Field Trip to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps

ESYS10 February 23, 2006

The aquarium is divided into two sections – museum to the left, fish tanks to the right. The museum has become quite a bit more relevant to our class since the last ESYS10 visit in 2005.

Throughout the exhibits, the linkages between systems are emphasized – human impacts on nature, nature's impacts on humans.

A. Museum exhibits on the left.

1. Seawater stowaways. Describe some of the unintended impacts that humans have on marine ecosystems as a result of shipping.

2. Relate genomics to biodiversity. What are some reasons for studying marine genomics? How closely related to humans are sea squirts? (Make sure to see the 4 minute movie as well as the museum exhibits.)

3. What is the importance of marine organisms such as cyanobacteria to our global environment (atmospheric composition)?

4. What are some of the adaptations of cyanobacteria to different marine environments?

B. Aquarium on right

5. What are some of the factors in the physical environment that affect marine productivity?

6. Where is the California Current? Why is it a particularly rich ecosystem?

7. Take a look at the kelp forest. What environmental problems does San Diego's kelp forest face? (See board just beyond the kelp forest – around the left side when facing tank.)

8. Baselines. Find the coral reef exhibit. A "baseline" is the original state that an ecologist would compare the current evolving state to. Describe what you can about the baseline state in the Caribbean prior to major European impact. Describe the state in the mid-1900s and the state now. What are some causes for the changes?

9. Pick one tank or one organism (fish, jelly, coral, etc) in the aquarium. Describe its preferred habitat, temperature, nutrient availability, etc. If information is available on nearby boards, describe what natural or anthropogenic stresses/changes there might be to this habitat and hence to the organism.