Countdown to Departure

“Keep placing cookie orders from Girl Scouts,” one of the ways to remember the hierarchy of biological classification, was a phrase repeated many times this morning before class in preparation for our test. As more and more students filed in, the nervous, buzzing chatter grew louder and louder. Last-minute questions and ideas were exchanged as we waited for Mr. Daly and Ms. Post to come. Unexpectedly, however, along with Mr. Daly and Ms. Post entered Ms. Bischoff. She came to speak to us about the importance of good behavior on our trip. She reminded us that we must take our sense of integrity with us to the Bahamas from Hawken as colleges take this very seriously. Although the conversation was serious, it made the trip feel more real and closer. After Ms. Bischoff left, tests were handed out and pencils started writing. After the last test was handed in, it was time for morning break.

Twenty minutes later, we returned and Mr. Daly started a lecture on marine mammals. We learned about sea lions, walruses, polar bears, sea otters, sea cows, and many other ocean-dwelling animals. We learned about these animals’ basic qualities. For example, Mr. Daly explained that polar bears have brown skin and clear—not white—fur. We spent much of the lecture discussing whales. One interesting fact about whales is that they use echolocation to sea in the pitch-black zones of the deep sea. In using echolocation, whales send sonar signals out in front of them and when they are reflected back, the whale creates an image of its surroundings. One kind of whale that uses echolocation is the sperm whale. We learned a lot about this species through the lecture and an interesting documentary called “Inside Nature’s Giants: Sperm Whale.” In the documentary, biologists dissected a dead sperm whale that had washed up on a beach in southern England that morning. We witnessed a very vivid and striking examination of the whale’s insides, which, although interesting, didn’t leave us very hungry for lunch.

This afternoon we had two DyKnow sessions. In the first DyKow session we learned about Marine invertebrates. Specifically concerning the species in the Phylum’s of; Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyheminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata. We learned about many marine species that fall into these phylum’s like …

Portuguese Man of War Jelly

http://zooaroundtheworld.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/xxport-1.jpg

The Flatworm 

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These are just 3 of many specific invertebrate species that we learned about in our first DyKnow Session. We also learned many details about each organism that was presented, for instance, Ms. Post would tell us whether or not the organism we were talking about would be of any harm to us when we go snorkeling in the Bahamas.

After we came back from our break Ms. Post gave us a lecture on Birds and Fishes that we might see when we go to the Bahamas. This list included 16 different birds, including; Roseate Spoonbill, Great Blue Heron, Brown Pelican, and Osprey. Some of the 26 fishes that were presented included; the Bull Shark, Grey Angelfish, Sargent Major, Nassau Grouper, and the Sea Horse. Those are just 10 of the 42 total fish and birds that we learned about in our last block of the day.

Grey Angelfish

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/GrayAngelfish/gangel2.JPG

Osprey

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Looking forward to tomorrow,
Matt & Hannah