A DAY AT THE WHITNEY LAB The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience An Institute for Marine Research and Biotechnology

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1 A DAY AT THE WHITNEY LAB The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience An Institute for Marine Research and Biotechnology STUDENT NAME:

2 What s For Lunch? The Mission In this activity, you will make an educated guess, a hypothesis, about what mud snails prefer to eat SHRIMP OR ALGAE. Next, you will do an experiment that will test your hypothesis. (SC.5.N.1) RESEARCH The common mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoletus, lives along the coast of the Eastern United States. In the Matanzas River, (right outside our window) it s common to find them by the thousands grazing on the sand and mud flats. The snails create a mucous trail filled with chemical messages to communicate to other snails about where food is located. OBSERVATION The mud snail has organs that help it do what it needs to survive. Two of the mud snail s organs look like an elephant s trunk. The snail uses one of its trunks, the SIPHON, for taking in water for oxygen and smelling for food. The siphon is usually active, moving back and forth through the water. The other trunk, the PROBOSCIS, usually only comes out when the snails detect food. The proboscis is thicker and darker than the siphon, with a pink-red tint. You will now be given a snail to observe. Illustrations like the one below can help you identify snail body parts. Step 1 OBSERVATION: CIRCLE the words of the body parts you were able to identify on your snail: Siphon Tentacles Eyes Foot Proboscis Shell B. Did you see the proboscis? (Circle) YES or NO. IF you said no, why do you think you didn t see it? (Remember what we ve told you about mud snails) To show you how a snail reacts when it smells food in the water, we will put a cotton swab that has been soaking in a container of food into the dish with your snail. Observe how your snail behaves when the cotton swab is introduced. Take careful note of A) whether the proboscis comes out and if it stays out for more than 3 seconds and B) if the snail attaches to the swab, which indicates it s interested in the food. a. Did your snail s behavior change? (circle) YES NO b. Did the proboscis come out? (circle) YES NO c. Was the snail interested in the food (proboscis out for more than 3 seconds)? YES NO d. Did it attach to the cotton swab? (circle) YES NO

3 Step 2 HYPOTHESIS It s time to make a hypothesis (an educated guess), as to what you think more mud snails will prefer to eat; a piece of dead shrimp or a piece of algae. My hypothesis: More mud snails will prefer to eat:. STEP 3 EPERIMENT Directions: When instructed, you will give your snail a piece of algae, and observe for 2 minutes to see if the snail likes this food type. Next you will give your snail a piece of shrimp and observe for 2 minutes. Mark an in the Yes part of the data box below if the snail sticks out its proboscis for 3 seconds or more, and attaches to the food. Mark an in the NO part of the data box below if the snail does not stick its proboscis out for 3 seconds in a row. STEP 4 RECORDING DATA MY SNAIL DATA Make a in the yes or no column to show if your snail liked that food YOUR GROUP DATA Write the # of students whose snails liked each type of food BAR GRAPH: GROUP DATA WHAT FOOD Yes NO FOOD Yes NO MUD SNAILS PREFER TO EAT N U M B E R O F S N A I L S Yes No Yes No Key Green = Yes Red = No Step 4 CONCLUSION 1. Is your hypothesis supported by your GROUP s data? (circle) YES NO 2. Why is it important to repeat your experiment over and over again? (SC.5.N.1.3)

4 CLASS DATA GRAPH * Fill in the Class Data Graph to the left 1. Does the CLASS data support your hypothesis? 2. Does the CLASS data agree with your GROUP data? 3. After reviewing all of the data, what is your conclusion about what mud snails prefer to eat? Thank you for visiting the Whitney Lab, we hope you had a fun and educational time! Yes No Yes No

5 Life in the Estuary (Microscope Station) When we think of the estuary, we picture tall grasses, egrets, ospreys, crabs, and many different kinds of fish. However, most people never see the largest community of living organisms; the tiny critters living in the water. This community, or collection of living organisms, is the food for crabs, birds, fish; as well as other creatures. Mission Using the microscope you will observe the biodiversity of organisms common to the Matanzas Estuary. (SC.5.L.17) Observation #1 Plankton 1. CIRCLE the CORRECT sentence: Plankton CAN swim against a current OR Plankton CANNOT swim against a current Observation #2 Dock Sample - are plant-like organisms. What role do algae play in the estuary environment? 2. CIRCLE THE 2 ANSWERS THAT ARE CORRECT: A. can provide hiding places for tiny organisms B. is a primary producer in the food chain since it can do photosynthesis C. is a consumer in the food chain Observation #3 Dock Sample - Animals These small animals are found in the estuary, often living attached to structures like docks or other organisms. 3. These animals would get their energy from: (CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER) a. Making their own food (they are producers) b. Eating other organisms (they are consumers) Observation #4 - Animals The estuary is a nursery and critical habitat for many different animals. It provides several places to hide from predators and has an abundance of food. 4. What might happen to the tiny organisms such as plankton, baby crabs, and tiny shrimp, if the estuary became polluted? CIRCLE the correct answer: A. These small animals would BE OK because they would just move to another part of the estuary that wasn t polluted B. These small animals would most likely NOT be ok because some cannot swim against currents, and some are attached to docks and not readily able to migrate/move. *If time you can make a drawing on the back of your paper of your favorite animal you observed!

6 Invertebrate Wet lab Station Objective Discover how different marine invertebrates perform important functions that are necessary to survive as a species. (SC.5.L.14.2) Background There are over 1 million different kinds of animals, and only about 5% have backbones. The remaining 95% of animals are invertebrates, animals without backbones. The invertebrates are an amazing collection of animals that come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. In order to survive and create more of their own kind, animals must perform many functions, Eat, take in water, take in oxygen, have shelter/space, and reproduce. As animals have adapted or evolved, they have developed widely different methods for performing these important life functions. Some marine invertebrate animals, such as the horseshoe crab, have been surviving and reproducing for millions of years. Observation At the wet-lab station you will examine a collection of invertebrates found in the oceans, bays, and estuaries of coastal Florida! How do they breathe? Anemone Cnidarians Echinoderms Mollusks Arthropods Jelly- Fish Skin / thin layer Star Urchin Cucumber Tube Feet Sand Dollar Snails Clams Mussels & Oysters Florida Spiny Lobster Gills Lungs Respiratory Tree How do they capture food? Stinging cells Tube Feet Filter feeders Tentacles Claws or Mouth Parts Foot or mouth How are they protected? Hard Shell Spines Stinging Cells Claws Swims Quickly +/- Hides Eviscerate Crabs Horse shoe crab