Youth Science Explorations 2003

Monterey

Where did we go?
We went on an overnight trip to famous Monterey Bay. On our first day we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and hiked at Pt. Lobos State Reserve. We even had pizza for dinner! On our second day, we kayaked the marina where we saw lots of seals, sea lions, sea otters and gull chicks. Then we visited Moss Landing Marine Lab and participated in a beach clean-up. On our third day we went tide pooling and hiked at Ano Nuevo State Park.

What did we do?
Preparing for our trip To prepare for our trip, we studied maps of Monterey and learned about marine mammals we would see at the aquarium and in the wild. By the time our trip started we knew about otters, sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals, and dolphins.

The beautiful jelly exhibit at the Monterey Aquarium and drawing (left) by Melissa Burman

Tamara Williams' interpretation of the kelp forest

A leopard shark in a tidepool near Cannery Row

"July 2nd 2003, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was my first time being there so it was such an exciting experience. I got to see plenty of fish, kelp, and sharks, but my favorite one was the murre bird. The murre bird was so fast underwater that you could barely see it. All of the creatures were so cute but I made a list of the ones I liked the most they are:
1. The murre bird
2. The penguins
3. The jellies
4. The turtles
After we got to see all of the first floor we went up to the 2nd floor, which I liked the most because that's where the touching tables were at!!! I liked it because we got to touch all kinds of sea creatures!!!"
Jessica Sainz 7th
Oakland Military Institute

"One of the best things we did at the aquarium was watch the murre swim so fast past us. I heard of the name but had never actually seen one. I'd never seen anything so fascinating! I also enjoyed taking a quiet moment focusing on the ocean. Seeing octopi was my favorite. I really like their way of hiding under things and staying hidden. I especially love that they can camouflage themselves."
Aryannah Butler
7th grade, Ascend School

The aquarium was a real treat for everyone. The kelp forests and all the organisms that live among the kelp were particularly exciting, as were the jellies!

We also visited Long Marine Lab

Exploring sea stars at the marine lab

Hiking Point Lobos

Diana takes time out for reflection in picturesque Pt. Lobos

Point Lobos State Reserve is a special place with granite outcrops, tide pools, sea bird colonies, sea otters, sea lions, even a harbor seal pupping site. We hiked for miles along the rocky cliffs above ocean.

Jordan and Tamara investigate a wooly bear caterpillar

Pt. Lobos illustration by Melissa Burman

Deer

Deer illustration by Jessica Sainz

I had fun hiking up Point Lobos. It took me a while to get up there because I kept on getting tired! On my way up there while my friend and I were walking we saw deer tracks on the ground, I was amazed. Sometimes we would stop for water and rest or just look around at all of the new things around us. While we were hiking up there our teacher showed us a deer. It was standing on a rock looking straight down on us, I got kind of scared! Finally, when we got up there we all sat down and wrote in our journal about what we saw and if we had fun or not. When we were done we walked back down and had a snack. I had lots of fun on this trip, and I hope we do it again real soon.

Kyra Patterson
Westlake Middle School
7th grade
age:12

After many hours of hiking and driving, some of us were a little tired.

Pt. Lobos
"We saw a female deer eating an interesting kind of plant on the top of some rocks. When she had eye contact with us she didn't run away she just kept on eating, munching, and chewing while her saliva kept on dripping down her mouth. Before we saw the deer we were hiking our way up a trail. So we just kept on hiking our way up. When we got there we had an assignment to sketch anything we had seen all day in this trip. I decided to draw the female deer munching on her food on top of some rocks. I was surprised that the deer didn't slip down because while she was eating and holding on with her four legged self the rocks were slipping and throwing down some dust and it seemed like the deer was going to slip down."
Jessica Sainz 7th
Oakland Military Institute

We found a secluded beach where harbor seals come to rest and nurse their young. The newborn pups seen below are only a few days old.

It’s rather amazing how these seals manage to wiggle their heavy bodies up these rocks using only their bellies, flippers, and tail.

Moss Landing Marine Lab

After kayaking, tired but happy, we piled in the vans to visit a research program at Moss Landing Marine Lab called SLEWTH (Sea Lions Exploring Whales and Their Habitat).We learned about a group of scientists who are training sea lions to assist with ocean research on whales. It was pretty amazing to see how smart and well-trained these animals were—flips, somersaults, clapping their flippers on command…even knowing which kinds of trash to put in the recycle bin!

Cool Science Facts
The most common marine mammals along the California coast are harbor seals and the California sea lions. These marine mammals are both pinnipeds with fur, long whiskers, flippers, and fat sausage-shaped bodies. They hunt for fish and squid. A closer look will reveal a lot of differences between these common marine mammals.

Sea lions have dark brown fur, visible ear flaps, walk on both their long hind and front flippers, and propel themselves through the water with their long front flippers. They often rest together at favorite "haul out" sites or float together on the ocean surface in "rafts." Groups of sea lions can be very noisy, uttering a dog-like bark. Adult male sea lions are much bigger than adult females. Males can weigh up to 1000 pounds whereas females may reach only up to 230 pounds. If you’ve ever seen a "seal" show at a zoo, then you have seen a sea lion. These animals are quite intelligent and easily trained (click on the SLEWTH link above to find out more about sea lion intelligence).

Harbor seals have spotted coats and can weigh up to 300 pounds. Unlike sea lions, harbor seals do not have external ear flaps. These animals use their hind flippers to propel themselves through the water, their front flippers being used for steering. Harbor seals have much smaller front flippers compared to the sea lion’s flippers, so they can only move about on land by flopping along their bellies. Male and female harbor seals are similar in size, although males are somewhat larger. Harbor seals divide their time evenly on land and water; however, they can sleep in the ocean with their bodies completely submerged except for their nose protruding at the surface.Seeing harbor seals and sea lions in the wild.

Sea lions are more assertive around humans compared to harbor seals. Pier 39 in San Francisco, Santa Cruz municipal pier, Monterey Wharf, and Point Lobos State Reserve are great places to view sea lions up close. Although most sea lions migrate down to Southern California during the warmer months (to breed), several hundred sea lions stay at Pier 39 year-round.

Your best chances to see harbor seals in the wild are along somewhat protective rocky coastlines such as the Monterey peninsula and on protected sandbars where they haul out to rest at low tide Harbor seals are timid yet curious around people. Sailors, fishermen, and divers often spot harbor seals following their boats.

Let's Go!
Click on the link below to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium:
http://montereybayaquarium.org/

Click on the link below to go to website of Point Lobos Reserve.
http://www.pointlobos.org/

Click on the link below for the website to visit the SLEWTH program at Moss Landing Marine Lab.
http://www.mlml.calstate.edu/slewth/