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5th Grade Report on Ocean Life lilbud based on our voyage on Monterey Bay

Our Trip onto Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

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What We Saw
We saw the endless ocean.  We saw the tops of Giant Kelp. 
We saw a colony of California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals.
We saw scientific equipment we used to take samples of plankton.
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What We Did
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We took samples of plankton from the ocean.
We tasted kelp and learned of its benefits to marine consumers and for human use.
We examined a sea otter pelt and learned of the special adaptations of the sea otter fur for
insulating and regulating body temperature.
We used compasses and gps systems to determine location and plotting our course.

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What We Learned
Here are some student essays of our trip.
by Richard

   At O'Neill, I got to taste kelp and we got to taste plankton.  Kelp is a salt water plant that lives in the ocean.
The trip was fun because I got to drive the ship.  Everybody had a good time, but it was cold.  I conquered my fears on a boat because I was over the ocean on a net, but it was strong.  The trip was fun.


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 by Melanie

   My 5th grade class went to O'Neill Sea Odyssey on Wednesday, October 27, 2004.  The day started cloudy, but it did clear up a bit...
When it was time to get on the catamaran (boat), we were instructed to sit around the netted area. of the catamaran.  After we were at sea, we got to crawl around the netted area or stand next to the railing.  Next Lauren picked volunteers to pull up the sail.  I got to lead the group to pull up the sail, because I had the loudest voice.  It felt like we were all going to fall over!
    On the catamaran, there were four different stations.  One of the station's goal was to catch plankton.  we caught it in the net with very small holes and put the plankton in a test tube.  After we went back to shore, we put the plankton under a microscope.  We were able to see the plankton on a television screen.  Most of the plankton did not move, but the zooplankton moved just as we started studying it.
    This was a great trip.  Not only did I get to ride a catamaran, I also learned about many things that can hurt the sea and how to guide myself in the sea.  I will never forget my experience on the catamaran.

Ocean Plant and Animal Reports



Resources

Monterey Bay Aquarium: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_mbh/dsc.asp?bhcp=1

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: http://www.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/visitor/slideshow/slideshow.html

Library Homework Center Links: http://www.multcolib.org/homework/animhc.html
Student Projects
Great White Shark
(.ppt) by Tien V. 		Grey Whale
 Northern Elephant Seal (.ppt)
by Thien C.
elephant seal
Harbor Seals
by Linda C.
 		Sea Otters
by Diep
Sea Anenome
(.ppt) by Julio
 		Sea Urchins
by Jon Marcus

zooZooPlankton is a type of plankton that  lives in the ocean. Its movement is drifting with the current or swimming very weakly. It can be found in the top 100 meters of the ocean, around  PhytoPlankton. It feeds on PhytoPlankton. Copepods, tiny crustaceans, fish larva, seastar larva, and radiolarians are all forms of the tiny microscopic animal ZooPlankton. It is second to last in the food  chain, right before PhytoPlankton.
This is what ZooPlankton is. (Giselle T.)

 Giant Kelp:                                           



Photo Credits:
Zooplankton http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/sea-bass/pictures.html
Northern Elephant Seal http://nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/education/pinnipeds/nelephant.htm

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