The Race Rocks Ecological Reserve as a Scientific Resource

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The first year Pearson College students are doing their IB Group 4 science Project coursework this year on Race Rocks. 

The following is a list of preliminary ideas given to the 100 students of the first year who will all be participating in an interdisciplinary study of scientific problems at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on March 26, 1997.

The list is intended to stimulate the students to generate research problems to be planned in groups before-hand and then investigated on that date.

 

THE RACE ROCKS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE

AS A SCIENTIFIC RESOURCE

Scheduled for: Mar 26 1997

 

The following is a list of preliminary ideas given to the 100 students of the first year who will all be participating in an interdisciplinary study of scientific problems at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on March 26, 1997.

The list is intended to stimulate the students to generate research problems to be planned in groups before-hand and then investigated on that date.

CONTAMINATION SITES:

  • iron in South tide pools
  • oiled soil near storage tanks

NATURAL PRODUCTS:

  • calcium carbonate in different shell species
  • natural materials as dyes
  • enzymes- reactivity rates in invertebrates
  • alginates and other chemicals in algae
  • pigments of algae
  • feathers

ENERGY:

  • solar energy panels and their output
  • biogas potential of algae
  • wind power – real, time and historical anemometer readings.
  • energy system of generators.

MATERIAL CYCLING:

  • nutrients of tidepool systems
  • nitrogen, phosphorous
  • strand line materials
  • human recycling system

ADAPTATIONS:

  • mussel attachment
  • seaweed holdfasts
  • desiccation prevention techniques
  • temperature moderation techniques-algae, invertebrates
  • crevasse adaptations of invertebrates
  • tidepool algae salt tolerance

ON-SITE MECHANICS:

  • fog horns (3 types)
  • winch (2 types)
  • generator
  • desalinator

PHYSICAL FACTORS:

  • salinity
  • ph
  • wind
  • waves
  • currents
  • temperature
  • light

BIOTIC FACTORS:

  • biotic associations
  • distribution patterns of organisms
  • behavior of organisms-invertebrates, marine mammals
  • productivity
  • human environmental impacts

THE TOWER AS A RESOURCE:

  • internal acoustics
  • trajectories
  • seismology
  • laser aiming
  • biophysics (-as an exercise machine)

MICROECOSYSTEMS:

  • tidepools
  • crevasses
  • rainbarrels
  • rock undersides

OTHER WILD IDEAS:

  • GPS exercises
  • ground-truthing satellite observations
  • surveying and mapping