MCC's Marine Biology Study Ablog 2022

 Today we visited Cholla Bay to explore the mudflat. I enjoyed visiting this area because it was easier to walk on than other areas we’ve traveled to. We came across many moon snails and hermits crabs. Whitney found a blue male crab this morning. She knew it was a male by the “lighthouse” shape on its abdomen. I noticed that the larger crabs like to hang out in pools of water along the mudflat.  Glenn showed us an octopus towards the end of our adventure. I also learned that octopi bite so it is best to hold them while wearing mechanic gloves to prevent injury. 

     All though it might seem like a vacation, this is still technically a class so there have been quite a couple lecture hours and tons of learning opportunities. The most difficult part about the classwork has been the very limited access to a strong internet connection but we’ve managed to work around it, taking advantage of the natural resources we have around us. We have covered topics that are very general in the concept of biology but also very important, in fact, we are in the process of creating presentations to share with the rest of our class, our presentations are going to cover the diversity of invertebrates. During class lectures and lectures from the locals, we have learned all about features of the ocean and ecosystems not only of coastal communities but also specifically from the sea of Cortez. We have learned all about how unique the sea of Cortez is including everything from how it was formed to all the different and unique species it hosts like the en...

     Where we are in Mexico, there are these crazy tidal shifts and from the very first day we got here we’ve been going down during low tides and exploring the tidepools. We’ve been to quite a couple different terrains both on our own time and with the class. We started with the one closest to where we’re staying, CEDO, and even went looking for critters at night under the lunar eclipse. I feel like at night we say more of the cnidarians and the mollusk, like the sea anemones and the sea hares, we even saw an octopus. Most of the critters we saw throughout the different terrains were very similar, we just learned how to spot them differently in each one. For example, in the mudflaps, we learned to look for the octopuses in seashells while we learned to look under rocks in the rocky terrain. The more we go the better we get at spotting animals and the more comfortable we feel navigating and handling the ecosystem. Sharon Cruz

During the first day of lectures, we learned about some of the properties of the ocean. One things that really surprised me was the fact that the ocean absorbs every color except blue relatively easily. Blue penetrates the water deeper than other colors, which is why the ocean is that color.  I have only been to the beach once, 5 years ago. While I was there, I did not give the marine organisms or environment much thought. This trip opened my eyes to all the living and nonliving beings that belong to the ocean. We start every morning by exploring different areas of the beach. We have found many cool animals so far. We’ve come across brittle stars, crabs, and even a few octopi! I have only seen these animals in pictures or in aquariums. It’s amazing to see these creatures in their natural habitat.  This trip has been an amazing experience so far. I am thankful for all the new experiences and knowledge I am gaining every day. -Jimena

 Out of all the shores we have visited, the mud flat has to be my favorite. Although there wasn’t much marine life to be discovered as the other shores, this was the most simplest in a way. The ground was muddy but soft, very low population of barnacles were seen. I discovered a variety of marine life and very cool shells. One of my favorite discoveries was the most enormous hermit crab I’ve laid my eyes on. I learned that hermit crabs to grow out of their shell when they grow. I’ve seen very tiny ones and to see a large one, makes me think of all the different sizes out there! 

 Well… I guess I can see why they call it rocky point. These rocks were no joke. In a way, these rocks, this rocky shore was a hike. It was quite an experience to explore these tides and discover so many marine life. These are areas and creatures I’ve never seen before and never held. I was told months before this trip that there was this shore that had very sharp rocks. I thought to myself that discovering and studying for marine life can be very dangerous but knowledge will make you more wiser in these types of environments. There was many types of algae on these rocks that could potentially cause you to slip and really hurt yourself. An interesting fact about this place was how there are these creatures that live on some rock there— epifauna.

Tuesday, May 17th We set out to La Cholla and made our way to the mudflats. As the tide recedes the water moves away from the shore and this is what creates the mudflats. At first glance it is hard to tell if there is any sea creatures in the mud, but as you continue exploring you come across a lot of different creatures.  The picture above is an octopus den that we came across. The octopus decorates it’s den with all kinds of shiny shells, stones and even bottle caps.  The octopus is a class of mollusk that also includes squid and cuttlefish. Octopi have 8 multifunctional arms that are connected in the middle. Octopi are considered the most intelligent of the invertebrates. They are masters of disguise that camouflage with their surroundings and can be found hidden in clams and other shells.  — Nana Beltran