:
On May 21, 2004
our sixth grade class took a trip to the Los Angeles Harbor and went on a
voyage. When we went there we did an experiment to compare the surface
temperature of the harbor to outside the harbor. This question is
important because it greatly affects sea life. When we stopped outside the harbor we had a bucket of surface water and three thermometers. We put the thermometers in the water for 2 minutes and recorded the temperature, which was 19.2ºC. On our way back we stopped in the harbor and took another reading of the temperature, which was 19.5ºC. We believe the results are different because the LA Harbor is created by a huge jetty or wall of rocks. The jetty limits water circulation so the temperatures become different. |
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| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Haylee Schiavo, Chelsea Brewer, Veronica Viayra |
| Project Title: Sea Stars | |
| Abstract: What are the different colors, sizes, and textures of the sea stars in the ocean? This is important because we are studying sea stars in class, which made us more curious about them. First, we used a bottom grab to pull up the specimens from the "Rock Pile". Next, we observed all of the sea stars that we pulled up and recorded our findings. We found out the common colors are beige, red, light brown, orange, and purple. The sizes range from about one inch to three inches. The different textures included smooth, rough, and spiny. Hopefully this information will inspire more people to learn about these amazing creatures. | |
| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Carsan Dittman and Paris Nelson |
| Project Title: Brittle Stars | |
| Abstract: Are there more brittle stars inside the harbor with the otter trawl or outside the harbor with the bottom grab at the rock pile? We found this interesting and wanted to learn more about brittle stars. First, we dropped the otter trawl in the LA Harbor. Next, we dropped the bottom grab at the Rock Pile. We counted the organisms collected. There were about three brittle stars from the bottom grab and none in the otter trawl. We believe the reason there were more brittle stars in the rock pile is because brittle stars live on the rocky sea floor. Although two different devices were used to collect the data, we believe the data is still good because brittle stars prefer the rocky sea floor over the sandy open bottom. | |
| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Katelyn Nelson |
| Project Title: Secchi Disc | |
| Abstract:
How many feet
will it take for the secchi disc to disappear? This is an important
question to ask because it tells you how deep the sunlight is penetrating
for autotrophs. The methodology was to tie a rope through a secchi disc, marked in feet intervals, and lower it into the water. Then write down the number of feet it took the secchi disc to disappear. So many boats on the Colorado River combined with the windy and choppy conditions made it difficult to complete the experiment. The shallowness of the water and strong currents also made this experiment impossible. Therefore, I was not able to complete this experiment. |
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| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Aazim Rajani and John Scudiero |
| Project Title: Fish and Shrimp Project | |
| Abstract: We were trying to answer if there are more fish or shrimp in the LA Harbor. We thought this question would be interesting because we are curious about the variety and numbers of organisms in the ocean. We got the information by using an otter trawl to catch the organisms. The result: we found out that there are more shrimp than fish in the LA Harbor. After collecting our data and research we discovered that there are more shrimp in the LA Harbor because all of the pollution in the water kills fish, but shrimp are able to handle the conditions better. | |
| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Kristen Sato and Shannon Bezic |
| Project Title: Sea Lions | |
| Abstract: What is the difference between the number of sea lions on the harbor's buoys vs. the number of sea lions on the buoys out of the harbor? This is an important question because it can be beneficial in learning about sea lion behavior. While aboard the boat, Vantuna, we frequently scanned the water with our binoculars for buoys that had sea lions on them. We concluded that there were more sea lions on the buoys in the harbor than out of the harbor. Because there were more buoys in the harbor, it would be more likely for sea lions to get on them. | |
| School/Teacher: Rolling Hills Country Day School/ Mrs. Clarkson | |
| Class: Life Science | Name: Sally Yoshimura and Christine Whittemore |
| Project Title: Changing Water Color | |
| Abstract: How much does the water color change from inside the harbor verses outside the harbor? This question is important to us because we thought it was fascinating how the water color can change from different areas, and maybe the water color has an affect for the animals living inside the water. Lowering the Secchi disk until we couldn't see it anymore, we measured 2.5 meters inside the harbor. As we held the Forel/Ule Scale inside the harbor, we got the number sixteen, which turned out to be a greenish color. Then we sailed out to the site Rock Pile and did the exact same thing. It turned out to be 10.5 meters deep for visibility, and the color number was three, a turqoise. Finally, we concluded that it was eight meters in difference. Using our data, we learned that even though the sites are close to each other, there is a great difference between the two sites regarding visibility and the color of the water. Perhaps inside the harbor, people are polluting the water and this reason may affect the water color and visibility. | |
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