Projects

Ocean Acidification and

Barnacles

Rise in atmospheric CO2 leads to lower ocean pH as dissolved CO2 and water react to form carbonic acid. The effects of more acidic ocean water on sea life is a hot topic of research for students to dive into. For this project we are maintaining tanks of barnacles at varying pH levels in order to test the long term effects global warming may have on barnacle feeding and predator response.

Mussels and Microplastics

Microplastics have become more prevalent throughout the worlds' ecosystems. The oceans especially, as plastic particles easily disperse through the water. Studies have found that virtually 100% of sea life contains microplastics. Mussels have received notice, because as filter feeders they consume and retain very high levels of microplastics. This raises both concerns, such as seafood contamination, as well as potential solutions, such as growing mussel beds to filter microplastics out of water.

This project will have students release microplastics into a mussel aquarium, then analyze how much the mussels contain after periods of time.

MPA Effectiveness in Tide

Pools

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are vital regulation tools to protect wildlife and ensure fishery health. Well maintained MPAs lead to increased population and average size, and can be beneficial both environmentally and economically in overfished fisheries as the healthy protected population spills over into unprotected waters.

For this project students participate in field trips to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve where we perform quadrat surveys both within the reserve and in the adjacent unprotected tide pools. The quadrats are then analyzed for differences in biodiversity, average size, population size, and ground coverage.

Algae Battery

With energy generation being an ever relevant concern, using algae to generate electricity is an intriguing possibility. For this project we will collaborate with Dr. Robert Downing's engineering lab to grow algae for a battery with the hope of powering a computer using only photosynthesis.