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For more descriptions of the summit go to the Channel Islands mission log for May 25th

Also, do not miss an excellent summary of the summit on the RAIN network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

"I am really proud of the student teams created for this year's summit and look forward to working with them next year." - Julie Goodson, education coordinator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information about the field trip and the media events at Channel Islands go to the mission log for May 27th

Also, check out the RAIN network summary of the field trip

 

Education

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Sanctuary Summits - Channel Islands

Channel Islands

Stellwagen Bank

Cordell Bank

Gray's Reef

Monterey Bay

Olympic Coast


General Information
About the Panel of Experts
Post-Summit Summary & Field Trip
Student Projects (forthcoming)


General Information

Date: May 24, 1999
Location: To be Determined
Participants: 30 high schools students from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties
Theme: Survey of Living Resources

treefish

The Channel Islands summit will cover issues related to living resources in the sanctuary. Pictured here is a treefish which is one species of rockfish that can be found in the sanctuary.

The students involved in this year's Sanctuary Summit will discuss the living resources in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The goal of the summit is for students and teachers to look at the kinds of baseline data collected during the expedition dives and recommend a student research project for future Sustainable Seas Expeditions. The project will focus on a living resource of the sanctuary and possibly include recommendations on developing policies for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary management plan. The benefits students will gain by participating in the summit are; an increased understanding of the underwater cultural and living resources in the region, and knowledge on how the research process can be used in developing future exploration missions.  

The Sanctuary Summit will have a panel of experts including:

•Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society
•Ed Cassano, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Manager
•Channel Islands Sustainable Seas Expeditions Project Researchers
•Representatives from the Regional Alliance for Information Networking (RAIN)

Students at the summit will participate as field reporters and will report findings back to students and the general public through the Camp Internet program and on this site's post-summit summary.

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Panel of Experts

Sylvia Earle
National Geographic Society

Sylvia Earle

Marine biologist Sylvia Earle is Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, a position she has held since 1998. She is working with a variety of Society divisions on projects involving her passion -oceans - especially serving as project director of Sustainable Seas Expeditions and writing three books for publication in 1999.

Named one of Time Magazine's "heroes for the planet" in 1998, Earle has pioneered research on marine ecosystems and has led more than 50 expeditions totaling 6,000 hours underwater. She holds numerous diving records and is the author of more than 100 scientific and popular publications, including a 1995 book "Sea Change."

Earle was born August 30, 1935, in Gibbstown, NJ. She has a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a master's and doctorate from Duke University, as well as nine honorary doctorate degrees. She lives in Oakland, California. 

LCDR Edward Cassano
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Manager

Ed Cassano

Edward Cassano has led the efforts to broaden the role of the National Marine Sanctuary Program in the Southern California region. He has worked hard to increase protection and education of sensitive resources and to improve research capabilities. LCDR Cassano has been a commissioned officer with the NOAA Corps since 1986 and has conducted marine mammal, fisheries and oceanographic research. He serves on several marine management boards, including the Advisory Council to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Mineral Management Service High Energy Seismic Survey Team.  

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Post Summit Summary

Overview

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The 1999 Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Sanctuary Summit participants.

The Sanctuary Summit was held on Monday, May 24 1999 from 4:00 - 9:00 p.m. at the Santa Barbara County Hearing Chambers. Twenty-nine high school students were selected to participate as team members in the summit. The High Schools participating were: Paso Robles, Cabrillo, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, Santa Barbara, Adolfo Camarillo, Buena, Oxnard Unifies, Rio Mesa, and Ventura.

The goal of the summit was for students and teachers to recommend a student research project for the Sustainable Seas Expeditions that focus on a living resource of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The benefits students gained by participating in the summit were an increased understanding of the underwater cultural and living resources in this region and an understanding of how the research process is used in developing management policies to protect natural resources.

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Students and teachers getting to know each other at the reception.

 

Prior to the actual conference, there was a reception for the students and panel members so they could spend more time getting to know each other and relax before the big event. After the reception and introductions, the students presented four proposals on potential student research projects for the future Sustainable Seas Expeditions. The proposals were outlined in Powerpoint and presented to a panel of experts for review and discussion.

  

 

Dr. Earle and LCDR Ed Cassano

Panel of Expert members: Dr. Sylvia Earle and LCDR Ed Cassano.

The panel of experts consisted of Dr. Sylvia Earle, LCDR Edward Cassano, Chris Miller (Commercial Fisherman), Dr. Guy Cochran (USGS), Timothy Tyndall (RAIN Network) and Dr. Edie Widder (Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution). The panel members did a remarkable job of communicating the ideas of science to the students, and the students and panel members were able to carry on discussions in a relaxed manner. Everyone in the room seemed to have a really good time sharing stories about the ocean, laughing at awkward moments and carrying on meaningful discussions about science and the scientific process.
 

Student Projects

In spite of hectic school schedules during this time of the year, the students managed to develop interesting project ideas. They were assisted in developing project ideas prior to the summit by entering a chat session on the RAIN web site that was hosted by the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary education coordinator, Julie Goodson, and researcher Russ Vetter of NOAA and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. During the chat session, students were able to ask questions about possible topics for the projects. This proved to be very helpful because students were given resources about specific project ideas, and were warned against ideas that would be difficult to research. The four projects that did surface and were presented are:

1. Distribution, Size Frequency and Abundance of California Sheephead in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. (Ventura and Santa Barbara group)

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Rosa presenting the CA sheephead research proposal for this team.

There are four possible objects to this project: 1). To study the size, sex, and number of CA Sheephead in both take and no-take fishing zones, 2). To study distribution of CA Sheephead in warm vs. cold water, 3). To study reproductive habits of CA Sheephead in warm vs. cold water, and 4) to study the dietary habits during an El Nino or La Nina. Some possible hypothesis ideas were if female Sheephead change sex in areas of fish and no-fish zones or if there is a survival but no reproduction in cold years. Are Sheephead affected by El Nino or La Nina? Also, a hypothesis could be that Sheephead size is affected by their range or if fisheries are taking too many of the fish. Data collection methods could be observations from deep sea submarines, snorkeling, or SCUBA diving.

2. CONQFISH1 - A Closer Look at Physical Oceanography. (Cabrillo High School team)

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Students from Cabrillo High School demonstrate how the CONQFISH 1 underwater habitat works.

 

This group from Cabrillo High School, has developed an underwater living space for mice called "ConqfishI". They demonstrated a module with chambers for the mice to move around. The students proposed moving the mice habitat into the Channel environment to study living creatures underwater.

 

3. The Distribution of Gorgonians in the Channel Islands (Ventura group)

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Tim presenting the Gorgonian research proposal.

 

The purpose of this project was to determine the distribution of gogonians in the Channel Islands with the objectives of determining the depths, substrate, and population density at which these corals live. To reach these objectives, the students suggested using the submersible in the study areas observe the substrates and depths of the gorgonians and to determine the population density.

 

 

 

4. An Underwater World of Magic: A Sustainable Seas Project (Paso Robles team)

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Aimee and Aubrey from Paso Robles High School have a good time while presenting their CA Sheephead research proposal.

This was another suggested project that concentrates on the species of California Sheephead. This research study objective is to determine the population of California Sheephead on the coast of Anacapa Island in relation to the effects of the temperature during a 24-hour period. They want to know if the temperature of the water effects the number of Sheephead found in a study area. The methodology would include taking the Deep Worker submersible along a predetermined transect twice a day over a period of five years. The significance of this project would be to understand the patterns and effects on the daily population of the fish in the Channel Island coastal region in relation to temperature variations within a 24-hour period.

Comments from Participants 

"The program with the Sustainable Seas was a very good experience to be able to see the researchers up close in action. I think that the conference on Monday was very educational and I learned a lot from it. At first it was hard to know what to expect, but it was very relaxing and comfortable soon later." - 10th grade student

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"I was truly impressed with the student team and their ability to discuss science and science methodology with the panel of experts. Their raw enthusiasm came through and was catching! Even the Panel members got into it!" - Julie Goodson, education coordinator

 

 

Sanctuary Summit Team Field Trip

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Students involving themselves in the "virtual fish count" during the live underwater broadcast at Anacapa Island.

Three days after the summit, the student participants were given the opportunity to join Julie Goodson and others on a field trip to Anacapa Island. After a two hour boat ride to the island, the students were able to witness and participate in a NASA Quest Live uplink broadcast of the Great American Fish Count (GAFC)
at the Channel Islands. They participated by asking questions to Laura Francis, Sustainable Seas Expeditions education coordinator, who was hooked up to a microphone (of sorts) while SCUBA diving so she could talk with the students.

Laura and Ed laughing

Laura Francis and Ed Cassano reacting to the taped underwater broadcast footage of "where is Ed?" during the media day.

 

Also participating in the GAFC was Ed Cassano piloting the Deep Worker submersible. Although Ed was unable to communicate to the students on deck and Laura underwater, he and the divers did manage to find each other. To view a video of the dive and read the accompanying chat session click here.

 

 

After the live uplink and checking out the events from the Media Day, the students ate lunch and then hiked around the island with a Naturalist/Instructor from Island Packers. After the hike and lecture, the students boarded the boat for the two-hour ride back home.

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For more information on the Sanctuary Summit at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, please contact:

Julie Goodson, Education Coordinator
(805) 884-1462
Julie.Goodson@noaa.gov

 

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