Today was full of information including finishing off a dissection, talking about two more articles, and beginning a project over the things we will see while in the BVI. Starting off the class, we went to lab to continue where we left yesterday with the dogfish shark dissection. Because we had to stop mid-lab, our shark was not as preserved, but was still good for observing. Today we looked at things from its nervous system, which was located farther up on its head than I expected. This lab was a little messy, so once we were done looking, we cleaned the tables and tools and then headed back to the classroom. Once there, we began the first article which discussed how porpoises used echolocation, or their clicking sounds, when catching prey. The experiment showed that the closer the porpoises got to the fish, the number of click sounds decreased. The next article we discussed was about how temperature affects the lifespan of coral. They observed a coral larva in three slightly different temperatures with one being the most reasonable, the next a little warmer, and the last even warmer. The results showed that the slightest change in temperature than what the coral is used to and needs can stunt its growth and even make it die. With the articles complete, we moved onto a group project. Each group was given a different topic with all of them relating to the BVI and being possible things we might see. My group was given marine mammals specific to the BVI. Having a little research so far, we determined that there were a few species of dolphins as well as a porpoise species and a whale species. There is still much left to do before we present to the class tomorrow. Everything we talked about today relates very much to marine biology topics as we became more familiar with the internal anatomy of a shark, learned a technique use by a porpoise with its environment, discovered how temperature is critical to the growth and lives of coral, and also found out of possible creatures we may be observing while on the trip. With only one day left, the trip is very close, and I am very excited!
