Salish 2018 1

Introduction By: Joey Hoffman, and Devin Cahoon What was the purpose of the experiment? We were trying to figure out if the ph level will affect amount of plankton. We were also trying to figure out if the proximity to land would have any effect on the amount of plankton. Copepod 2

Background Information By: Makenna and Sydney Some of the information that we have about the ocean is the ocean has 80 percent of plankton. We know that 80 percent of the ocean is plankton so that allows us to have an idea on the amount of plankton we are dealing with. Plankton produce 50% of oxygen in the air. This is important because it makes us realize how important plankton are to the environment and our survival. We also know how important they are because they are the base of the food chain so they provide for many other animals. More information we knew beforehand was that the currents affect plankton because plankton drift with the current; they are not strong enough to swim. 3

Hypothesis If Ph affects plankton Then the lower the Ph the less plankton there will be Because the lower the ph is then the more acidic the water will be. Claimed by Ryan Taylor 4

Variables (Pranaya, Ella, Natalie) Independant: pH Level Dependant: Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Controlled: Depth of the Water (7m), Time (2 minutes), Ship Speed, and Tools Used 5

Materials (Megan and Izzy) Carlyn Niskin Bottle Plankton Net Rope Carabiners Motherboard Messenger Lead weight Sample Bottles Rubber Bands Sharpie 6

Methods (Pranaya, Natalie, Ella) Communicate to Captain regarding equipment deployment. Prepare gear for deployment. (Attach cod-end, and weight to the plankton net, and open sides of the niskin bottle and attach the weight.) Deploy niskin bottle and plankton net on opposite sides of the Carlyn. Wait two minutes, then pull gear out of the water and communicate with Captain once more. Collect samples in bottles. Record/research findings on Motherboard and in notebooks. If possible, study the plankton under microscopes. 7

Data (Kalena and Eliana) Station Planktion Level (m) PH 1 140 7 8.1 2 50 7.9 3 42 4 40 7.8 5 35 6

Data

Conclusion Ocean Acidification is the process of ocean getting more acidic. As the gets more acidic it could cause the phytoplankton to die out. The closer to land then the less amount of phytoplankton because there are more objects blocking the sun which is their nutrients and food. We would incorporate the location if we did this experiment again. We would also do it in a different time of year to see if the data changes. 10

Ideas for Future Research (Amanda and Vasilisa) How would the extinction of sea anemones affect the population of fish? How many people will freak out when they see the tanks at FHL? How does the plankton population affect the visibility of the water? How does PH affect entire ecosystems? How does the topography of the area affect jellyfish concentration? How do sea cucumbers affect the food chain? 11

Life on the Carlyn (Ava, Jess) Life on the Carlyn was pretty amazing every day you would wake up to a crew member singing. We would then have 30 minutes to pack our sleeping bags get dressed and prepare and anything else you needed to do. After getting ready you and your fellow sailors would meet in the cockpit and be assigned morning chores. Some of the chores include cleaning the head(bathroom) scrubbing the deck, and cooking. Once both watches were back on the boat we would do morning announcements which includes the forecast amount of waste and more. Then we would split into our watches and get started with our experiments and sailing. After a long morning of work you would switch places so if you were at sailing you would go to science and vise versa. After you experienced both activities one group would go to land and one would stay on the Carlyn. Each night you had chores just like you did when you woke up. After you finished chores you had a creative dessert for example dip and go! And that concludes a day on the Carlyn!

Life on Shore Ryan, Jack, and Gregory Life on Shore was, in our opinion, better than the boat. Life on shore was camping. There were many fun activities such as hiking, observing the shore line and looking at wild life. The food is the same as the boat, and the head is not as nice but much bigger. At 9:30 we would have lights out, then at 7:00 we would wake up and start morning routine. The island were very nice to visit and here are a few to name. Sucia, Jones, Cypress, Lopez. Onshore, your responsibilities were to set up the tent, wash dishes, and repack everything. We would arrive at our island at about 4:00 pm everyday, and we would fire-line our gear on shore after it was loaded off the Carlyn