Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

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Labs

Invertebrate Diversity Lab (1.5-2 hours)
Students are treated to a hands-on lab exploring the diversity of hundreds of marine invertebrate organisms found in Barkley Sound. Instructors will provide a brief introduction to classification systems and characteristics and identification of species. Teaching will be tailored to the grade (curriculum) level and needs of individual groups. This lab is a great introduction to the organisms that students will see while at the beaches or sampling subtidally from research vessels.

Fish Lab: Form and Function (1.5-2 hours)
This lab provides the students with a basic overview of the three main Classes of fish, Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, and Osteichthyes including characteristics and basic morphology. Adaptations of fish are discussed with a focus on buoyancy, locomotion, sensing the environment, and velocity. In the lab activities, students will get to practice identifying fish found in the lab and in our display tanks. Another activity involves choosing a habitat, food source and predator, and then creating a fish adapted to these different conditions.

Plankton Lab (1.5-2 hours)
This lab is an eye-opening experience demonstrating the diversity of life that lives suspended in the ocean.  A brief lecture focuses on types of plankton found in Barkley Sound, the biology of major groups, and how plankton plays a role in our lives (Red Tide, bioluminescence, productivity).   Students are then equipped with microscopes and guides as they explore the often underappreciated world of plankton.  Students involved will record the species of plankton observed, taking part in a multi-year study looking at seasonal changes in plankton diversity.  This lab usually coincides with the oceanography fieldtrip to collect plankton samples.

Experimental Marine Biology Lab (around 3 hours)
Using the scientific method as a guideline, students will design, plan, and run their own experiments.  This is a great opportunity to focus on adaptive behaviour of many marine organisms and to get hands-on experience working with the invertebrates available in the lab.  Presentations of results and conclusions follow the completion of the experiments.  This is a great lab for those students who would like to experience the many aspects of scientific research: brainstorming, experimental design, analysis, and presentation.   By the end of the lab, students will feel satisfied with the feat they have accomplished as well as brimming with more questions to investigate! 
A few examples of previous experiments:
Substrate preference of hermit crabs
Swimming scallop reaction time to different sea star species

Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates (Seasonal, 1 hour plus timeline)
This lab is an examination of the spectrum of reproductive strategies that organisms have adapted to overcome the challenges of reproducing in the ocean. In one-hour students will observe the fusion of egg and sperm, the formation of a fertilization envelope, and will have set up a culture of developing (sea urchin or sand dollar, depending on the time of year) embryos to observe throughout the duration of their stay. From these subsequent observations students will create a timeline of their developing urchins.

Marine Mammal Adaptations (2 hours)
Why can seals dive so deep without crushing their lungs? How does baleen work? How do sea otters stay warm in the cold water? Many mammals have adapted to living in the ocean. This lab includes a brief classification of these mammals and then primarily focuses on how each group has adapted to the limitations and challenges of living in water. The Whale Lab collections of marine mammal skeletons are used extensively in this lab.

Seabirds (1.5-2 hours)
Students will learn how to identify several species of seabird and will also examine the characteristics that make seabirds adapted to survive on the ocean. Looking at characteristics such as feather type, body shape, and wing shape students will connect the different morphologies to the conditions they are adapted to. This lab is a good preparation for the field trip aboard the M/V Alta since many of the birds looked at in the lab can be seen along the route traveled through the Deer Group Islands.

Primary Productivity ( 3-4 hours divided)
While conducting the light/dark Winkler bottle experiment students will examine kelp and phytoplankton productivity. Using this classic method, students become thoroughly familiar with the process of photosynthesis and respiration. Students will use dissolved oxygen kits to perform chemical titrations to measure how much oxygen is produced (or used up) in the bottles over the course of a few hours. By measuring dissolved oxygen of bottles under different conditions, students will be able to detect the fixing of inorganic (CO₂) to organic (C₆H₁₂O₆) by the kelp. This experiment demonstrates the importance of kelp and plankton as primary producers in the global food chain.

Workshops

Career Panel (45 min – 2 hours)
The BMSC career panel is always interesting, and is an especially valuable experience for highschool students making descisions about university and careers.  A number of BMSC staff and researchers join the group to present their experiences and education that have led them into the field of marine biology and then open the floor to questions from the group.

Conservation Case Studies (2-3 hours)
Conservation is an important initiative to encourage in young people but can be met with frustration due to lack of resources, information, or inspiration. This workshop strives to inform and encourage but also to think critically about the issues involved.  Lots of discussion is encouraged and the instructors and students often enjoy the open forum style of this workshop.   Types of threat (habitat loss, invasive species, population changes, pollution, climate change, overexploitation) as well as the different types of species status listing in Canada (endangered, threatened, special concern, extirpated, extinct) are discussed.  After the discussion students will receive a case study of a species at risk and they will examine the biology of that species, the threats to its survival, what is being done currently to deal with the issue and what a student can do to help.

Fish Printing (1 hour)
Around 100 years ago, Japanese fishermen would record their prized catches by placing rice paper onto fish painted with ink. This technique is called Gyotaku (‘gyo’ meaning fish and ‘taku’ meaning impression). In this workshop students will be able to create their own gyotaku using rubber fish and acrylic paint. Students can bring clothes such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, or canvas bags to print, or just use paper available in the lab. These prints make wonderful souvenirs to take home.

Slide shows and other activites

Marine Mammal Slide Show (1-2 hours)
Sit back and enjoy the virtual survey of all the mammals found in the North Pacific Ocean.  This comprehensive slideshow includes the pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), the mustelids (sea otters), the cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises, and the magnificent whales).  The biology of each group as well as more species specific facts are discussed.  Fascinating details about each group make this slideshow interesting and thought provoking.  

Kelp Forest Ecology and Species at Risk Slide Show (1-2 hours)
There are more species of kelp on the west coast of Vancouver Island than the whole world! This area is the epicenter for research on kelp forest ecosystems. The slide show presents basic kelp forest ecology, discussing why these ecosystems are important, how they have changed in the last few hundred years, how they are connected to sea otters, urchins, abalone, and how these changes in the kelp forests are affecting humans and species at risk.

Individual Research Projects
Individual research projects are self-motivated, structured activities that result in a tangible product. The Public Education Program (PEP) coordinates projects focusing on species at risk and the individual projects are tailored to compliment these existing projects. With the guidance of instructors and teachers, projects such as games, animations, movies, and web pages have all been created by students and used by the PEP. These individual projects can also be brought back to the student’s community where promotion of conservation can be continued.
Individual projects are also often a detailed expansion of the experimental marine biology lab. Projects that allow students to get hands-on in the lab and the field are encouraged.

Contact Us

Public Education Coordinator:

Phone: (250) 728-3301 ext. 226