Senior Culminating Projects
Options with Feiro Marine Life Center
To learn more about or sign up for the following projects, please contact Deb Moriarty (deborahm@feiromarinelifecenter.org).
A student can earn credit for any of the projects listed on this website through North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center Natural Resources (contact Dan Lieberman, 360-565-1892, dlieberman@portangelesschools.org).
A student can earn credit for any of the projects listed on this website through North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center Natural Resources (contact Dan Lieberman, 360-565-1892, dlieberman@portangelesschools.org).
Project Logistics - Port Angeles
Number of Students: Up to 12 students
Schedule: Plankton and PA Harbor monitoring crew meets Tuesdays 3-6pm. ROV crew meets Wednesdays at PA High lunch and some Saturdays
Project Options - Port Angeles
Plankton composition, abundance and seasonal variability
Sponsoring Agency: Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom Partnership, UW
Contact Person: Mary Sue Brancato, Anthony O’Dell
Testing Period: Monthly – year round
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Questions:
1. Can we detect harmful algal blooms (HAB) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Port Angeles Harbor and do these provide early warnings to further east in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound?
2. Is plankton species composition changing over time?
Senior Culminating Project: A team of students will work with trained citizen volunteers to collect plankton, following scientific protocol, on a weekly basis. The samples will be analyzed to determine plankton composition, abundance and seasonal variability. This data will be recorded and shared with ORHAB and Sound Toxins.
Time estimate: 2-5 hours per week (more students=fewer hours)
Megalops abundance in PA Harbor as it relates to health of crab in Puget Sound
Sponsoring Agency: Suquamish Tribe
Contact Person: Paul Williams
Testing period: May and June
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Question:
1. What are the origins of the larval crab supply and what are the natural fluctuations in that supply?
Senior Culminating Project: The Dungeness crab population has suffered a steep decline. No one knows why, however the decline seems to be limited to Hood Canal and by acting now to uncover the causes of the decline in Hood Canal, managers may be able to prevent declines elsewhere. The purpose of this study is to identify the origin of Dungeness crab larvae in Hood Canal and Puget Sound through creating a network of crab larvae (megalops) observers. Dungeness crab megalops larvae drift for up to six months before they settle to the shore and transform to juvenile crabs. Megalops in Hood Canal may drift in from as far away as the Pacific Ocean or they may come from within Hood Canal. The size of the individuals in each wave of settlement and the settlement timing in each location will give us clues to their source. Finding the source of the larva is key to unlocking the cause of the decline in adult crabs, and will guide management actions for their recovery. Students will collect samples from the Port Angeles dock no less than on a weekly basis and prepare samples for scientific analysis.
Time Requirement: 1 hr/week (May 1-June 15)
Smolt counting on Ennis Creek
Sponsoring Agency: Lower Elwha Kallam Tribe
Contact Person: Mike McHenry
Testing period: April-June
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Question:
1. What are the smolt counts of Coho, Cutthroat, and Steelhead and how are these populations changing over time?
Senior Culminating Project: A team of students work with FMLC staff to count smolt on Ennis Creek on a twice daily basis from approximately May 1 through June 15. This data is shared with Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for their use in quota establishment and population monitoring.
Time requirements: 2 hrs/day (more students=fewer hours)
Mussel Watch
Sponsoring Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact Person: Jennifer Lanksbury
Testing period: every two years
Surpervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description: (details coming soon)
Akashiwo Monitoring
Sponsoring Agency: Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
Contact Person: Ed Bowlby
Testing Period: Daily during bloom
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description: (details coming soon)
Mobilsa Buoy Data Collection
Sponsoring Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Contact Person: Bob Campbell
Testing Period: Continuous
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Question:
1. How does water quality, as determined by the Mobilisa buoy parameters, plus salinity, temperature, chlorophyll and nutrient level relate to HAB events in Port Angeles Harbor?
Senior Culminating Project: A student, or team of students, record water quality data from harbor buoy monitoring system for use in analyzing water quality issues. Data compilation and management.
Time requirement: 2 hrs/week (could be yearlong)
Invasive species monitoring, esp. Ascidian
Sponsoring Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact Person: Ann Eissinger
Testing Period: Monthly – Year round
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Questions:
1. Are there invasive invertebrates and algae species in the Port Angeles area?
2. Are native species at risk from invasive species in Port Angeles Harbor?
Senior Culminating Project: Summer during very low tides. Still in planning process, probably 2 hrs per week for sampling
Number of Students: Up to 12 students
Schedule: Plankton and PA Harbor monitoring crew meets Tuesdays 3-6pm. ROV crew meets Wednesdays at PA High lunch and some Saturdays
Project Options - Port Angeles
Plankton composition, abundance and seasonal variability
Sponsoring Agency: Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom Partnership, UW
Contact Person: Mary Sue Brancato, Anthony O’Dell
Testing Period: Monthly – year round
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Questions:
1. Can we detect harmful algal blooms (HAB) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Port Angeles Harbor and do these provide early warnings to further east in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound?
2. Is plankton species composition changing over time?
Senior Culminating Project: A team of students will work with trained citizen volunteers to collect plankton, following scientific protocol, on a weekly basis. The samples will be analyzed to determine plankton composition, abundance and seasonal variability. This data will be recorded and shared with ORHAB and Sound Toxins.
Time estimate: 2-5 hours per week (more students=fewer hours)
Megalops abundance in PA Harbor as it relates to health of crab in Puget Sound
Sponsoring Agency: Suquamish Tribe
Contact Person: Paul Williams
Testing period: May and June
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Question:
1. What are the origins of the larval crab supply and what are the natural fluctuations in that supply?
Senior Culminating Project: The Dungeness crab population has suffered a steep decline. No one knows why, however the decline seems to be limited to Hood Canal and by acting now to uncover the causes of the decline in Hood Canal, managers may be able to prevent declines elsewhere. The purpose of this study is to identify the origin of Dungeness crab larvae in Hood Canal and Puget Sound through creating a network of crab larvae (megalops) observers. Dungeness crab megalops larvae drift for up to six months before they settle to the shore and transform to juvenile crabs. Megalops in Hood Canal may drift in from as far away as the Pacific Ocean or they may come from within Hood Canal. The size of the individuals in each wave of settlement and the settlement timing in each location will give us clues to their source. Finding the source of the larva is key to unlocking the cause of the decline in adult crabs, and will guide management actions for their recovery. Students will collect samples from the Port Angeles dock no less than on a weekly basis and prepare samples for scientific analysis.
Time Requirement: 1 hr/week (May 1-June 15)
Smolt counting on Ennis Creek
Sponsoring Agency: Lower Elwha Kallam Tribe
Contact Person: Mike McHenry
Testing period: April-June
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Question:
1. What are the smolt counts of Coho, Cutthroat, and Steelhead and how are these populations changing over time?
Senior Culminating Project: A team of students work with FMLC staff to count smolt on Ennis Creek on a twice daily basis from approximately May 1 through June 15. This data is shared with Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for their use in quota establishment and population monitoring.
Time requirements: 2 hrs/day (more students=fewer hours)
Mussel Watch
Sponsoring Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact Person: Jennifer Lanksbury
Testing period: every two years
Surpervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description: (details coming soon)
Akashiwo Monitoring
Sponsoring Agency: Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
Contact Person: Ed Bowlby
Testing Period: Daily during bloom
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description: (details coming soon)
Mobilsa Buoy Data Collection
Sponsoring Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Contact Person: Bob Campbell
Testing Period: Continuous
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Question:
1. How does water quality, as determined by the Mobilisa buoy parameters, plus salinity, temperature, chlorophyll and nutrient level relate to HAB events in Port Angeles Harbor?
Senior Culminating Project: A student, or team of students, record water quality data from harbor buoy monitoring system for use in analyzing water quality issues. Data compilation and management.
Time requirement: 2 hrs/week (could be yearlong)
Invasive species monitoring, esp. Ascidian
Sponsoring Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact Person: Ann Eissinger
Testing Period: Monthly – Year round
Supervising Agency: Feiro Marine Life Center
Project Description:
Key Questions:
1. Are there invasive invertebrates and algae species in the Port Angeles area?
2. Are native species at risk from invasive species in Port Angeles Harbor?
Senior Culminating Project: Summer during very low tides. Still in planning process, probably 2 hrs per week for sampling