Category Archives: Video

Generator replacement by helicopter

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For maintenance purposes, the Canadian Coast Guard is replacing one of the generators necessary to power Race Rocks. This piece of equipment is a 25kW Diesel generator located in the engine room situated in the southern part of the island. Hopefully, in the next decade, we will be able to switch to renewable energy to move a step further toward our goal of sustainability for the islands and protection of the environment.

This video was made by Ryan Murphy and Paulina Ponce de Leon in October of 2000.

Sealions Visit Divers Video

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Excerpts from the June 13, 2000 live webcast from underwater at Race Rocks. Northern sea lions visit the divers and end up by giving an aggressive threat display. One sea lion dives at the diver, then veers off at the last moment. This display is often accompanied by the snapping of teeth. Listen for it as the animal makes a close approach. It is adviseable that when sealions exhibit this behaviour it usually means you are encroaching on their territory and it would be best if you leave. 

Archived video

The Johan Ashuvud Project, 2000

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Victor David and Satoshi: For two weeks in May and June of 2000, Lester Pearson College graduating students, Victor Rakou, David Mesiha and Satoshi Kimura, and in the last week, Juan Manuel Alva and Martin Kryl, joined the sea gulls and stayed at Race Rocks running daily programs on a live camera, and broadcasting directly to the web. Faculty member Garry Fletcher worked with them for the daily webcasts from the shore and from underwater. Sponsorship for this week came from the Johan Ashuvud memorial fund.

The first big event was the Swiftsure Race Weekend. A camera was set up along with a supporting G4 computer in the top of the light tower. Two streams were broadcast, one to camera 4 on the website and a special experimental dedicated stream to Shaw Cable. This stream was of TV quality at 1Mbps and 21 FPS.

Our thanks to Kevin Sytsma of LGS for coming out to help setup for this 2 day broadcast and to Ken Dunham ( PC year 9) for reconfiguring the server from Ottawa in order to handle this experiment.

Each day at Low tide we set up in different locations around the island, always being careful to not disturb the nesting seabirds futher up on land. A Sony camera linked by Firewire to a G3 500 Mghz computer was located in the intertidal zone. From here, Audio and Video Signal went by the wireless Macintosh AirPort Link to the Science Centre. From here the signal traveled by Cat.5 cable to the top of the light tower where it was sent by radio to the Telus antenna at Lester Pearson College. From there it was webcast in live streaming video to the internet by a Macintosh G4 500.

Content through the week ranged from adaptations of organisms to the special ecological niches of tidepools and intertidal slopes, to First Nations use of resources and the role of community/ stakeholder participation in the Marine Protected Areas Pilot process.

The airport wireless base station was tried in a number of locations. We relied on David to find the best locations for connectivity. Best wireless transmission was achieved when we hoisted it up to the roof of the science house. The radio waves go through buildings but not through rocks!

Further editing for the video archives took place in the science centre in the evenings.

Video created this week by the team:

june92000s jochensealions newgulls wwfgulls
Underwater Invertebrates and Fish On the last day of live webcasting, sea lions visited Glaucous-winged gull behaviour Gull territorial aggression

Chris Blondeau from Lester Pearson College joined us for a session on the care and maintenance of the underwater camera and housing. Chris is in charge of the shore-front at the college and is in charge of the SCUBA Diving program there.

We were also fortunate to have some visitors take part in the intertidal discussions we had on the islands. Dr. Jochen Kuum ( PC year 10) is seen here with Garry and diving with Satoshi and Victor Stephen Haggarty (PC year19) also participated above and below water. This video was made on the last dive

 

Carol Slater, who along with her husband Mike are the guardians of the MPA joined us to talk about the Black Oyster Catcher. We examined the trays of shells from last years midden of one nest. This parent bird was foraging off to the East of the dock where they hatched two chicks this year

Race Rocks viewed from the South at Rosedale Rocks Buoy.

One of the best parts in staying at Race Rocks overnight while doing these webcasts was the great sunsets. Sometimes you can view these on the remote control camera 1 and camera 5.

 

 A dive with Dr. Scott Wallace for the Discovery Channel,

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Scott Wallace did research in 1997 and 1998 at Race Rocks with Pearson College divers. He studied the population dynamics of the Northern Abalone,Haliotis kamtchatkana
His research was done as part of a PhD thesis in Resource Management from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver :

Wallace, S. S. 1999. Fisheries Impacts on Marine Ecosystems and Biological Diversity: The role for marine protected areas in British Columbia. Ph.D. Dissertation. The University of British Columbia. Pp. 198.

 In May of 2000, he returned to Race Rocks for a dive with Garry and Hana and an interview with Stephanie Paine and Director Julia Nunes for the Discovery Channel. In this video he demonstrates the measurement technique he used in his research.

Wallace, Scott, S. 1999, Evaluating the Effects of Three Forms of Marine Reserve on Northern Abalone Populations in British Columbia, Canada.

Conservation Biology, Vol 13 No 4, August, 1999, pages 882-887.

ABSTRACT: :Marine reserves have been suggested as tools for assisting the management of fisheries by protecting vulnerable marine species from overexploitation. Although there is a theoretical basis for believing that marine reserves may serve as management tools, there are few marine reserves in the world in which to test their effectiveness. My research evaluated three forms of marine reserve on the south coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. I used northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), a severely depleted shellfish in this region, as an indicator of the effectiveness of the reserves. Abalone populations in eight sites receiving different degrees of spatial protection were counted and measured in situ during the spring of 1996 and 1997. In all sites with enforced harvest closures, populations of abalone were greater, and one site with nearly 40 years of protection had on average much larger (older) abalone. Reproductive output, as a function of abundance and size, was also greater in the enforced reserve areas. Larval dispersal from reserves, and hence the benefit to exploited areas, was not formally surveyed. Nevertheless, the results of my study, combined with knowledge of present abalone populations, life history, and regional hydrodynamics, suggest that establishment of reserves is justified in the absence of perfect knowledge of larval dispersal.

This video was taken by Garry Fletcher of Scott as he was involved in measuring abalone at Race Rocks:

Articles published by Scott Wallace: 

Wallace, Scott, S. 1999, Evaluating the Effects of Three Forms of Marine Reserve on Northern Abalone Populations in British Columbia, Canada. Conservation Biology, Vol 13 No 4, August, 1999, pages 882-887.

 

Out of Sight, Out of Mind, and Almost out of Time:

Out of sight, almost out of time–mpa

Invertebrate Phyla at Race Rocks

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“Invertebrate Phyla at Race Rocks” is an introductory piece on some  of the invertebrate phyla that our divers encounter underwater . This was one of the first  streaming videos done by the Pearson College divers in April 2000. It was taken by Rowena and Shamsher on a Sony Digital camera, and edited by Hannah and Garry on a G4 Macintosh Computer using iMovie.

IESVIC connections

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icevicIn March of 2000, Dr. David Scott, (formerly IESVic Director, now Director of Energy Systemics group), Dr. Ged McLean, (IESVic Director) , Dr. Murray MacWhale, ( Assistant Professor) and Mr. Walter Merida, ( former United World College student at the Adriatic College and then a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria) went out to Race Rocks with Garry Fletcher to start a process of idea building on the concept of Alternate Energy Technologies for Race Rocks . After a meeting including a few of the Pearson College students who were staying at Race Rocks while diving over the mid term break, we came away confident that some ideas had been discussed which may lead to a new collaborative arrangement for energy alternatives for the island.
 By May of 2000 Dr. Ged McLean arranged to have three students in Engineering at the University of Victoria do a feasibility study on Alternate Energy for Race Rocks in a class in the summer of 2000. As a result of this preliminary study, Taco Niet decided to take this on as a project for his Master ‘s Program.
University of Victoria Media Release:
Graduate Student creates a renewable energy plan for Race Rocks.Article in the Times Colonist referring to Taco’s research Article in THE RING (UVIC) Going with the Flow
 tacosInterview with Taco Niet
Taco’s Thesis Abstract
Screen Shot 2014-02-24 at 7.48.10 PMSee also Niet, T, McLean, G. “Race Rocks Sustainable Energy Development”, Paper presented at 11th Canadian Hydrogen Conference, Victoria, BC, June 2001 Proposal by Michael Wheatley to reduce Power Generation Cost and Diesel Fuel Consumption at Race Rocks

Abalone tagging at Race Rocks with Pearson College Divers

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In 1998, we began a long term research program, initiated by Dr. Scott Wallace, on the population dynamics of the Northern Abalone
(Haliotis kamtschatkana). For several years, the Pearson College divers monitored the population. In this video, Pearson College graduate Jim Palardy (PC yr.25) explains the process.