On Thursday, March 26th, we were able to take our trip to Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), where students engaged in four investigation stations involving the following questions:
How are cod and lobster connected in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem?Students will dive deeper than typical predator-prey exploration and explore how behavior changes can affect competition for food, shelter, and resulting changes in growth and fecundity.
Are we farming lobsters? Taking on the role of marine ecologist, students will collect data from live lobsters to determine if the use of herring for lobster bait has impacted the growth rate of lobsters.
How are fishermen and scientists collaborating towards fisheries sustainability? In the role of fishermen, students experiment with different fishing gear technologies to maximize fuel and catch efficiency to make money while sustaining their ground fish resource.
What impacts will climate change have on the Gulf of Maine ecosystem? Using models, students will research the impacts a warmer Gulf of Maine may have on copepods, a key prey species, and in turn, the ecosystem as a whole.
(Info taken directly from LabVenture!: Complex Systems on GMRI's website. Visit http://mystery.gmri.org/about/ for more information about LabVenture! and other programs offered by Gulf of Maine Research Institute.)
Since Mrs. Gerrish and I were asked to "step back" and let the kids run the show for the morning, I took this opportunity to play paparazzi. Here are some favorites from the day:
And we can't forget about the blue lobster...
Stay tuned for more updates and photos...
