NOAA Teacher at Sea – Page 50 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 18, 2011March 12, 2021

Jennifer Goldner: Sharks 101, August 18, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jennifer Goldner
Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II (NOAA Ship Tracker)
August 11 — August 24, 2011

Mission: Shark Longline Survey
Geographical Area: Southern Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico
Date: August 18, 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 26.05 N
Longitude: 84.05 W
Wind Speed: 5.20 kts
Surface Water Temperature: 30.30 C
Air Temperature: 31.20 C
Relative Humidity: 67.00%

Science and Technology Log

Living in the landlocked state of Oklahoma, I am unfamiliar with sharks. Thus today, with the help of the scientists, I’m going to give some basics of sharks that I have learned this week. Class title: Shark 101. Welcome to class!

Let me start by telling you the various sharks and amount of each we have caught this week in the Gulf of Mexico. We have caught 7 nurse sharks, 2 bull sharks, 4 sandbar sharks, 73 Atlantic sharpnose sharks, 15 blacknose sharks, 5 blacktip sharks, 5 smooth dogfish, 2 silky sharks, and 4 tiger sharks. For those of you that took the poll, as you can see the correct answer for the type of shark we have caught the most of is the Atlantic sharpnose shark. The sharks ranged in size from about 2 kilograms (Atlantic sharpnose shark) to 100 kilograms (tiger shark). Keep in mind a kilogram is 2.24 pounds.

In addition to the sharks caught we have also caught yellowedge, red, and snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, spinycheek scorpionfish, sea stars, and a barracuda.

From the last post you now know that we soak 100 hooks at a time. Throughout the survey we have had as little as no sharks on the line in one location and up to 25 on the line in other locations.

Me holding a spinycheek scorpion fish — Me holding a spinycheek scorpionfish

When a shark is brought on board, it is measured for total length, as well as fork length (where the caudal fin separates into the upper and lower lobes). The sex of the shark is also recorded. A male shark has claspers, whereas a female shark does not. The shark’s weight is recorded. Then the shark is tagged. Lastly, the shark is injected with OTC (Oxytetracycline) which can then be used to validate the shark’s age. It should be noted that for larger sharks these measurements are done in the cradle. For perspective, I had Mike, fisherman, lay in the cradle to show the size of it. Also on this trip, some of the scientists tried out a new laser device. It shoots a 10 cm beam on the shark. This is then used as a guide to let them know the total length. Thus, the shark can actually be measured in the water by using this technique.

Mike, Fisherman, in the shark cradle- It is approximately 8 feet long. — Mike, Fisherman, in the shark cradle — It is approximately 8 feet long.

Mark Grace, Chief Scientist, weighs a shark

Male shark on the left (with claspers), female shark on the right (no claspers)

Mark Grace, Chief Scientist, and Adam, Scientist, measure a nurse shark in the cradle

Mark Grace, Chief Scientist, assists me tagging an Atlantic sharpnose shark

Tim, Lead Fisherman, holds the bull shark while I tag it!

Giving antibiotics to an Atlantic sharpnose shark — Injecting OTC into an Atlantic sharpnose shark

Here are some things I learned about each of the sharks we caught.

1. Nurse shark: The dorsal fins are equal size. They suck their food in and crush it. Nurse sharks are very feisty. See the attached video of Tim, Lead Fisherman and Trey, Scientist, holding a nurse shark while measurements are being taken.

The skin of nurse sharks is rough to touch. Incidentally, all types of sharks’ skin is covered in dermal denticles (modified scales) which is what gives them that rough sandpaper type feeling. If you rub your hand across the shark one way it will feel smooth, but the opposite way will feel coarse.

Dermal denticles, courtesy of Google images

Cliff, Fisherman, getting a nurse shark set to measure

2. Bull shark– These are one of the most aggressive sharks. They have a high tolerance for low salinity.

Bianca, Scientist, taking a blood sample from a bull shark

3. Sandbar shark– These sharks are the most sought after species in the shark industry due to the large dorsal and pectoral fins. The fins have large ceratotrichia that are among the most favored in the shark fin market.

4. Atlantic sharpnose shark– The main identifying characteristic of this shark is white spots.

5. Blacknose shark– Like the name portrays, this shark has black on its nose. These sharks are called “baby lemons” in commercial fish industry because they can have a yellow hue to them.

6. Blacktip shark- An interesting fact about this shark is that even though it is named “blacktip,” it does not have a black tip on the anal fin. The spinner shark, however, does have a black tip on its anal fin.

Jeff and Cliff getting a blacktip shark on board

7. Smooth dogfish– Their teeth are flat because their diet consists of crustaceans, such as crabs and shrimp.

Travis, Scientist, weighing a smooth dogfish

8. Tiger shark– Their teeth work like a can opener. They are known for their stripes.

A large tiger shark got tangled in our line. Notice the 2-3 foot sharpnose shark. The tiger shark is about 5 times larger! — A large tiger shark got tangled in our line. Notice the 2-3 foot sharpnose shark at the left. The tiger shark is about 5 times larger!

Daniel, Scientist, holding a tiger shark

9. Silky shark- Their skin is very smooth like silk.

Daniel, Scientist, holding a silky shark

Another thing I got to see was shark pups because one of the scientists on board, Bianca Prohaska, is studying the reproductive physiology of sharks, skates, and rays. According to Bianca, there are 3 general modes of reproduction:

1. oviparous– Lays egg cases with a yolk (not live birth). This includes some sharks and all skates.

2. aplacental viviparous – Develops internally with only the yolk. This includes rays and some sharks. Rays also have a milky substance in addition to the yolk. Some sharks are also oophagous, such as the salmon shark which is when the female provides unfertilized eggs to her growing pups for extra nutrition. Other sharks, such as the sand tiger, have interuterine cannibalism (the pups eat each other until only 1 is left).

3. placental viviparous– Develop internally initially with a small amount of yolk, then get a placental attachment. This includes some sharks.

Yet another thing that scientists look at is the content of the shark’s stomach. They do this to study the diet of the sharks.

Example of oviparous- Skate egg case, Courtesy of Google images

Placental viviparous — Example of placental viviparous

Example of aplacental viviparous- Dogfish embryo, courtesy of Google images

Contents from the stomach of a smooth dogfish (flounder and squid)

Personal Log

Anyone who knows me realizes that I appreciate good food when I eat it. Okay, on NOAA Ship Oregon II, I have not found just good food, I have found GREAT cuisine! I am quite sure I have gained a few pounds, courtesy of our wonderful chefs, Walter and Paul. They have spoiled us all week with shrimp, steak, prime rib, grilled chicken, homemade cinnamon rolls, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy, and the list goes on! Just talking about it makes me hungry!

Walter is a Chef de Cuisine. I want to share with you two of the wonderful things, and there are many more, he has prepared for us this week. The first is called ceviche. On our shift we caught some grouper. Walter used these fish to make this wonderful dish.

In addition to the grouper, the ingredients he used were lemon juice, vinegar, onions, jalapeno, kosher salt, and pepper. He mixed all the ingredients together. The citric acid cooks the raw fish. It has to be fresh fish in order to make it. Instead of lemon juice, apple juice or orange juice can be substituted. All I know is that since I arrived on NOAA Ship Oregon II, I heard from the entire crew about how great Walter’s ceviche was and it did not disappoint!

Walter, Chef de Cuisine, with his award winning ceviche

Walter's maccaroons — Walter’s macaroons

Another thing Walter is famous for on board NOAA Ship Oregon II are his macaroons. These are NOT like ANY macaroons you have ever tasted. These truly melt in your mouth. Amazingly, he only has 4 ingredients in them: egg whites, powdered sugar, almond paste, and coconut flakes. They are divine!!

On another note, I would like to give a shout out to my 5th grade students in Jay Upper Elementary School! (I actually have not had the chance to meet them yet because I am here as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. I would like to thank my former student, Samantha Morrison, who is substituting for me. She is doing an outstanding job!!)

Jay 5th Grade: I cannot wait to meet you! Thank you for your questions! We will have lots of discussions when I return about life at sea. Several of you asked if I have been seasick. Fortunately, I have not. Also, you asked if I got to scuba dive. Only the dive crew can scuba dive. We are not allowed to have a swim call (go swimming) either. As you can see, there is plenty to do on board! Also, you may have noticed that I tried to include some pictures of me tagging some sharks. Lastly, this dolphin picture was requested by you, too. Dolphins LOVE to play in the ship’s wake so we see them every day.

Enjoy the view!

I LOVE the scenery out here! I thought I’d share some of it with you today.

I thought these clouds looked like dragons. What do they look like to you?

The vertical development of clouds out here is amazing!

Sunset in the Gulf of Mexico aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II

August 4, 2011April 28, 2021

Steven Allen: Introduction, August 2, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Steven Allen
Aboard R/V Bellows
August 9 — 18, 2011

Mission: Exploring the Submerged New World Part III
Geographical Area: West Coast of Florida
Date: August 2, 2011

Personal Log

100_1845 — Palm Beach Maritime Academy Teacher, Steven Allen, slogging in the Everglades. Each year he takes his seventh- and eighth-grade students on an experiential learning trek to experience first-hand the effects agricultural and residential run-off has on Florida's waters. Students analyze water samples, measuring nitrates and pH levels as markers for pollutants.

My name is Steven Allen and my two lifelong passions are understanding our planet (while enjoying and protecting it) and understanding our past. Furthermore, I enjoy sharing these passions with my students. I hold a Master’s Degree in history from Florida Atlantic University, as well as an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Environmental Studies and a Heritage Awareness Diving Certificate.

As a middle school social studies teacher at Palm Beach Maritime Academy for the past eight years, I have sought to infuse the standard curriculum with the main ideas of ocean literacy, namely the influence the oceans have on humans and the impact that humans have on the oceans. Combining ocean literacy with a strong belief in experiential learning, I take students into the field to experience this relationship first hand; for example, seventh- and eighth-graders trek (locally, known as slogging) into the Everglades to measure nitrate, phosphate and pH levels as markers for pollutants. We also regularly visit our partner organization, Palm Beach Maritime Museum, at the old Coast Guard Station in the middle of the Lake Worth Inlet to do seining and species identification.

068 — Students from the Palm Beach Maritime Academy draw awareness to shark finning at the 2011 Lake Worth Street Painting Festival. The United States has banned the practice of removing fins from sharks but it continues in many places around the world.

In addition to organizing marine-science- and maritime-based field trips, I organize student civic activities centered on marine conservation. Working with local agencies, our students have planted over a thousand mangrove seedlings to help restore estuary habitats.

Annually, I spearhead student participation in the International Coastal Cleanup in the Lake Worth Lagoon. In 2010, the Ocean Conservancy recognized our school for its “outstanding and dedicated service to the International Coastal Cleanup” following our seventh consecutive year of participation. I also help organize our participation in the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival where students create maritime- and marine-science-themed street paintings. This year students drew attention to the problem of shark finning by creating a shark with a banner underneath stating “Stop Shark Finning.” In 2010, the school and I were recognized by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center as finalists in their Blue Awards for our ongoing commitment to the conservation and understanding of our oceans.

Science Log and Mission Background

As a maritime academy history teacher, my understanding of the past and of the planet has taken on a decidedly “blue” color. I have increasingly immersed myself into the role of the oceans on our planet and come to understand that no history of the Americas (or the world for that matter) can be divorced from an environmental understanding of the role of the oceans. For the Americas, oceans first acted as barriers, then later as conduits for people to merge in the New World. It is for this reason that I am extremely excited to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea participant, accompanying archaeologists, Dr. Jim Adovasio and Dr. Andy Hemmings, both of Mercyhurst College, on the ocean exploration mission, Exploring the Submerged New World 2011. This mission, aboard the R/V Bellows, is the third in a series in the Gulf of Mexico in which they seek to uncover artifacts from some of the earliest inhabitants of the Americas that now lie underwater.

lgmflacoast_600 — A modern map of Florida shows (with a dark line) the approximate location of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) coastline. Image courtesy of Exploring the Submerged New World 2009 Expedition, NOAA-OER.

The logic for this mission follows from the fact that during the last Ice Age, climate change caused ocean levels to significantly decrease. The exposed land of Florida’s peninsula was much greater, especially on the western Gulf of Mexico side where Florida’s continental shelf has a gradual slope. For food supplies, early inhabitants were prone to coastal habitation. Indeed, circumstantial evidence has been uncovered by local fishermen and dredging activities that suggest to scientists that artifacts exist in this late Pleistocene, but now submerged, landscape. Exploring the Submerged New World 2011 will explore this underwater landscape that has not been touched by human activities for thousands of years. This is incredibly exciting.

018 — Palm Beach Maritime Academy students test their ROV for buoyancy during the building phase of Riviera Beach Maritime Academy's 2010 Middle School ROV Competition.

Finding these underwater artifacts, however, has been likened to “finding a needle in a haystack.” Previous ocean explorer missions in 2008 and 2009 identified likely spots for the haystacks in this vast underwater landscape by mapping the intersection of the Ice Age coastline and ancient drowned river beds flowing from Florida in an area known as the Florida Middle Grounds. In 2011, mission scientists hope to uncover the “needles” at these identified zones. New technology such as ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) and side-scan sonar, have made a significant amount of the underwater landscape mapping possible. As a NOAA Teacher at Sea, I will be able to bring these real-world applications for ROVs back to my classroom, where I have worked for the past two years developing an ROV curriculum and working with student groups in constructing ROVs for competition.

As I tell my students, the age of discovery is not over. In the future, new technology will allow even more access to previously unexplored sites in the oceans. Exciting new discoveries are inevitable. It is not a matter of if, but simply when new discoveries will be uncovered from the world’s oceans. With the proper education and training today’s students can be the ones to tell a fuller story of the past. This exploration cruise affords me the opportunity to give students insights into the variety of marine and maritime-related fields that are associated with underwater archaeological exploration.

New discoveries will ultimately lead to greater understanding and possibly new interpretations of the past. One of the greatest benefits students will get is a deeper understanding of how scientists piece together the past. Previous archaeological discoveries by Dr. Adovasio at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania along with archaeological data from other sites, such as Monte Verde in Chile, have refuted the “Clovis First” interpretation and led to a reinterpretation of the arrival of the First Americans.

In a similar manner, any discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico will undoubtedly expand our understanding of the First Americans. To me, it is critical to bring this scientific process into the classroom. Too often students see the past as a set of fixed facts in textbooks. Instead, students need to understand the scientific process by which historians and archaeologists construct their pictures of the past based upon the available data and evidence. Our understanding of the past, especially the remote pre-historical past, is at best an incomplete picture. When new data presents itself it must fit into the existing interpretations, or those interpretations themselves must be altered. In this manner, students will understand that reconstructing the past works along the lines of the scientific method found in other disciplines.

July 28, 2011April 28, 2021

Caitlin Thompson: Introduction, July 25, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Caitlin Thompson
Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada
August 1 — 14, 2011

Mission: Pacific Hake Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Ocean, Off the U.S. West Coast
Date: July 24, 2011

This Sunday, I’m headed off to sea! The mission of my cruise is to survey Pacific hake (also called Pacific whiting) populations. Hake is a species of fish that supports a huge fishery off the West Coast. As it states on NOAA’s Fishwatch website, “The Pacific whiting (hake) fishery is one of the largest in the United States. Pacific whiting is primarily made into surimi, a minced fish product used to make imitation crab and other products. Some whiting is also sold as fillets.” I’ll leave from Newport, Oregon, and arrive two weeks later in Port Angeles, Washington. The ship, the Bell M. Shimada, belongs to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I get to go on the Shimada because of NOAA’s program Teacher at Sea (TAS), which sends teachers aboard research vessels so that we can increase our scientific literacy and bring our new knowledge back to the classroom. I can’t wait. I’ve never even spent a night aboard a ship, so this whole journey will be new for me.

I teach seventh and eighth grade integrated science at Floyd Light Middle School, in the David Douglas School District, in Portland, Oregon. I earned my Master’s in Education at Portland State University and my Bachelor’s of Art in Environmental Science at Mills College, in Oakland, California. In between, I taught English at a public elementary school in Curico, Chile. I love science and I love teaching. As soon as I decided to become a teacher, I made up my mind to participate in TAS, because it will help me teach my students the importance and fun of science.

Caitlin Thompson — At a dragon boat race

When I’m not teaching, I paddle with a dragon boat team, spend time with friends and family, and ride my bicycle. I’m always looking for new projects and new things to learn. I’m lucky to live in a city as great as Portland, where there are always interesting events going on around town.