Introduction:
For our 8th Grade class trip, we set off to beautiful Catalina Island,
where it was our job to compile scientific research for a field study
project when we returned. Catalina is a remote island off the coast of
California. It is home to many species of plants, and animals both on
land and in the sea. During our journey, we participated in fascinating
activities like snorkeling and kayaking, from which we learned about the
kelp forest. Prior to our visit to Catalina, we had to put together a
scientific question relating in one way or another to the kelp forest.
Research:
The question that we were trying to answer was: How do the fish live in
relation to the kelp forest? We wanted to find out if the fish were more
prone to living around the kelp forest, or if they preferred to live away
from the plants. The year that our class journeyed to Catalina happened
to be in El Nino year. The water during the summer was abnormally hot
for the region causing the kelp to die off. The kelp forest is made up
of many different kinds of algae including the largest form, giant kelp.
Many animals live in or feed off of the giant kelp, and the other forms
of algae in the area. For our project, the part of our data collection
that was the most essential was the Roving Diver Fish Count, which we
did while snorkeling. Our CELP (Catalina Environmental Leadership Program)
group did our Roving Diver Fish Count over an area that had different
types of algae off the coast of Howlands Landing, which is just north
of the Town of Two Harbors. We collected these Roving Diver Fish Counts
by either mapping them on our GPS, or setting out a time of five minutes
and having members in our group count the number of each type of fish
they see in certain areas. After our group had done this, we then wrote
down this data on a clipboard, and we later transferred the data we collected
on to a spreadsheet. From here it could be used on the scientific mapping
program, My World. By using our and other Roving Diver Fish Counts, a
process that involves counting the abundance number of fish in certain
areas. We have laid out a map of this data.
Conclusion: From
our group’s Roving Diver Fish count, we noticed that the algae
seemed to provide a home for some animals as well as food and other
necessities
for others. When we began to create our project map, we used many different
Roving Diver Fish Counts from Catalina, dating from 1/1/02 to 10/20/06.
We plotted those points on a layer of the kelp forest from 2004, and
we
noticed that the majority of the fish lived close to shore and in the
place with the highest concentration of kelp. This seemed to be on
the
northeast side of the island.
It was difficult to fully understand where the fish live in relation
to the kelp forest without seeing first hand the amount of giant kelp
that
there usually is. The only time the we were really able to see these
kelp communities was during our snorkel at Emerald Bay, where we swam
directly
over a “Kelp Community.” During our short time there, what
we had imagined was true. The fish really seamed to thrive off of the
kelp. It is the center of the circle of life for these sea creatures.
When we arrived, the amount of kelp was quite minimal like how it would
have been after an El Nino.
During an El Nino year the kelp dies off due to the hotter sea temperatures
and other various factors. This left many animals without food and or
a place to live. Without kelp or fish our project would have been useless.
However, lucky for us, many of the fish we saw adapted to the new way
of life without kelp and learned to live off other algae’s and
sea plants. One day we hope, that what we have learned and studied will
help
teach about the importance of the kelp forest, what you can do to save
it, and the many animals that call it home.
We might have completed the project, but if we could go back in time to
change the way we collected our data, we would. If we could, we would
stay longer on Catalina, so that we could get a better understanding of
our topic, and also to have Roving Diver Fish Counts all over the island
to make sure that our data is correct. With the data we would have collected,
we would make better and different layers for our map. Hopefully by doing
this our research would show up more clearly. However, we thought this
project was very interesting and educational. Overall our experience at
Catalina Island and in the classroom was very interesting, but at the
same time educational.
