Beaufort Signature Courses| Fall Semester
Marine Ecology of the Pacific travels along the central California coast
watch videos of our 2007 trip here >
The following is an account of the Marine Ecology of the Pacific class trip in 2006 by class instructor, Larry Crowder
Larry Crowder and teaching assistant Janna Shackeroff led a class of 19 undergraduate and graduate students on a week-long course to California over fall break. We flew into San Francisco and after an evening in The City, we hiked Muir Woods and drove down coastal Highway 1 to our home for the week, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, near Pescadero, Calif.
We spent at least half of each day in the field and the other half visiting various marine laboratories. We were on the road early and returned late!
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We explored the rocky intertidal on the lowest tide of the fall, sampled fish and invertebrates in Monterey Canyon, hiked in to observe elephant seals at Ano Nuevo and watched humpbacks in Monterey Bay. We saw sea otters, California sea lions, harbor seals, elephant seals, humpback whales and Dall’s porpoise and hundreds of invertebrates, fishes, and birds in the field.
We got the “behind the scenes” tour at Monterey Bay Aquarium where we saw one of the first great while sharks ever displayed in captivity. We also toured the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and learned about hi-tech ways to explore marine ecosystems.
We also met and heard informally from eminent scientists including Jim Estes, Barbara Block, Steve Palumbi, Jim Harvey, Steve Berkeley, Greg Cailliet, Bruce Robison, Jon Geller and “J” Nichols. The trip not only exposed students to the wonders of the Ecology of the Pacific, but also provided face to face exposure to top scientists and laboratories on the Central California coast.
We received hands on experience relevant to a number of courses we were taking this fall at the marine laboratory including marine ecology, marine invertebrates, marine mammals, and oceanography. The course concluded with a wonderful meal at Passsionfish in Pacific Grove and a discussion of the Seafood Watch Program supported by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was the first of what we hope will be a series of memorable trips.