Category Archives: PC Students at Race Rocks

Water Supply: The Desalinator System at Race Rocks

Posted on by

Race Rocks ecological Reserve functions as an isolated system. Fresh water for human use may only be obtained by processing sea water through the desalinator. Energy is generated through solar panels and backup generators.  The desalinator depends on these sources of energy to function. The more efficient the desalinator, the less energy is used. The students take us through the process:

The Johan Ashuvud 2004 project

Posted on by

n the first week of June 2004, four students and two researchers stayed at Race Rocks for an intensive week. Sponsorship for this week comes from the Johan Ashuvud memorial fund. Webcasts of the day’s events took place every night and on two days, school groups came out to help produce a program for live webcasting.

(https://www.racerocks.ca/johan-ashuvud-project-at-race-rocks-2004/)

 

During the Johan Ashuvud project 2004, students explored the intertidal with Garry Fletcher. They examined various organisms as well as the artificial tidepool. In this video, we also get a chance to meet all the students taking part in the project.

 

Variables Affecting Tidepools at Race Rocks

Posted on by

n the high intertidal areas of Race Rocks, there are tidepools with wide fluctuations of abiotic factors. The organisms inhabiting these pools are well adapted to these extremes. Garry talks to a biology class about some of the variables influencing these high tide pools, and the flagellated green algae living within them.

Tidepool # 7 at Race Rocks

Posted on by

In May 2004, the biology class measures the abiotic factors in Pool 7.

Jen with the salinity probe.

 

The most striking feature about this tidepool is that since it is at such a high level on the intertidal, in the heat of summer, there is evaporation which concentrates the salinity into a saturated solution even beyond the range of measurement on the salinometer. Even in that high concentration as can be seen in the following picture, a green algae lives among the salt crystals

 

Salt Crystals with algal growth form in Pool7 in the summer

 

Some ideas to consider:

Tidepools 7and 8 are situated very close together, differing only in a few centimeters in elevation. The salinity and temperatures of the pools may vary however. It might be worthwhile to document these variations and propose some explanations for the variation.

 

APPLE : Partnership with racerocks.com

Posted on by

ARCHIVE: It is important to recognize that the early innovations in internet technology at Race Rocks  were made possible by the cooperation of a number of partners and sponsors . Apple was one of the important partners in collaboration for this educational application of the internet for the conservation of a sensitive ecosystem by promoting the availability of its unique ecological features to the world.
In June 2000, Apple first became a sponsor when APPLE CANADA recognized the significance of our project and loaned us a new Powerbook G3 500 for the two weeks of mobile webcasts in June 2000.

 

 

As a result of that initial support, Apple Canada sent us the same computer for our project in July 2000. At the New York MacWorld Conference in July, our presentation of a live underwater webcast from Race Rocks prompted an offer from The APPLE LEARNING INTERCHANGE for a partnership. The result was that the QuickTime live video streams were hosted by the Apple Learning Interchange over the Akamai Internet distribution network. We are extremely grateful to APPLE for this generous support. Live video streams have now been operating since the summer of 2000 thanks to tis initial support.

 

In October, 2000, APPLE hosted us for a presentation of the live Underwater QuickTime stream at the QuickTime Live Convention in California.

In March of 2001, APPLE Canada came to our assistance again with the generous
donation of a G4 Titanium PowerBook. We used this for our mobile webcasts and
for the creation of new archived video clips using the iMovie software. 

We must also acknowledge the commitment of the Apple representative Keith Mitchell who worked out of the offices in Texas and was also able to visit us to see the operation of our system at Race Rocks.

In June of 2002, The APPLE LEARNING INTERCHANGE opened its new gallery of featured exhibits and  racerocks.com was included on the ALI website as one of their exhibits.

 

 

In January of 2004, The Apple Learning Interchange upgraded the three computers and the Wireless Airports and they also assisted us with the purchase of a new Remote Control camera. We now have the equipment installed and providing improved Live Streaming Images as of the spring of 2004.

In 2004, three APPLE eMacs were supplied to webcast from cameras 1, 2 and 5. Webcasting from these cameras used QuickTime Broadcaster.

 

 

 

Distance Education Feedback

Posted on by

From a teacher in the United States:
Garry! Well, you made history today. Our school had never had a live webcast. You were the first! We got online at about 10:40 and stayed on through the end.
The students were mesmerized. The evidence that it made a huge impression was seen back in class when I asked them to write about what they learned. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such long essays and such focused work!
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this for us.
Here are some quotes from their essays. I will send their
questions tomorrow.
“I wish I could be like Pablo, your student.”
“I learned that some species of plants grow together.”
“I liked it when you showed the tissue of the plant where the water goes.”
“They were doing what we are doing.”
“I learned that we could use green seaweed in a salad.”
“It helped me understand how scientists work.
“I liked that they talked very nicely and clear.”
“We are thinking we could be like you, Mr. Fletcher.”
“They know all about species of plants.”
“”I think Mr. Fletcher, Pablo, and Carolina work so hard.”
“I learned that some plants don’t need water.”
“We learned that weeds stick together. Oscar wanted to know why.”
“I learned that a plant inside the leaf is like a tissue all wet.”

I think I’ll have to get a brochure from Pearson College so I can send them to you in the future.
Thanks again, Maria

From a teacher in Toronto, Canada:
“Thank you for adding me to your notification list as the location and subject
matter of your website are as interesting to me as the technology. I was very excited the first time I saw an elephant seal through the Racerock ‘eyes’ and it’s quite a treat to see the baby seagulls that are the focus now.

Regards from Toronto!”
Carolyn

From a parent Victoria, Canada:
“Thank you for providing such an interesting and amazing site!! My son
and I spent more than an hour viewing the information provided, and he ran off to do more research after! Race Rocks may only be a short distance from where we live, but we had never had the opportunity to see below the surface and learn so much about the creatures that live there.”

Thanks again,
Jackson

From an instructional designer in Chignecto, Canada:
“I am a teacher and an instructional designer with the Chignecto Central Regional School Board located in Nova Scotia, Canada. I am currently designing courses for an online school for high school students in our Board (and perhaps beyond). I would like permission to link to your site:
http://www.racerocks.com
so that our students can explore biodiversity and the classification of living things through the video and information found on your website. I was very excited about the possibilities for students to explore “real life biology” after viewing your site!

The Rock was Ours! Race Rocks Weekend

Posted on by

“The Rock was ours.” Race Rocks Weekend

article and photos by Jeremias Prassl with group Naja, Angie, Ahmad, Josh, Roberto

It was after a week of painful Mock exams (or Group IV projects…), that we made our way out to Race Rocks on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Mike and Carrol, the light house guardians, had gone to town for the weekend, and so The Rock was ours. Second Nature was packed up high with our bags, food and dive gear as we left Pearson with Garry. The task list for the weekend included digging a trench for a new camera, fulfilling all island duties, and doing underwater camera work during our dives.

Saturday started with a surprise visit: A military Zodiac pulled up the docks, and two commandos informed us that they were looking for “the explosive”.

As we soon figured out, a grey cylinder the Navy had lost off one of their vessels had been washed ashore at Race Rocks – and it was still active! But with their gear, the soldiers took care of it within a few minutes. For the rest of the morning we were busy with digging a trench in the rocky ground – we definitely earned the big lunch that followed. In the afternoon we strolled around the intertidal zone with our learned guide Josh, before we got ready for a dive. We were treated to the usual beauty of the Marine Protected Area underwater, and after our air had run out we went for a snorkelling trip. The day was finished by a chocolate fondue under the constantly turning light on top of the lighthouse.

When Mike and Carrol came back, they brought their grandchildren Mike and Chris, and we took them around for an exploration of the island, including the two female elephant seals lazily in the sun. When Garry came to pick us up after a second dive Sunday afternoon, we would’ve all done a lot to stay longer… for a few more days of our great weekend. A special thanks to Chris and Garry for all their assistance!

http://web.archive.org/web/20070710010854/http://peernet.lbpc.ca/thelink/040904/04aRaceRks.html

originally published at : http://peernet.lbpc.ca/thelink/040904/04aRaceRks.html

April 9 2004   The Link number 63

Installation of the Remotely Operated Camera 5 at Race Rocks

Posted on by

This remote controlled camera gives a full 340 degrees view of the land and surrounding waters of Great Race Rocks. The panoramic view with zoom capabilities can be controlled by the viewer.

Photos for this page by G.Fletcher

Be sure to use the manual focus when needed, and we apologize if occasionally the housing is covered with salt spray making viewing difficult, as it is not easy to keep it clean in this exposed location.

The original cam 5 was a SONY camera provided by Apple. This was replaced in 2010 with a canon VBC60, available from Nuspectra.

We have had collaboration from viewers in capturing pictures from this camera. See this example.

Macroalgae at Race Rocks.

Posted on by

There is great biodiversity in the Macroalgal species at Race Rocks . A herbarium of the species which have been found growing in the reserve is kept in the Biology and Marine Environmental Systems lab at Lester B. Pearson College. These students are floating a filamentous algal form onto a herbarium sheet in a tank of seawater. The algae are then dried between blotters in a drier with heat and circulating air.

Suggestion:Perhaps a student can digitize the herbarium sheets so we can see them posted here?

 

Refer to this file for archived video of Algae at Race Rocks

 

 

 

For a complete list of many of the species of  algae at Race Rocks scroll down to Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta in the Race Rocks taxonomy

 

Refer to this extended essay on Halosaccion glandiforme with a focus on position on the shore considering height and slope as factors in intertidal zonation

 

 

Ryan Murphy, former LBPC student returned to Race Rocks to do research for Mt.Allison University on the macroalgal community. He constructed this Digital Herbarium using photographs he took while at the reserve.

 

 

Hemigrapsus nudus-Purple Shore Crab– The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by

At the mid-intertidal rocky shore level on southern Vancouver Island, you will frequently find this as the most common species of shorecrab. At Race Rocks, they particularly like the loose rock habitat of the intertidal area beside the boat ramp on the jetty. The maximum size this crab attains is that shown in the video, about a 2cm. width of carapace. Thanks to Taarini Chopra and the environmental systems class for this video done as part of a study on biotic associations of the invertebrates at Race Rocks. This species is a particularly good example because of the parasites it often carries


Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Malacostraca
Order Decapoda
Suborder Pleocymata
Family Grapsidae
Genus Hemigrapsus
Species nudus
Common Name: Purple shore crab

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

March October 2003- Taarini Chopra (PC yr 27)