A Visit from a Marine Biologist!
To culminate the oceanic theme of December and January, we had a visit from local marine biologist Elise Allen. Elise grew up in Gualala and graduated from the Point Arena High School, earning her BA in Marine Science and Ecosystem Management and Forestry at UC Berkeley. Elise came to share her work as a practicing scientist working in our community to help support marine ecosystems, particularly salmonid research and restoration in the Garcia River. While her work with salmon is plenty engaging, for our age range (2-5 yrs) she chose to focus on a slightly funkier sea creature - nudibranchs, aka sea slugs! She drew connections to students' knowledge of garden and banana slugs, which of course there was ample experience to share - then we watched go-pro footage from her work with sea slugs locally - students were overflowing with excitement seeing the way they move about the tidepools. She also taught us about their unique anatomy, evolution, and strange survival techniques. She had high hopes to bring in a real specimen but alas the little creatures can be quite elusive. Elise then worked with smaller groups of students for a hands-on component to sculpt one-of-a-kind sea slugs using ceramic clay and natural material adornments. This is where active participation helps immensely with students' retention of the anatomical functions. Thank you Elise!
Check out what Elise had to say about her lesson:
“I wanted to introduce the students to themes of ocean diversity and richness by exploring sea slugs (nudibranchs). Nudibranchs were introduced to the students in a broader context by relating them to terrestrial slugs, like banana slugs, which were creatures that they already felt comfortable describing. I introduced the concept of interrelatedness through scientific hierarchy next, explaining that terrestrial slugs and sea slugs are both Gastropods (in the class Gastropoda) which means "stomach foot." Then we discussed the anatomy of nudibranchs, beginning with the antennas, which are used to smell. Students' identified eyes (photoreceptors) located at the bottom of the antennas in a video of a Sea Sheep nudibranch. We also discussed the function of cerata, which were described as "butt feathers," located on the rear of the creature. Cerata are used like gills, which filter oxygen from the water and aid in metabolic gas exchange. This is equivalent to breathing for humans, so I explained to the students that nudibranchs use their butt feathers for breathing. The cerata are also used for excretion, or pooping. My hope was that through associating these anatomical characteristics with their functions the students would be able to identify the antennas, eyes, and cerata on nudibranchs and remember what they were used for."