Humpback Whale Observation Lab

Purpose of Our Whale Observation: To analyze one of the multiple variables associated with the observation of Maui’s humpback whale populations.

My Research Question: How many more humpback calves were spotted earlier in the season than later?

Hypothesis: I predict that we will find more humpback calves later in the season because more will be born.

My Experience with the First Whale Observation: The whale observation at McGregor's Point on Maui went alright for me. What I liked most was finding out about the location for the first time. It has an outstanding view of the ocean. There were a few challenges that I came across. I should have been prepared with a hat or sunglasses for the sunny sky. It was difficult to see much without squinting harshly or shading my eyes with my hand. It was also difficult to spot the number of whales and the pod type from so far away without binoculars. It was also very challenging to estimate the whales' direction of travel. During the first half of our time there, we were able to spot quite a few whales. We couldn't see any during about the second half of our time frame there. I was satisfied with being able to at least see some whales on this trip.

Procedure:
1) Gather all of your materials and go to a place on Maui with a wide, clear view of the ocean (in this case, McGregor's Point).
2) Look out for any signs of whales.
3) When you find one or more whales, record the time and date of the observation on your data sheet.
4) Using your binoculars (if you have a pair), observe the number of whales, pod type, behaviors, and direction of travel. Be sure to record this information on the data sheet.
5) Use your clinometer to find the distance of the whale(s) and record this on your data sheet.
How to use a clinometer:

1. Look through the tube at the top of the tool so that you can see the whale(s).
2. Hold the hanging string in place against the protractor in the exact position it's in when you look through the tube.
3. Record the number (the one less than 90) on a scratch sheet of paper. This is the angle of inclination of your view of the target.
4. Find your elevation using a GPS and also record that on the scratch sheet of paper.
5. Plug these two pieces of information into the equation Distance = Elevation x tan(angle of inclination).
6. Solve this equation using a scientific calculator. On your calculator in this order, punch in the angle of inclination, tan, x (multiply), then the elevation.
   
7. This number is the approximate distance from you to the whale(s) (in whichever unit of measurement you found your elevation).

6) Repeat steps 2-5 for every whale or pod you spot. Be sure not to record the same whales more than once.

Marine Phyla Lab

My class has was studying 9 marine phyla. Porifera are sponges. Cnidarians are jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals. Platyhelminthes are flat worms. Nematoda are round worms. Molluska are organisms like snails, slugs, squid, and octopi. Annelids are segmented worms. Arthropoda are insects, arachnids, and crustaceans. Echinoderms are sea stars, brittle stars, and sea urchins. Chordata are fish. We counted how many of each we could find in the Waipulani tide pools in Kihei, Hawaii. We used ID books to identify the organisms.

The research question was Which marine Phyla are present at the Waipulani tide pools of South Maui, and which Phyla are most represented in diversity and quantity? In my hypothesis, I thought we would find Cnidarians, Molluska, Arthropoda, Echinoderms, and Chordata, because my class found them in the tide pools during the first visit. We did not find any Cnidarians or Echinoderms. We did find Molluska, Arthropoda, and Chordata. I also thought that the Arthropoda would be most diverse based on the different kinds of crustaceans found earlier. Molluska turned out to be the most diverse. I inferred there would be the greatest number of Molluska, because the most organisms we saw on the first trip were Pipipi or something very similar. This guess was correct.
There are many possible sources of error that could have altered our results in this data collection. Individual pieces of data could have been counted more than once. The transect line could have been laid in a biased place. The person counting could have scared some organisms away by accident. Organisms could have been hidden where the person looking could not see them. The tide could have been too high or low to show the normal amount and types of organisms. The identification of organisms could have been faulty. Some of these errors could be and were prevented, others could not
I thought this lab was pretty fun and interesting. I think I would have liked it a lot better if we found more of a variety of organisms. What I liked that most was learning about marine phylum using a hands on experience rather than just using classroom methods. This is Advanced Science Research Methods.
I learned some new techniques when sketching a map of the research area that were helpful. I have a better understanding of the 9 phyla.