Educational Activities

E-mail Responses
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9-15-03

Terry Sacket
Enid High School
Enid, Oklahoma
Question 1:
Can we get more details / specifics concerning the research? From the different stations do they know the changes in temperature, salinity, depths for the vertical water column? If so what are they? 2)Were the same tests done at each station? If not, why?

Answer:
More details regarding the analysis of the data we’ve collected will not be available until February, 2004. It takes much time to analyze the raw data. We do have the data recorded for 21 stations that we completed. We collected temperature and salinity for 12 different depths at each station. We can burn the raw data on a CD for you and mail it to your school address. You can also retrieve data from the National Oceanographic Data Center at http://www.nodc.noaa.gov. We did collect the same data at each station. The data collected for each station in addition to temperature, salinity, and depth of the water column, included 1) video of the particulate matter in the water column from the Video Plankton Recorder, 2) macroinvertebrates collected at 8 different depths from the MOCNESS, 3) approximately 50 rhizosolenia mats from 30 feet below the surface of the water from the dive team, and 4) macroinvertebrates collected 15 feet to surface from the 1 meter net.

Will
Mrs. McKenney
8th Grade Lab Science
Horace Mann MS
Little Rock, AR
Question 2:
What is the one thing you enjoyed most about the trip?

Answer:
I enjoyed learning more about marine science. It is a fascinating field, and there is so much to learn. I hung around in the laboratory a lot of my time, just to learn from the hanging around the scientists and listening to their conversations with each other.

Ross
Mrs. McKenney
8th Grade Lab Science
Horace Mann MS
Little Rock, AR
Question 3:
What influence will your research have on future research trips?

Answer:
On past RoMP expeditions the researchers have looked at nitrogen, and phosphorous levels. During last summer’s trip they decided to examine iron and it’s influence on phytoplankton metabolism more closely this summer. Anytime you do good research, you find that you answer some of the questions you set out to find. But what is ever more fascinating about research is you come up with new questions that were never thought of before you began. For instance, at one station we noticed a reduction in zinc. Because of this low concentration of zinc, the researchers are discussing ways to study this on the next trip.

Laundon
Mrs. McKenney
8th Grade Lab Science
Horace Mann MS
Little Rock, AR
Question 4:
How has the weather been on the ship?

Answer:
The weather out in the subtropic zone of the North Pacific Ocean has been very nice. Captain Stein did change the cruise pathway one time to avoid a thunder and lightening storm. Today is very hot, however. Most days were partly cloudy, which kept us from burning in the hot sun, and when we had light rain ( three times that I can recall) it lasted for no more than 5-10 minutes.

Karl
Mrs. McKenney
8th Grade Lab Science
Horace Mann MS
Little Rock, AR
Question 5:
Do you feel spoiled after spending so much time in paradise?

Answer:
Not really. The ship is not as glamorous as a hotel on the beach, but very comfortable. I think I have seen every square inch of the ship. In a month’s time, it has become fairly small to us. After doing without things that you take for granted at home, like a comfortable couch in front of the TV or calling your friends on the phone, I don’t think spoiled is the right term. I think I actually appreciate home better than before. After all, paradise is what you make of it, so even home can be your paradise. I will miss the good weather and the new friends I have made here.

Dillon and Aaron
Mrs. McKenney
8th Grade Lab Science
Horace Mann MS
Little Rock, AR
Question 6:
What has been the most rewarding experience? How do you think the experience you have gained will help you in the classroom here at Mann?

Answer:
The continuous learning and to realize that real science investigations require repetition in data collection and analysis. We expect students to do repetitive testing and for me this experience confirms that what we expect from students is appropriate for the real world, not just for passing a state exam. As far as how this experience will help me in my classroom, it has given me a better background to teach oceanography and I have learned how to use different equipment for data collection and analysis.

Megan
Mr. Phillip Scott
McAlester High School
Question 7:
Is there any variation in color for the different species of phytoplankton you’ve encountered?

Answer:
All phytoplankton contain pigments and so, yes we could visually tell that different species have different colors. Some were red, and few green. The rhizosolenia mats range from golden brown to almost colorless depending on the species of rhizosolenia.

Question 8:
Have the researchers noticed any change in the abundance of phytoplankton as compared to previous voyages?

Answer:
Well, we have noticed differences in the abundance of rhizosolenia mats. We have found that the farther west we went we found greater numbers of mats; but the New Horizon’s transect went farther west than what RoMP has been in the past. So, we don’t know if there was more than normal in those more westerly stations. But, we did see a gradient of overall phytoplankton production from measuring the chlorophyll from East to past Midway. We actually measured that there is more photosynthetic biomass east than west and that was not noticed last year.

Randall
Mr. Phillip Scott
McAlester High School
Question 9:
Dr. Hanegan, what is your degree in and how did you get involved with both education and marine research?

Answer:
My PH.D. is in science education and I was able to pick two areas to study for the completion of my degree. So, I choose to study minority students in science education and aquatic ecology. Conducting research was a required part of my degree, so I have done research on minority students and their opportunities to study science. as well as research on phytoplankton and insects. Entomologists know that there is a relative plant and insect interaction for land insects, but not much research has been done on phytoplankton and aquatic insect interactions.

Question 10:
Have you been involved in research with other marine organisms other than phytoplankton?

Answer:
Yes, I have studied other types of aquatic insects other than Halobates. There is a marine dragonfly that I studied in Belize, and I am still studying how coastal species of dragonflies migrate across the Gulf of Mexico. I have not done any research on marine vertebrates, like fish or whales; as the smaller things just fascinate me more. After all, how do such tiny organisms that have to be seen under a microscope to observe their minute appendages, manage in such a large world?

Question 11:
I’ve been hearing about the benefits of phytoplankton in the ocean. Is there such a thing as bad phytoplankton? Are blooms bad?

Answer:
Most phytoplankton do contain some types of toxin, just like most land plants contain toxins. So, the toxins are only poisonous to certain species. As researchers we really don’t know of algal blooms are bad. They are typically viewed bad by humans because the toxins can make us sick, even the aroma from some phytoplankton blooms can make humans very ill. And many phytoplankton blooms change the water chemistry quickly which can kill a large number of fish in a small amount of time. But, are blooms bad for the ocean? We really don’t know.

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