A newsletter from the Prince William Sound Science Center

October 3, 2023

Purple fairy club and fly agaric nestled under a large hollow tree trunk. Photo credit: S. Baumann.

Join our Fall Online Auction & Open House

PWSSC Mariculture Hatchery Up and Running

Young ribbon kelp sporophytes under microscope. Photo credit: Dr. Alysha Cypher.

The PWSSC Mariculture Hatchery is now growing sugar and ribbon kelp for PWS-based farmers and research. This nursery stage is necessary to prevent other species from growing on farms and requires six to eight weeks of growth. The nursery stage began with collecting fertile kelp tissue in Simpson Bay on September 1. After bringing tissue back to the Science Center, we stimulated the tissue to release spores and allowed those spores to settle onto thin twine. After three weeks, we can now see young sporophytes (early life stage kelp) growing. In mid- to late-October the young kelp (when it reaches about 2 mm in length) will be ready to go to the farmers and be out planted onto farms in eastern PWS. Farmers will monitor the kelp as it grows until they harvest it in April. Currently, most farms sell their kelp for food-grade products but that will change as other markets in hygiene products, fertilizer, cattle feed, and biofuel come on line.

The OSRI Board recently adopted its work plan for fiscal year 2024. The plan is to seek reports about existing information of hydrocarbon levels in subsistence foods and a synthesis of information regarding in-situ degradation of oil in Arctic environments. OSRI is looking to support the planning effort for experimental oil releases off Canada, improving oil detection in broken ice, and a study of potential places of refuge from the Aleutians into the Arctic. It will continue to support the PWSSC Headwaters to Ocean education program and offer a Graduate Research Fellowship.

The curious dolphin swimming by the zooplankton net. Photo credit: Anne Schaefer.

During a recent survey in Prince William Sound to study the relationships between seabirds, humpback whales, and prey fish, the biologists onboard had a celebrity sighting – the now-familiar Pacific white-sided dolphin that has been reported around Cordova and eastern Prince William Sound since July. The dolphin approached the vessel as the researchers were conducting a CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) cast and closely examined the zooplankton net as it was deployed. The dolphin seemed very interested in the scientific equipment, circling the vessel and the equipment repeatedly while the equipment was in the water. Once the sampling was complete, the dolphin put on quite the show, riding the bow wave and repeatedly leaping into the air as the vessel traveled to the next sampling location. 

Pacific white-sided dolphins are known for being very social and playful. According to the ADFG species profile, they generally travel in large pods consisting of tens, hundreds, and even thousands of individuals and they are also commonly observed with other marine mammal species, such as northern right whale dolphin and Dall’s porpoise. In the United States, Pacific white-sided dolphins live in the deep waters off the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Observations of a single Pacific white-sided dolphin within Prince William Sound is a rare sight and was the high point of an otherwise very successful survey.

We hope you can join us this month for some educational fun! Different programs are intended for certain ages, noted below. Younger participants need to be accompanied by a caregiver. All are welcome to attend. A current calendar of events can be found on our website. If you would like to receive email notifications for upcoming community education programs, subscribe here.

October 4 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Wednesday Night Talk:

South Harbor Reconstruction Project

Presented by Collin Bronson, City of Cordova. Please note this talk is on Wednesday.

October 6 (2:30-3:30 pm) Fun Friday: Spooky Creatures 

Learn about some of the wildest and spookiest adaptations the animal kingdom has to offer through experiments, art, and games. The intended audience is kids in grades K-4 and their caregivers.  

October 8 (7-8 pm) Nature Yoga: In the Arms of the Octopus  

Open to all.

October 10 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: PWS Audubon Society

Brandt Meixell of Audubon and USFS. Topic TBD.

October 17 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: As the Seasons Tern

Tory Rhoads of ADF&G will be presenting: As the Seasons Tern: Tales from Four Field Seasons of Aleutian Tern Captures.

October 19 (5-7pm) Open House

Enjoy light refreshments, take a guided tour of the new facility, and view our online auction items before the bidding closes at 6pm.

October 20 (2:30-3:30 pm) Fun Friday: Creatures of the Deep 

Join us as we learn about various deep-sea marine life and their adaptations through games, crafts, and hands-on demonstrations. The intended audience is kids in grades K-4 and their caregivers.  

October 21 (7-8 pm) International Observe the Moon Night

Join thousands of people around the world who will be looking up at the moon. There will be telescopes and activities for all ages. 

October 23 (7-8 pm) Science Trivia: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

*Located at the Reluctant Fisherman. Geared toward adults.

October 24 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: TBD

October 31 (3:30-5:00) Halloween Mad Scientist Laboratory

Make spooky scientific observations, participate in enchanted experiments, eat some terrifying treats, and collect candy. Geared toward little ghouls and goblins and their caregivers.

Sixth graders carefully drop paperclips in a jar of water. They are observing surface tension by testing how many paperclips the water can hold before they sink. Photo credit: PWSSC.

Fall is upon us and with that comes an abundance of programs for all ages. Full details can be found on our news page.

Sea Squirts had our young explorers learning about salmon through imaginary play. They dug redds, put on salmon hats, and completed a migration obstacle course.

Little Dippers, our nature-based learning program for preschoolers, immersed themselves in the outdoors. They explored and hiked; listened for nature sounds; observed changing colors in the muskegs; and learned about weather, plants, and water. 

Fungus Festival was filled with fungus fun. We partnered with The Net Loft for nature journaling and we held a fungus-themed Discover Cordova at Nirvana Park.

Fun Friday participants learned about shark adaptations, including their sixth sense – ampullae of Lorenzini.

Creatures of the Dock was held at the south harbor. With the education team on site, kids and adults pulled buoys and tires out of the water to get an up-close look at the invertebrates that share the harbor with us.

Trivia Night is back by popular demand, hosted at the Reluctant Fisherman. September’s theme was “salmon”. It was highly competitive; complete with salmon "dad" jokes.

Tuesday Night Talks from last month can be viewed on our YouTube channel. From PWS Audubon Society: Cape St Elias Lighthouse - There be Dragons - The Past, Present, and Future of the Lighthouse and Sabrina Garcia, ADF&G, joined us to talk about the biology of salmon sharks and her research on salmon sharks in the Bering Sea. 

Discovery Room at Mt. Eccles Elementary School is making a splash:

• First grade started learning about sound waves. One of the ways we demonstrated a sound wave was with a contraption made of gummy bears, skewers, and duct tape! 
• We met with third graders to discuss what makes a bird a bird. They also had two exploratory field trips practicing their engineering skills with wilderness building on Crater Lake Trail and got into the Fungus Festival spirit with a fungus walk on Haystack Trail. 
• Fourth graders will be focusing on ecosystems. This month they explored marine food webs and learned about plankton. 
• Sixth graders competed in the H₂O Olympics, which is a series of challenges involving water.