Final Report
Joseph Catron, ARMADA Teacher at Sea

CMarZ Project Report Aboard the Ron H. Brown, a NOAA Vessel, April 2006

Objectives

As an ARMADA Teacher at Sea, I had the basic responsibility of participating in the CMarZ scientific endeavor in a capacity that would benefit the research process. In addition it was expected that I keep a journal of my experiences on the Ron H. Brown, and make these journals accessible via the Internet. Funding for my travel and participation were provided by the ARMADA Project through the University of Rhode Island. This program, in part, is designed to immerse science teachers in a real-world scientific investigation aboard NOAA ships. It is the sponsor's expectation that these experiences will follow the teacher, and in turn be shared with his/her colleagues and students. Beyond my basic requirements, I wanted to obtain a few practical ideas from the CMarZ project that I could develop into lesson plans, learn of career opportunities from which my students may benefit, remain in contact with my classroom, and gain a better appreciation for the ocean. This last objective was very important since I teach about the ocean having never spent time there.

Outcomes

The basic expectations of my participation in the scientific process were met. Much of the scientific work in the CMarZ project required expertise in taxonomic identification of zooplankton. This skill is not easily transferable in a short amount of time. Therefore I did not aid in this process, although I would have enjoyed learning to become proficient in identifying at least one major group of organisms. I did learn many specifics about the zooplankton that live in the pelagic oceans. Since the DNA barcoding lab was problem-solving and also under a tight schedule, direct participation in their work was not possible. I did however get to spend time in the lab learning the process of DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing. My direct support of the project came in record-keeping, launching and retrieving the MOCNESS systems, preserving specimens, and generally helping to keep the operation running. I feel I was an asset to the CMarZ project in these functions.

While interacting with the participants on the CMarZ study, I was able to develop two lesson plan ideas and I am working out the details of a third. One lesson will involve students using silhouette photography, developed by Nancy Copley at WHOI. I will have students use silhouettes to compare abundance, diversity, and biomass between the pelagic zones. Another lesson idea I developed was related to CO1 genes and micro arrays. I penciled out a lesson that would teach students, in general, how a micro array chip can be used to test for species presence from a mixed DNA sample collected in a plankton tow. The third lesson is currently in the thinking stage. I would like to come up with a way to integrate the physics of light and pigments, with the biology of bioluminescence of deep-sea organisms. Although these lessons are not in a final and ready-to-use format, I am pleased to have three relevant and creative lessons plan ideas.

The daily journal I was required to write, and post on the Internet has been working well, thanks to Dicky Allison from WHOI. She has been able to help edit my journal writing, and post my writings on the CMarZ Cruise Website. I have been able to use this outlet to communicate with my students. My classes were covering animal taxonomy in Billings and this was occurring daily aboard the ship in the tropical Atlantic. I used many of the journal entries to introduce the students to different marine taxonomic groups. Each day, a daily question was posed to the students. They were asked to respond to me using email. This process has been slow. I was slightly disappointed to not receive answers in a more timely fashion. This is primarily a reflection on not being able to communicate directly with my classroom. In general, I feel the journaling and classroom connection was successful.

To address all of the things I have learned during this cruise would require a lengthy response. Having never been to sea, much of what I experienced was novel, and each day was filled with a plethora of learning. One of the things I think my students will benefit from is what I learned about how important it is to be a scientifically literate person. During the cruise, press conferences occurred and reporters later printed what we were accomplishing on this project. In some instances, their reporting was grossly distorted. This provided me with a two-fold lesson. First, there is a need for the average person to be scientifically literate, and the other is what appears in the general media about science may not always be accurate. All students should strive to become literate in science, as well as critical of what they read. I learned to better appreciate the great expanse of the ocean, as well as more details on its nature than I will be able to include in this report. I am sure the next time I bring up the ocean in class, it will be with greater insight and detail. Finally, I have several career ideas to share with students when I return. These careers range from working as an engineer aboard NOAA ships to conducting scientific research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Acknowledgements

This cruise has been rewarding and enjoyable. All of my basic needs were well met, and my professional expectations were accomplished. I would like to thank Jill Johnen and Andrea Kecseks from the ARMADA Project for making this cruise possible. I am thankful to Ann Bucklin from AVERY Point, for helping me get set up to participate in the CMarZ project. I was disappointed that I did not get to meet her in person. A special thanks is in hand to Peter Wiebe, Nancy Copley, and Dicky Allison, from WHOI, for helping me find my niche, aiding me in meeting my goals, and for making this cruise a success.