Marine Ecology

NZ White-capped Mollymawk seen on Whale Watch

It's not too often a professor gets welcomed by her class with a rap! That's exactly what happened when my (Kristen, SLC) small group and I went to pick Laurie up from the airport in Christchurch after a weekend of camping. Megan (Gordon) performed the rap while Hannah (Messiah) laid the beat. They concluded their performance by offering Laurie Furlong, our professor, a muffin. It was a good start to Laurie's stay with us.

We spent a few days out in the tidepools searching for all sorts of creatures. We encountered an abundance of anemones, sea stars, crabs, fishes, and molluscs, and some of the most beautiful seaweeds you've ever seen. Chaetomorpha coliformis, otherwise known as cucumber seaweed or sea emerald, was one of everyone's favorites (in collage below near top left corner). Another favorite was the sea hare that Megan found. During our last trip to the field, students performed a survey of all the organisms they found on their transect of the shore. Combined with data from other semesters, this will help us to see how the intertidal community changes over time. 

We found some amazing creatures during our time in the field.

On Wednesday, with shouts of hallelujah for calm seas, we went out on Whale Watch. It was amazing to see the marine mammals that make Kaikoura so special. We were able to watch three sperm whale breathing at the surface before waving a goodbye fluke and diving down, down, down. We sighted a number of sea birds out on our trip as well. Cape pigeons, mollymawks (pictured at beginning of post) and other albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters seemed to hug the waves as they whizzed by us. On our way back, we were surrounded by hundreds of dusky dolphins. They put on quite a show of leaps and flips. It was an incredible morning.

Sperm whales seen during our Whale Watch trip.

The dusky dolphins performed some amazing acrobatics!

Everyone pitched in to give Rachel (Bethel) a seaweed makeover after our shore survey. This is CCSP NZ's version of haute couture. I've never seen algae look quite so chic!

Rachel (Bethel) was given a seaweed makeover.
Just call her Hinemoana, Maori for sea woman.

I think one conservation issue we talked about in class that really affected us all is the effect of plastic on marine ecosystems. Laurie brought a few videos that enabled us to see what the Giant Pacific Garbage Patch looks like, how plastic is destroying an albatross colony in the Pacific, and what we can do to make a difference. The video showing what albatross chicks are eating and causing them to die of starvation affected me the most (Definitely worth seeing for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yom6zlm5VqE). If you don't know anything about this startling issue or want to learn more, you can visit http://www.plasticoceans.net.

We would like to reduce our plastic consumption by as much as we can, starting with plastic bags. Colin (Bethel) has made the commitment to bake as much bread as he can on our own so that we don't need to buy it from the grocery store in plastic bags. This is a goal Brian (Sustainable Food Coordinator) would like to reach as well. I can smell some loaves baking in the oven at this very moment. Sustainable, warm, and delicious!