1. Natural Resources SCP: Plankton Survey
By Mariah Crowley

2. My Essential Question
What are the differences between plankton populations in Port Angeles Harbor and the Peabody Creek Estuary and how do these differences reflect the health on the two sites?

3. What I Knew Before Starting
I knew the “basics” of plankton.
Types: Phytoplankton (plant-like) and zooplankton (animal-like).
What they were: Very small organisms that lived in water.
They are the base of the oceanic food chain.
They are good for the environment.
That whales eat them.

4. What I Didn’t Know Before Starting
The definition of plankton.
Anything in the water column that is alive but can’t move of its own violation.
All the different types of plankton. Especially the types that live in our harbor.
That some types of plankton don’t stay plankton.
Holoplankton stay plankton their whole lives.
Meroplankton are plankton for only a part of their life cycle.
Plankton can be bad for the environment.
Red tide, dead zones, etc.

5. Personal Importance of the Project
This project is important to me because I love Port Angeles and I wanted to do something that would benefit the community. I felt that that Port Angeles Harbor was important to the people of Port Angeles so they should know about its health.

6. Significance of my Project
This project could help determine the health of Port Angeles Harbor and the Peabody Creek Estuary.

7. Primary Sources Ed Bowlby Bob Campbell
Works for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary(OCNMS).
My project can be given to other researchers by Mr. Bowlby and also used to monitor recourses.
Bob Campbell
Works for Feiro Marine Life Center.
My project can help Mr. Campbell to create a baseline plankton population in Port Angeles Harbor.

8. Secondary Sources Books & Pamphlets: Websites:
Plankton: A Guide to Understanding their Ecology and Monitoring for Water Quality By Iain M. Suthers and David Rissik
A Guide to Marine Costal Plankton and Marine Invertebrate Larvae By DeBoyd L. Smith and Kevin B. Johnson
Ocean Literacy National Geographic Society
Websites:
“What are Phytoplankton?: Feature Articles
“Port Angeles, Washington community profile
Columbia Encyclopedia definition of the Strait of Juan de Fuca
OCNMS Website
“Zooplankton- MarineBio.org”
Plankton Image from Google image search

9. Materials
80 micron Plankton net – With markers to indicate 3m and 5m depths.
Bucket with a rope attached
Two glass sample jars
Two small glass jars- For viewing under microscope
Microscope
Graduated Cylinder
Pipette
YSI 85- For dissolved oxygen measurement
Refractometer- For salinity measurement
pH meter-For pH measurement
Thermometer- For temperature measurement

10. Materials cont.
YSI 85
pH Meter
Refractometer
Thermometer

11. Procedure
1.Gather materials, being sure that the plankton net’s depth markers are at 3m and 5m.
2.Go to the City Pier site. Using data sheet record information.
3.Tie off excess rope to the railing. Take a water sample with the bucket. Record data.
4. Tie off excess rope to the railing. Take plankton sample. Put in sample jar.

12. Procedure cont.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 at the Peabody Creek Estuary site. 6. Take the samples back to the lab. 7. Measure the samples in a graduated cylinder. Record. 8.Pour a portion of each of the samples into its own viewing jar. 9. Observe under the microscope.

13. Procedure cont.

14. Data I collected data on the following days: March 29 April 12
May 3
May 17
May 24
May 26
May 31

15. Zooplankton
When we observed the plankton we couldn’t count the number of plankton very accurately so we used the words “None”, “Present”, “Common”, and “Bloom”
Graph Key
0-None
1-Present
2-Common
3-Bloom

16. Barnacle

17. Polychaete

18. Copepod

19. Obelia

20. Tunicate

21. Crab

22. Shrimp

23. Amphipod

24. Comb Jelly

25. Gastropod Veliger

26. Phytoplankton
When we observed the plankton we couldn’t count the number of plankton very accurately so we used the words “None”, “Present”, “Common”, and “Bloom”
Graph Key
0-None
1-Present
2-Common
3-Bloom

27. Cosinodiscus

28. Chaetoceros

29. Thalassiosira

30. Nitzschia

31. Noctiluca

32. Planktoniella

33. What I learned
As I looked at my data over the weeks I began to see that neither of the sites was clearly healthier than the other by looking at their plankton populations alone.
Both site’s plankton populations seemed very similar in the types of plankton and the amount of those types they contained.

34. Personal Impacts I learned about the interconnectedness of the oceans.
How the health of a small area can affect the whole ecosystem.
I now know how to sample and observe plankton. Also I know how to measure pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity.

35. Thank You Ed Bowlby Bob Campbell & The Feiro Marine Life Center
Tara Morrow
Dan Lieberman
Kayla McLaughlin
Meme Jahns
Lance Alderson

36. Questions?

37. Thank You!