UMASS BOSTON "Exploring the Coastal
Environment" Summer Solstice!
We started off the day looking for the perfect
spot to do an otter trawl in Gloucester Harbor.
An obstacle course of lobster pots made it a
challenge, but with the help of the students we
successfully set and retrieved the net avoiding
all the hazards. To our surprise an old, mangled
and forgotten lobster pot had been scooped up in
our trawl. It must have been abandoned long ago
because it had become an artificial reef that was
now home to anemones, barnacles, sponges,
tunicates, sea stars and numerous other
invertebrates. Other unexpected items in the net
were a large rubber boot and a plastic bag that
had trapped a live flounder. The most abundant
animal in the net were sand dollars, there were
hundreds, and tons of good mud that the students
sifted through pulling out different species of
animlas. We ended up with representatives from
seven different Phyla, Chordates, Echinoderms,
Mollusks, Annelids, Cnidarians, Arthropods, and
Porifera. The most interesting chordates were
male and female winter skates, a sea raven, on
ocean pot, squirrel hake,and 5 winter flounder.
The rest of the catch consisted of different
crabs, sea anemones, sea stars, snails, bristle
worms, and sponges. After identifying all the
species and hosing down the muddy deck, and
people, we set sail and headed for Boston. The
fog closed in on our way to the Harbor Islands
and we put out a plankton tow to do a sampling.
As we checked out the zooplankton and
phytoplankton under the microscopes there was a
species I had never seen before. It was bright
orange and moved around with little podia, it
turned out to be a sea cucumber larvae.
We anchored for the night off Peddocks Island,
and after dinner the students had the opportunity
to express their creativity and humor through
skits about the ups and downs litterally -
of a week shipboard life. It was definitely
amusing and enjoyed by all.
Anchor watch followed.
Captain: Willi Bank
Program Coordinator: Crista Mellican
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