Senior Project Reflection

1. Positive Statement
1. I'm most proud of my mentorship at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, because I felt like it really prepared my for my 2-hour. All of the information I used in my 2-hour from my mentorship was really effective in getting my points across.
2. Questions to Consider
1. I would give myself an AP+ because I missed a few of my deadlines on components and I repeated myself a lot in my presentation.
2. Overall, I would give my senior project an AP as well, because I didn't give it my all throughout the year, and didn't meet a lot of deadlines.
3. What Worked
1. My mentorship worked, because it was a really good foundation for what I want to study in college, and everybody there has agreed to keep helping me whenever I need it.
4. What Didn't Work
1. I would have gotten mentorship a lot sooner than I did. I spent my first three months not knowing where I could get mentorship, and I didn't even know what i wanted to do for my senior project.
5. Finding Value
1. My senior project has given me a firm foundation to becoming an environmental scientist/attorney. With my mentorship, for instance, I learned a lot about the various effects that oil and contaminated ground water has on certain types of fish.

Young Scientists Symposium

So, a while ago, Elijah and I got the privilege of speaking at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's Young Scientists Symposium.
The aquarium asked its young researchers to speak in front of the aquarium's sponsors, and fellow scientists, about a research project that they did. I spoke about the difference in the amount of zooplankton found in the LA harbor, versus the amount of zooplankton found in the Cabrillo outer beach.Speaking at the symposium was a HUGE honor, because the staff felt like our projects were good enough to present to the people that funded the aquarium, and I felt really lucky that they asked me to speak.

This is a picture of me, and a few other researchers in the Aquatic Nursery.

This is a link of the powerpoint I used for my presentation.
YSS Presentation

Blog 25: Mentorship

Literal

• Mentorship Log
• Cabrillo Marine Aquarium–3720 Stephen M White Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90731 (310) 548-7562

Interpretive

• The most important thing that I gained from my mentorship at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is an abundance of knowledge on various marine animals, and I acquired certain skills throughout my time spent there. Some of the knowledge that I gained, was learning about hydromedusas, and how they are not related to jellyfish, despite their similar looks. I also learned about the various types of zooplankton, such as arthropods, rotifers, copepods, amphipods, etc. A few of the skills that I gained, are setting up simple flow tanks, and learning how to transfer fish from tank to tank. One of the coolest things I learned is how to make a swell shark fall asleep by turning it over in the water, and rubbing the side of its belly. The aquarium has prepared me to further my study of marine biology, and has given me a strong foundation.

Applied

• Doing plankton-tows in the boat launch has helped me answer my EQ by showing me the anthropogenic effects that gasoline, and other petroleum based chemicals have on the water quality. I compared the Ph levels of the constant ocean Ph level, 8.1-8.4, to the Ph levels of the boat launch water, and there was a .6 difference in the Ph levels. This just showed me how significant the impact that we're having on the ocean is, and guided me to research different clean-up methods, and possible effects.

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

(1) What is your essential question?  What is the best answer to your question and why?

•  My essential question is: How can scientists effectively reduce the anthropogenic effects dealt to the ocean? My best answer to this question is to put a cap limit on the amount of pollutants that we allow into the ocean, because this solution will have the most beneficial results in the end. By putting a cap limit on the amount of pollutants manufactured, there will be a decrease in the amount of pollutants that are put into the ocean.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• I received my initial answer from my mentor, Kiersten Darrow, and then I later researched all the types of regulations that have been implemented to reduce the amount of coastal pollution going into the ocean.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

• One of the biggest problems I faced was finding research on coastal runoff, but after specifying my search to "Coastal runoff regulations" from "Coastal pollution levels", I was able to find better research on the regulations being implemented.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• One of the most significant sources I used to answer my EQ, was my mentor, Kiersten Darrow, because she would always give me examples in her answers whenever I asked her my essential question. She would spew out a variety of related facts and other resources I could use to help further my research,
  My second best source was a book called Killing Our Oceans by John Kunich, because it explained the few legislation that have been passed to help protect marine waters, but how ineffective these legislation are.

(5) What is your product and why?

• I have not yet come up with a product for my senior project.

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

1. Yesenia Martin
2.She wants to do something with business/sales, because that's what her father does and it interests her.
3. She'll work with her dad for her 10 hour summer mentorship.
4. In the 2-Hour presentations,she wants to see ideas that could possibly help her with her senior project, and information on varying subjects.
5. She asked me if her choice in studying business/sales had to be specified towards a single type of business, and I told her most likely, because studying business is a general area.

Blog 23: 3 Column Chart

3 Column Chart

Feeding My Octopus!

So, I decided to share my experiences with feeding my two-spotted octopus at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

This is Hercules, the octopus. In this picture, he's eating a pretty big shore crab that was about 6 inches in diameter. The crab was a sad opponent for this Octopus Bimaculoides.

If you look close enough, you can see the legs of the crab... inside the octopus' mouth.