The Excitement Continues at Neil Cummins School

March 6, 2009

The timing could not have been more perfect. The day after I returned (a 4 leg plane trip of 12 hours!), I picked up the Coral Reef Kit from the California Academy of Sciences. All of the classes have had a wonderful time with the lessons and materials developed at the Academy. First, we examined coral skeletons with magnifying glasses and sketched them. Some specimens were from the kit, and some I brought back. They could really see where the little polyps had once been attached, and we got a taste of the diversity of forms that the corals can take.

Next, we made models of a coral polyp with some yummy edible materials. See if you can identify the materials that represented the body, the tentacles, the algae (zooxanthellae), the rock, the skeleton, and where the gut is. Because polyps never like to be lonely, students were urged to join their individual polyps together to form a colony. After sketching their creation, most students promptly devoured their defenseless polyp. Messy, sweet, and delicious! (A great way to learn science).

After reviewing some of the differences between animals and plants, we marveled over the unique symbiotic relationship between the one celled algae, zooxanthellae, a plant that actually lives in the tissue of the coral polyp animal. Guess where the zooxanthellae get most of their food supply from?

The real action came when it was time to build a reef by playing the Reproduction Game. Fate cards determine whether players can add a polyp to the reef by either spawning ( egg + sperm), or by budding (a polyp splits in 2, then 2 become 4, etc.) or fragmentation (pieces of broken off coral start new colonies). Many card draws imitated real life, as when a predatory fish ate an egg or sperm, which were then removed from the game. Often times a 2 card draw would result in nothing happening (budding + egg = 0 polyps).

Classroom teachers are sharing amazing footage of the reefs from the DVD "the Blue Planet" - a BBC production. More learning fun awaits next week. Meanwhile, families can access a piece of the coral reef experience by visiting the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, checking out videos and books from the library, visiting websites, asking for coloring pages, etc.

Stay tuned for more news from the science room next week!

Cheers, Ann Brown

P.S. Many heartfelt thanks to the enablers: John Rollino, Prinicipal Investigator; Earthwatch, Inc; HSBC Bank, funder; and the California Academy of Sciences. They all want to turn our children on to science!

The Beach Profile

Feb. 27

Its our last day as field scientists on San Salvador Island. As the wind continues, we stay on the beach to measure the "profile" - the slope from the top grasses down to the water. The profile changes with the years and seasons, offering clues as to erosion and the movement of sand. We used meter sticks, string, and levels to take measurements every six meters. Team work was essential!

I was very excited to make a Skype internet phone connection with 3 classes in the science room. I magically appeared on a screen in front of the children, talking and showing them some treasures, while they peppered me with questions. It was great fun. Fortunately, the timing and connections all worked while Jennifer Upshaw, a reporter from the Marin Independent Journal, and her photographer there to cover the action. Check out the article at http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_11802476?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com .

The Expedition Summary

The data that was collected by the two teams of volunteers (there was another team the week previously) revealed normal February air and water temperatures, pH and salinity readings, and visibility. Happily, coral bleaching is not occurring. Those corals that showed bleaching in the past will be observed again in the summer to see if they are recovering or dying.

The cover type surveys show that hard corals - the kind that build the reef with their calcium carbonate skeletons - continue to decline. The percentage of algae covering the reef is high - up to 80% at two of the sites.

Along with measuring water chemistry and mapping the reef, the other team built some mock coral heads. The goal is to begin restoring the reefs by increasing the surface area available to coral and fish. In calmer conditions, both mock coral heads and live coral transplants can be attached to the existing reef using wire and epoxy. Ultimately, by providing local people the simple materials and tools to restore their reefs, the result will be a healthy coral reef ecosystem for generations to come.

So much depends on it! For more information about what you can do to help save coral reefs, visit the Coral Reef Alliance at http://www.coral.org.