Fish Lab  The waters of Catalina Island host a huge variety of fish species. While snorkeling, students and teachers encounter an abundance of these vertebrates, from the common Garibaldi, Opaleye and Kelp Bass to the harder to spot Blue Banded Goby or Male Sheephead. The fish lab is an excellent compliment to the snorkeling experience; utilizing several well-stocked aquariums and a shark touch tank, our instructors help students to become more familiar with what they are seeing while in the water. Students are also introduced to the classification, anatomy, behavior and other adaptive features of fish.
Discovering Sharks
Sharks are among the oldest animals on earth, a marvel of adaptation that has gone basically unchanged for over 200 million years! They are also one of the most feared, and misunderstood, inhabitants of the ocean. Presentations and student-involved activities help students to understand these amazing creatures; this experience also alleviates many fears about sharks and helps to mitigate the myth of their danger. Instructors will use sharkskins, jaws, specimens and visual aids to teach students the characteristic biology and different species of sharks.
Algae Lab
 Algae, also known as seaweed, is an extraordinarily important component in the ocean's ecosystems as well as in the larger ecosystem of the entire planet! Many of the animals in Catalina's waters rely on Algae for shelter, protection and as a food source. The forests of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) are one of the most common, and most spectacular, marine ecosystems in Southern California. Even for humans, algae is an important ingredient in many foods we commonly eat. The slimy plants are used to make alginates and careegenans which are found in products like jell-o, whipped cream, milk and toothpaste. In addition, algae -- mostly microscopic drifting algae called phytoplankton -- produces about 70% of the Earth's oxygen!
In the algae lab, students explore specimens of over a dozen local species of algae, and maybe even eat some! Instructors also lead students in discussions of the classification of algae, how algae differs from land plants, the anatomy and behavior of Giant Kelp and kelp forests, and the many human uses for algae. The lab culminates as students make a pressed herbarium-style sample of common algae species to take home!
Oceanography Cruise
In the Oceanography Lab, the ocean is the classroom as students and teachers ride aboard our research vessels called "Flat-Tops." While aboard the boat, students will cruise along the coast of the island where they might see Sea Lions, Harbor Seals or other marine mammals! Instructors will also pilot the boat into the Blue Water -- the area further away from the island where the water gets deep -- to do oceanography experiments. Students will collect samples, check and test for currents, water temperature, wind, light spectra and visibility. On the return trip, students will do a plankton tow to collect specimens to observe in the Plankton Lab.
Plankton Lab
 Using the sample collected on the oceanography cruise, students use Video Microscopes to observe live plankton! Plankton is plants and animals that drift with the current; although plankton comes in all sizes, most is microscopic and it ranges form eggs and larvae to fully matured organisms.
Divided up as teams, students look at their samples on monitors connected to microscopes and, using a plankton guide, identify the different types of plankton. Students are amazed at the diversity, and sometimes bizarre appearance, of organisms that they've unknowingly been surrounded by while snorkeling. All microscopes are also connected to a central monitor that the instructor can use to show all students the different types of plankton that students have identified: diatoms, dinoflagellates, copepods, fish eggs and invertebrate larvae among many others. Instructors also lead students in a discussion of the food web, of which plankton act as the base, and some effects pollution has on the world's oceans.
Invertebrate Lab
 Sea Urchins, Anemones, Sea Hares, Sea Cucumbers, Sea Stars and a host of other local invertebrates are available to view and touch in this lab, always a student favorite! Our large touch tank is well stocked with a number of these animals without backbones, including members of the phyla Porifera (Many Pores), Cnidaria (Stinging Cells), Echinodermata (Spiny Skin), Annelida (Segmented Body), Mollusca (Soft Body) and Arthropoda (Jointed Foot). Through close student examination of these animals, instructors facilitate discussions of classification, species identification, adaptation and natural history.
Marine Mammals Marine Mammals are among the most awe-inspiring animals on earth! From the colossal Blue Whale, at 110 feet long the largest animal known to have ever existed, to the bottlenose dolphin, with its high intelligence and complex social structures, to the playful California Sea Lion. These animals have always captured the imagination, probably in part because they are so similar to humans in so many ways, yet live in such a drastically different environment. Students touch and examine a variety of bones, skulls and fur pelts and watch a slide presentation of the cetaceans and pinnipeds found off Catalina Island. Throughout these presentations, the instructor guides the students through discussions of Marine Mammal classification, anatomy and unique adaptive features as well as the many intriguing behaviors that Marine Mammals display.
Island Ecology Hike
The canyons of Cherry Cove contain a number of great hiking trails, most of which provide spectacular views of the camp and the ocean below! The well-groomed trails are perfect for hikers of all levels; a diverse abundance of plant life as well as streambeds, rocks, and maybe even resident animals and birds make for an exciting and educational experience. As they encounter the natural surroundings, students explore the unique features of island life, including methods of colonization by plants and animals, adaptation to better suit the island environment and the many endemic, or only found on this island, species. Instructors will also lead discussions of streambed ecology, feral animals, scatology, geology and the history of the Native Islanders, including the local plants these members of the Chumash tribe used for food and other purposes. Geology Lab and Mini-Hike  Catalina Island, like all islands, is a unique environment and ecosystem shaped by a multitude of geologic forces, weather patterns, animal and plant inhabitants and, of course, the ocean that surrounds it. On this hike, students are introduced to geology, plate tectonics and learn about the forces that created the island. The hike culminates with an adventure into a silver mine right in Cherry Cove!
|
