By Mariah Crowley

My Essential QuestionWhat are the differences between plankton

populations in Port Angeles Harbor and the

Peabody Creek Estuary and how do these

differences reflect the health on the two

sites?

What I Knew Before Starting I knew the “basics” of plankton.

Types: Phytoplankton (plant-like) and zooplankton (animal-like).

What they were: Very small organisms that lived in water.

They are the base of the oceanic food chain.They are good for the environment.That whales eat them.

What I Didn’t Know Before Starting The definition of plankton.

Anything in the water column that is alive but can’t move of its own violation.

All the different types of plankton. Especially the types that live in our harbor.

That some types of plankton don’t stay plankton. Holoplankton stay plankton their whole lives. Meroplankton are plankton for only a part of their life

cycle.

Plankton can be bad for the environment. Red tide, dead zones, etc.

Personal Importance of the ProjectThis project is important to me because I love

Port Angeles and I wanted to do something that

would benefit the community. I felt that that Port

Angeles Harbor was important to the people of

Port Angeles so they should know about its

health.

Significance of my Project This project could help determine the health

of Port Angeles Harbor and the Peabody

Creek Estuary.

Primary Sources Ed Bowlby

Works for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary(OCNMS).

My project can be given to other researchers by Mr. Bowlby and also used to monitor recourses.

Bob Campbell Works for Feiro Marine Life Center. My project can help Mr. Campbell to create a

baseline plankton population in Port Angeles Harbor.

Secondary Sources Books & Pamphlets: Plankton: A Guide to Understanding their Ecology and Monitoring for Water

Quality By Iain M. Suthers and David Rissik A Guide to Marine Costal Plankton and Marine Invertebrate Larvae By DeBoyd

L. Smith and Kevin B. Johnson Ocean Literacy National Geographic Society

Websites: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Phytoplankton/page1.php “What are

Phytoplankton?: Feature Articles http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/sd/communityprofiles/Washington

/PortAngeles_WA.pdf “Port Angeles, Washington community profile

http://www.answers.com/topic/strait-of-juan-de-fuca Columbia Encyclopedia definition of the Strait of Juan de Fuca

http://olympiccoast.noaa.gov/ OCNMS Website http://marinebio.org/Oceans/Zooplankton “Zooplankton- MarineBio.org” Plankton Image from Google image search

Materials80 micron Plankton net – With markers to indicate 3m and

5m depths.Bucket with a rope attachedTwo glass sample jarsTwo small glass jars- For viewing under microscopeMicroscopeGraduated CylinderPipette YSI 85- For dissolved oxygen measurementRefractometer- For salinity measurementpH meter-For pH measurement Thermometer- For temperature measurement

Materials cont.YSI 85

pH Meter

Refractometer

Thermometer

Procedure1.Gather materials, being sure that the

plankton net’s depth markers are at 3m and 5m.

2.Go to the City Pier site. Using data sheet record information.

3.Tie off excess rope to the railing. Take a water sample with the bucket. Record data.

4. Tie off excess rope to the railing. Take plankton sample. Put in sample jar.

Procedure cont.5. Repeat steps 2-4 at the Peabody Creek

Estuary site.6. Take the samples back to the lab. 7. Measure the samples in a graduated

cylinder. Record.8.Pour a portion of each of the samples into its

own viewing jar. 9. Observe under the microscope.

Procedure cont.

DataI collected data on the following days:

March 29April 12April 19April 28May 3May 17May 24May 26May 31

ZooplanktonWhen we observed the plankton we couldn’t

count the number of plankton very accurately so we used the words “None”, “Present”, “Common”, and “Bloom”

Graph Key0-None1-Present2-Common3-Bloom

Barnacle

Polychaete

Copepod

Obelia

Tunicate

Crab

Shrimp

Amphipod

Comb Jelly

Gastropod Veliger

PhytoplanktonWhen we observed the plankton we couldn’t

count the number of plankton very accurately so we used the words “None”, “Present”, “Common”, and “Bloom”

Graph Key0-None1-Present2-Common3-Bloom

Cosinodiscus

Chaetoceros

Thalassiosira

Nitzschia

Noctiluca

Planktoniella

What I learnedAs I looked at my data over the weeks I began to see

that neither of the sites was clearly healthier than the

other by looking at their plankton populations alone.

Both site’s plankton populations seemed very similar

in the types of plankton and the amount of those types

they contained.

Personal Impacts I learned about the interconnectedness of

the oceans. How the health of a small area can affect the

whole ecosystem.

I now know how to sample and observe

plankton. Also I know how to measure pH,

dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity.

Thank YouEd BowlbyBob Campbell & The Feiro Marine Life

CenterTara MorrowDan LiebermanKayla McLaughlinMeme Jahns Lance Alderson

Questions?

Thank You!