12/01/13

So today I fed Jelly Lab in the morning along with the Red Abalone. Then I started to wash out my tanks first with fresh water and then with salt water. After the washing I had to put them in the water tables and start making and connecting the air and water lines. I needed 9 air lines and 9 water lines. It took a really long time to connect the airlines because they were hard to fit over the nozzles. Then I had to go find a lid for my tanks. Andres was a great help and took me to the 'hobbit' room and helped me fins them. Then I had to go catch the Olive Rockfish.... this was also hard because they are fast and like to jump. Plus they're in a dark holding tank so it was hard to see sometimes. But with the help of Daisy and Andres I finally

11/24/13

Alright, today was focused completely upon my tanks! I finished cutting my mesh dividers and then had to start gluing them in. I had to use hot glue, and as anyone who knows me can tell you, I should never touch one of those.... but I got it all glued in even if it isn't very pretty looking. This actually took up the whole day.

11/17/13

I finished bleaching my last tank today. With not nearly as much leaks as the last one. That took a while. then I started cutting mesh to make my dividers. Yep. That pretty much consisted of today. And I did do some afternoon feeding, but today was mostly dedicated to working on my tank.

EQ

1.   Review this.  Confirm by stating "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."
Essential Question
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Takes a stance (Allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
•  Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if it meets the rule of 3 criteria.
• Tell why it does or why it doesn't

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
Meets all the rules of 3. It calls for research and is not just a simple yes or no question.

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
 Does not meet the rule of 3 because the topic is not specific at all, you can't really research this properly.

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
 Meets the rules of 3, it allows you to argue different points, it calls for research, and the wording makes sense.

d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
Does not meet the rules of 3, although the wording makes sense, it does not really leave much room to take a stance.

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.
What are the most important factors to consider when raising marine life in captivity?

11/10/13

Got my Olive Rockfish today! :D They are adorable too, not that bright, but adorable. They are veracious eaters. I was feeding them whole mysids and they ate everything I put in. Anyways, I did the usual morning feedings and cleanings and then went up to the library to submit my proposal. That took up most of my morning. Then after the library and lunch I went to the tank sheds with Natalie to find  myself three 10 gallon tanks.... this was easier said than done. I didn't find any ten gallon tanks, but instead found three 15-20 gallon tanks. So I took those instead. Then I had to scrub them down and bleach them.But before I could bleach them I had to cover all the holes with tape, which I did with lots and lots of tape, and then fill it up to the top with fresh water and bleach and let that sit for 30 minutes, and so the leaks began. Water just kept on coming out, it had seeped through the tape, and of course it had waited until after I'd put the bleach in. Bleach in cuts doesn't feel good at all. So after a bunch of leaks, tripping over siphons with 5 inch diameters and generally making a mess,  had two tanks done...... or so I'd thought. I found out that after I drained the bleach water I needed to fill it up AGAIN with fresh water and then place four crystals of chemical in it and let that sit for five more minutes. So Then I had to drain it again and finally I was done. So next Sunday I will be bleaching the last tank.

11/03/13

Today has been one of my favorites so far! After the usual morning feedings and tank cleaning, I did my very first tour! Southgate was coming again and Andres asked me if I could give a tour of the aquarium to the kids who were new. So I did, to one kid, yes one kid only. But it was fun. I took him to the jelly lab where he got to hold a moon jelly and took him to the touch tanks, let him feed the red abalone and then gave him a tour of the aquatic nursery and main exhibit hall. After this we stopped for a quick lunch break where I discovered the amazingness that is the maple bacon doughnut. Then we all went down to the tidepools. It was lowtide and there were tons of life about! I saw lots of Sea Hares, Starfish, Muscles, Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Snails, Sea Anemones, sea slugs and tide sculpin. After about a good half hour we all had to go back. Then I fed the animals for the p.m. feeding and met with Andres again. He showed me how to use ImageJ and I got some much-needed facts clarified. I hope to have my proposal submitted by tomorrow.

This is the molted shell of a male Striped Crab I found under a rock.

the Tidepools at Cabrillo are absolutely beautiful, and abundant with life. I highly suggest people go there at low tide.

10/27/13

Today I participated in the usual morning feedings and cleaning of the animals and tanks.Then, I helped Daisy rid the Two Spot Octopus tanks of the dead crabs and such. That was easier said than done. See, we can't really put our hands in  the tanks to pick it up because that really stresses out the octopus. So instead we use basters to 'suck up' the stuff. As you can hopefully imagine, it's hard to suck up a snail shell with a baster..... but we managed. It just took a lot longer than I thought it would. For the most part of the day it was normal. Later I met with both Andres and Nicole to discuss my project. Well, turns out they got rid of their Olive Rockfish so I will be using Kelp Bass instead. Lucky for me the aquatic nursery already has those.

Octopus bimaculoides

Octopus bimaculoides, commonly known as the Two Spot Octopus, is a favorite species of octopus for pets because of its pleasant nature and hardiness. It can be found off the coasts of California to Mexico, from east Africa to America Samoa, Japan and Great Barrier Reef. It is found in the intertidal (low tide) and benthic (subtidal) zones. It is usually found in sandy substrates or hidden in rocks and debris.   It can reach a mantle size of 7 inches and its arms can reach about 23 inches. It is not heavily textured and has several common colors such as brown with grey splotches.The Two Spot octopus gets its name from the two iridescent blue chain-like circles set under each of its eyes. These circles are called ocellus.

10/20/13

Today was a very busy day at the aquarium! It was their annual Seafair and the place was PACKED. But before seafair started, we did the usual feeding and cleaning of the animals. One of the volunteers doing a project on Rock Shrimp found parasites growing inside them so we watched him remove them. That was pretty cool, I like parasites. Then, sea fair started. I was stationed at the front so i worked between the kitchen and the thumb-buddy station. We had a lot of people come that day. Later on I met with my mentor and we once again discussed my research project. We decided that I would use a ten gallon tank, the long ones, and divide it into three different sections. Each section would have two olive rockfish in it. We also decided that we would have no gravel in the tank so that I could put a grid at the bottom to better measure their length by using a program called Image J. I'm almost done finding everything I need to write my proposal, so hopefully in a few weeks I'll have it ready and approved.

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?
What factors are most important to successfully raise marine life from birth/hatching in captivity?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format. 
 One of the possible answers to my EQ is nutrition in a fish's diet. Nutrition is especially important in larval and juvenile stages of fish because this can shape how well they do in later life. Poor diet can lead to things such as mal-pigmentation, skeletal deformities and loss of enzyme capacity. It affects their growth, both in weight and length, and their behavior. I hope to further research the effects of nutrition in diet with my independent component, where I will be using Olive Rockfish as my experimental species.
3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?
The most important source that i have used so far is my mentor. Andres has been really helpful and has provided me with many great opportunities to expand my knowledge. He's taught me the different feeding methods for the fish, cleaning and maintenance and the difference between the AQ1 and AQ2 water lines. I've learned how important water temperature, diet, environment and stress factors are in keeping and raising healthy fish.

 4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?
My mentor is Andres Carillo and I volunteer at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. I volunteer specifically in the aquatic nursery, where I work with larvae and juvenile fish. Both my mentor and the aquatic nursery relate to my EQ. My mentor teaches me how to take care of the young fish, along with giving me problems and 'tests' to have me stop and really think things out. The aquatic nursery provides me with the perfect facility to study the larvae and juveniles, along with actively interacting with the public to not only improve my public speaking skills, but to push me to expand my knowledge so that I can provide them with accurate information.

10/13/13

The morning started off with the normal feeding. I fed everything but the Red Abalone. This is the first time that I've fed Jelly Corner. It was fun, fed them a mix of baby brine shrimp and cyclopeeze. After this I helped clean the tanks to remove and left over food. After all the cleaning was done I checked the blue banded gobie tank for eggs. I didn't find any unfortunately. Soon after a new volunteer and I headed down to the tide pools to collect crabs and snails for the octopus. But we had missed the low tide so when we got there it was high tide... but we collected a large amount of them so that was good. And I got stuck for a few minutes on a little 'island' of rock. I wasn't really paying attention to the tide and so had to wade back to shore..... yeah, I had soggy socks and shoes for the rest of the day. When we returned him and I had to separate all of them between small and big. That took a very long time. Oh, we did something pretty cool today, we collected jellyfish larvae from the moon jellies. I met with my mentor again today and we decided to change my species from swell sharks to Olive Rockfish because rockfish grow a lot faster than Swell Sharks and they're easier to take care of. So I have to re-do my proposal. I'm thinking of just putting the extra hours as my independent component because my research project, which I'm doing either way, will not be done in time. It will be taking about 3 months to do. And I'm hoping to do another after I finish this one.

The Wolf Eel

Well, since the juvenile Wolf Eels are my favorite animals to feed at the aquarium so far, here's some information about them.

The Wolf Eel, Anarrhichthys ocellatus, is a member of the Anarhichadidae family. It is actually not related to other eels, instead is one of five fish in the 'wolffish' family. They can get about 8 feet in length, curling up in caves with just their heads sticking out to catch prey. Wolf Eels mate for life and will take special care of their eggs as they develop. By around the age of seven, females can lay up to 10,000 eggs at a time. She will then coil around them with her body to shape them into a sphere roughly the size of a grapefruit. After she's finished she will remain this way and the male will then coil around her to add another layer of protection. To keep the water and oxygen flowing around the eggs the female will periodically 'massage' the sphere with her coils. The eggs will take about four months to hatch.

Above: Juvenile Wolf Eels are brightly colored and about 1.6 inches after hatching. Below: Wolf Eels fade to a storm grey as they mature and can get up to 8 feet long.

10/06/13

Today I fed all of the animals in the morning and then cleaned all of their tanks. I met with my mentor Andres twice today, the first to discuss my project proposal and the second for the interview number 2. Both went well.... then Eric and I walked down to the tide pools and collected crabs and hermit crabs for the octopus, along with red algae and sea snails for Eric's tank. Then I cam back and made 'green water' and also prepared the larval buckets. Then came the p.m. feeding and cleaning and then the water checks and then home...... yes.

Blog 7: Independent Componet 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I will be continuing my mentorship with Andres Carillo, and possible with a new mentor as well. I will be working in the aquatic nursery helping raise and take care of the animals.

 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I will be posting pictures and posts about what I've done. You can also contact Cabrillo and they will send you my hours of working there.

 

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
  The great thing about working in the aquatic nursery, is that I am constantly around and working with marine life. Because I am actively interacting with them, I learn new things all the time and can study certain factors for myself. This is how I've come up with my first answer, which is diet.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your mentorship log and call it the independent component 1 log.

Okee dokee

9/29/13

I didn't get to feed anything this morning besides the Moon Jellies and West Coast Sea Nettles because everyone else did the others first. Today was pretty normal overall. I cleaned the tubesnout. pipefish and kelp bass tanks. I found an escaped tubesnout and that was the only abnormal thing today.... I worked the 'kitchen' most of today (the kitchen is where we raise our zoo-plankton and phytoplankton) and so I gotta show people them under the microscope, give out stamps and stickers and just talk to the public in general. There were a lot of excited little kids, and I have to say, they were super adorable. Around 2:15 I met with Andres, my mentor, to discuss my research proposal. I got some things clarified and think that I will have it done and turned in by next Sunday. He also told me about another 'beach seine' coming up and he said that I should go. I really want to, the only problem is that it will be really early in the morning, like, 5 a.m. early.... my parents would have to drive me there and I don't think that they'd want to. But it would be an excellent opportunity to collect specimens and observe how rich the diversity in the inner beach is. I also met with an aquarist today and she was able to specify how much swell sharks eat each meal, how big they would grow by the 3 month time frame and what size tanks I'll need. Then in the afternoon I fed everything: Red Abalone, Kelp Bass, Blue-banded Gobies, Juvenile Garibaldi,  Pipefish, Tubesnout, Moon Jellyfish, West Coast Sea Nettles and even the Wolf Eels. The Wolf Eels were really, really cool. I've never fed them before and so that was really fun.

09/22/13

Today was a great day. It was the icebreaker day. I will admit that I was quite a bit skeptical at first, I mean who actually LIKES icebreakers? But this one was nothing at all like ones I'd ever had to participate in the past. It started off with Dr. Darrow introducing the Young Scientist Program and what it was about and how it would all work. Then we got to hear from others who have done projects there before and also met all the staff who would be helping. My mentor, Andres Carillo, is one of those. After this we all headed over to the Cabrillo beach where we did a beach seine. Pretty much what we did was drag a large net through the water and then pick out all the specimens and put them in buckets of water to collect data. My group and I collected about 26 Topsmelts. We weighed  and measured them. Our biggest one was 7.1 cm and 4 grams while our smallest was 5.5 cm and 1.8 grams. We recorded out data for the first 15 of them and then went back to the aquarium. Then we learned how to use a Quadrant square and spent some time working on our research proposals. By the end of the Icebreaker I had learned a lot and actually honed my independent component idea more. My current hypothesis, which is still under construction, is as follows:
A Swell Shark's size, growth, behavior and hunting behavior is effected, if not determined, by the amount of Carbohydrates, Calories, protein and fat in their diet.

I really need to get moving on filling out my paper work, I have a deadline to meet! Anyways, after the icebreaker was over I headed back to the Aquatic Nursery and did the P.M. feedings. The West Coast Sea Nettles gave me a mini panic attack during feeding when they kept floating to the top and getting stuck.... we can't just push them down with the basters because they are very delicate, in fact, about 95% of their body is made of water. So we have to use our hands to gently push them back down. I was really lucky and wasn't stung, but it's only a matter of time. A lot of the staff and volunteers who have been working their for a long time have been stung so often by them that they no longer feel the stings. Maybe by the end of senior project I'll be like that? :P

Topsmelt caught in Seine Net. Topsmelt can get about 14.5 inches long and have a life span of 6-9 years. They are not a true smelt, instead they are in the silversides family and more so related to Grunions. They can be found along sandy beaches, muddy areas, rocky reefs, kelp beds, bays, piers and estuaries from around the Vancouver Island to the Gulf of California. Their spawning occurs in spring and summer in relatively shallow waters.

Blog 6: Interview 2 questions

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?
Name: Andres Carillo
Work: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Address of Cabrillo: 3720 Stephen M White Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90731

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?
1. How long have you been working here at Cabrillo?
2. How long has the Aquatic Nursery been here, and how big was it when they first started?
3. What college are you going to and what degree are you aiming for?
4.What high school did you go to and how did it help prepare you for college?
5. What inspired you to go into biology?

9/14/13

Although I usually go on Sundays, I had to go on a Saturday this time because I was busy Sunday. So it was almost like my very first day there again because I knew nobody there except for one person.... but anyways I did my usual morning feedings of the kelp bass, pipefish, tubesnouts, gobies, juvenile Garibaldi, red abalone and the jellyfish. Then I syphened the kelp bass, tubesnout, pipefish, gobie and juvenile Garibaldi tanks. I learned how to feed the zoo-plankton too later and that was sort of cool. I ran the 'kitchen' today which I had never done before and showed people samples of phytoplankton and zoo-plankton. I also ran into an old friend who was visiting with her family so that was nice seeing her again. Later in the day after the afternoon feeding was done, I was allowed to go look at the main exhibit. I spent most of the times watching the leopard sharks, swell sharks and rays. I saw my first swell shark swell up today. Four of them swelled up when a ray swam over them and that was really cool to watch. I also got my mentor today, Andres Carillo agreed to be mine so I'm super excited! :D

9/01/13

Today I did my usual morning feedings of the Jellyfish, kelp bass, pipefish, gobies, red abalone and the juvenile Garibaldi. I cleaned the tanks and wiped down the sneeze-guards, learned how to make 'greenwater' and how to fill the larvae buckets. I also did my interview today. I interviewed Andres Carillo, whom I am considering asking to be my mentor. The interview went very well and I learned a lot of new things. Then we worked a bit more on my swell shark project and filling out the paperwork. I also met with one of the aquarists there named Mako. He gave me information I needed about swell sharks, like how many times a week they're feed and stuff.

Swell Sharks

This is a baby Swell Shark, adorable right? Well here's some facts about them I learned today at Cabrillo.

Name: Swell Shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum)
Diet: Teleosts, crustations, molluscs
Reproduction: Oviparous, hatch after 10 months depending on water temperature
Habitat: Rocky reefs and kelp beds with lush algal covered bottom. Warm temperate, subtropical.
Swell sharks are nocturnal and sluggish during the day, their young are about 14 to 15 cm at birth while adults can get up to 3ft. They use electrorecption to hunt their prey.

What is electrorecption?
Sharks have a system of pores in their skin, usually distributed around the head and mouth, that exudes a jelly-like substance when pressed. The pores are surface openings for long jelly-filled tubes that connect to groups of ampullary organs in the head. These organs are composed of the ampullae of Lorenzini sensory receptors. These recieve information conveyed by the ampullary canals. Each ampulla concists of a cluster of multipul sack-like alveoli and continues with the jelly-filled canal. In the walls of the alveoli are the sensory cells. Each ampulla produces around 5 sensory nerves which pass to the brain.
The electroreceptive  system is sensitive to small electrical fields, responding to voltage gradients of less than 0.01 microvolts per centimeter. Most fish and invertibrates produce their own electric fields and so the Swell sharks use this system for hunting.

Fun fact! Sharks sense electrical activity coming from the heartbeat, not necessarily movement.

9/01/13

I went to Cabrillo again today. Fed the red abalone and jellies in the morning, freaked out shortly when the Pacific Sea Nettles floated to the top...... but didn't get stung when I pushed them back down, so that was good. I went with some other volunteers across the street to the beach and over to the tide pools to collect snails, hermit crabs and crabs to feed to the octopus. Unfortunately it was high tide so it took us a bit longer to find them. In the end we gathered a bunch of snails, a small number of hermit crabs and one crab. Then we went back to the jelly lab to fetch a moon jelly for the Pacific Sea Nettles. Prepared that and fed them again, this time I felt less bad for it... that sounds bad but it's true. I did my interview today with Andres Carillo. It went really well and I actually decided to change my original EQ because of the conversation. Originally this was going to be my working EQ:
What is the best way to acclimate marine life from the wild to captivity?
But after volunteering at the nursery I've become more interested in the raising of fish. After our interview, I spoke with Andres about this and we came up with an idea. Now I'm thinking of doing a project with hatchling Swell sharks. The aquarium usually feeds the Swell sharks a diet of Shrimp, Squid, mackerel, and clams. Now each of these has a different nutritional value. What I plan on doing is taking a few baby Swell sharks, keeping them in separate tanks, and feeding them one food specifically. For example, I'd feed one only Mackerel and another only Squid. Then I'd see how that would effect things such as their growth and behavior. But I have a long way to go before I do that. I still have to work on that idea more, and then I have to fill out forms to give to the aquarists there and vets so that they can make sure nothing in this problem would be a danger to the sharks.
So after we finished this conversation I headed on up to their library and spent about an hour and a half studying swell sharks. I learned a lot and took good notes I will use later. Then I went back to the normal tasks or p.m. feeding, cleaning the tanks and raiding the kitchen.....

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
I plan to interview Andres, a staff member at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. I want to interview him because he's been working at the Aquatic Nursery for many years and is an expert raising fish and other marine life from birth. He's the guy you want to go to if you need to know about marine life in captivity. While I've been working at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's nursery, I've learned a lot from him, he's probably been the most helpful.
 
2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.  What are open-ended questions?  
Why did you go into this career? Like, what about it caught your interrest?
Where else have you worked and how have the experiences there helped prepare you for your job now?
What, in your opinion, is the best benefit of raising fish in captivity?
Why is it so difficult to breed White Abalone?
What do you guys do with excess fish? Ex. Release them into the wild, give them to other aquariums, etc....

Lobster Eggs

You can't see it very well but the little orange spots at the bottom of the jar are California Spiny Lobster eggs. These are from the smaller one who's due to hatch in about three weeks.

These are the Lobster Eggs under the microscope, the little black dots are their eyes.

8/25/13

Today I got to feed the Moon and Sea Nettle jellies by myself, along with the Kelp Bass, Red Abalone, Pipefish and Wolf eels. After the standard a.m. feedings, cleaning the tanks and being shown where a few things were we got to take egg samples from the California Spiny Lobsters. Both females had eggs and we needed to take samples of the eggs so that we could see how far along in development they were. So while another volunteer held down the lobsters, I removed a small clump of eggs from each and put them into separate jars. When we looked under the microscope, the larger female's eggs would need quite a bit more time, while the smaller lobster's eggs would hatch within three weeks. That was really cool. We also got a new baby sheepshead today and I learned that all sheepshead are born females but when they mature, the most dominant one will turn into the male. In other news Andres decided that we'd feed the Sea Nettles something a bit different than before. So I was sent to the Jelly Lab and brought back the biggest Moon Jelly I could find, chopped it up, and fed it to them. I will admit I felt really bad for it because it was alive and everything when he had me chop it up..... but circle of life I suppose. On a brighter note, I've found that I am quite fond of the Red and White Abalones they have. I get to feed the red Abalone and find them absolutely adorable and quite pleasant. And as for the White Abalone, I learned a lot about their plight and am very interested to learn more. For example, White Abalone are considered to be reproductively extinct in the wild because in order to spawn successfully, they need to live within 10 feet of each other. However, nowadays White Abalone are spread out over one hundred feet of each other, with only one or two living in that space. I don't have a mentor yet but I have a few people whom I'm thinking of, and I have two interviewees do far.

Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

Topic: Marine Life Captivity

To become an effective learner, I plan on using an 'assignment book', make sure to check my supplies every night and to not only look over my notes but to actually study them too.

To become an effective communicator, I will make sure to listen to what others have to say, I will be respectful of them and there opinions,

In order to become an effective user in technology by seeking help when I need it for resources, to help others when I can and to incorporate technology not only into my research but also my presentations.

I will become an effective IPoly citizen I will make sure to leave home early so that I can get to school every day on time. I will check to make sure I've done and packed all my homework every morning and be respectful to my peers and staff.

8/18/13

Today was the first time I officially worked at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium as a member. First, they had me take a 'scavenger hunt' so that I would get to know my environment and learn where everything was located. They taught me how to prepare the food for the fish and the correct ways to feed them. I learned about the water systems, which was important because I needed to know so I wasn't giving fish who normally lived in 80 degree water 52 degree water or vise-versa. They gave me a tour of the aquarium, showing me where the spare tanks were, gravel, where to dump the bio waste, where the back fish were and the extra food freezers. I learned how to clean the tanks and displays, how to make the correct foods for the larvae fish and how to deal with the public. The first thing they had me do actually was feed the Jellyfish, I fed both Moon jelly and Sea Nettles. I learned that Moon jellies are too weak to sting us but Sea Nettles certainly aren't. One of the other volunteers I worked with has been working there for a long time and had been stung so many times that he had actually become used to the stings and could no longer feel them. I also learned that the reason they kept so many Leopard sharks out back was because they mated well and produced a lot of eggs.

Mentorship

1. (Know) Using google doc (drive) link a log of specific hours and a description of your duties: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AptSPjJUudM9dEhGa1d5OThoa2R6VTNVQ2lYUTlPeEE#gid=0

2.  Contact Info (Until further notice)
Where: The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
 Contact Name: Dr. Kiersten Darrow
Contact Number: (310)548-2649

3. Questions that were raised because of the 10 hours of experience:    

Why is it important to breed sharks in captivity? What are the advantages and drawbacks of breeding endangered animals in captivity? How does water temperatures affect the fish? Can any aquarium have endangered fish or is there a permit required? Are there any special types of tanks for young marine animals? What sorts of conditions are required to raise sharks to full grown size from eggs? How long does it take to safely acclimate a newly caught fish from the wild to captivity?

4. The most important thing I gained:
Take your time with what you're doing and if you aren't sure about something, always ask someone for help! This is extremely important because we are working with live animals and if someone doesn't know what they're doing they could really harm or even kill them.

5. This experience helped me choose my topic because not only did I enjoy it, but found it extremely interesting too. I've always liked things that had to do with the ocean and working at the aquarium really struck new interests. I learned a lot of really neat things that i had never even considered before.

07/24/13

On July 24 I met with Dr. Kiersten Darrow, who is the research curator at Cabrillo Marine aquarium, to discuss if my goals for my senior project were compatible with either their young scientists program or what their aquatic nursery could provide. In the end she decided that my working eq matched up well with the type of work and studies they did there. Dr. Darrow agreed that I could work with Cabrillo for my senior project. Because I will not be in state from 8/02-8/17, I will start working there on August 18. I do not have a mentor yet but Kiersten mentioned a few candidates that work there and so on the Sunday I start, she said she'd introduce me to them so we can see which would work best for me and my project.

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Literal:
 1.  (Know) What presentations did you see? 
Week 1
Monday:Hair Dressing by Anna B
Tuesday: making an album by Jessica B. And personal training by andrew d
Wednesday: marine biology by Elijah A and Stage Managment by Gabriel B
Thursday: Early Childhood Education by Pearla V and Foster Care by Victoria Y
Friday: Physical Therapy by Elizabeth R
Week 2
Monday: Computer Analysis by Brent K and Photography by Austin B
Tuesday: Special Olympics by Logan R
Wednesday: Theoretical Physics by Hannah S and Homelessness by Lauren D
Thursday:
Friday: Grapgic Design byStephany H

Name the topic and the person's first name.
2.  (Need to know) What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? I think i get it, no questions yet.
 This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.
  Interpretive:
3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations? These presentations really helped me understand how the senior project should go and sort of how i could do it.
Applied:4. What topic are you considering doing and why?
I'm considering either doing parasitology or something to do with sharks. I've always found parasites interesting and would love to learn more about them. I've already found a few potential Mentors For that. I'd like to do something with education about sharks because many people are unaware of how they really are.