Project Oceanology

[renogaw]

i'll be going on a collection tour of the long island sound on sunday with a uconn program called Project oceanology http://www.oceanology.org/
they sample livestock from the sound and see how things are going. we'll be able to keep anything we'd like as long as it isn't endangered

 

[meowzer]

WOW...How neat...I would love to do something like that....I swear...next year my husband and I are going somewhere where I can scuba....IDC if I can keep it or not...I just want to see it in its own environment

 

[spanko]

Is there anything you might want to keep from that area Ren? Would seem to me and my small mind that the water temps would dictate that anything there might not make it in our warmer water tanks.

 

[renogaw]

i dunno, we have some mollusks and such that can live in warmer water. now, had this trip be going on in say august, we may find carribean fish in the sound (happens every year, we have a collection trip . they get sucked up in the currents and dropped into the sound awaiting certain death.
it's going to be a neat trip for me, even if nothing is kept

 

[meowzer]

it's going to be a neat trip for me, even if nothing is kept
EXACTLY

 

[spanko]

Great stuff, have a good time and of course, we need pictures!!!!!!

 

[renogaw]

had a BLAST!!
i've got some pics, but i need to start acclimating some corals i traded, i'll brb

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by renogaw
http:///forum/post/3063824
had a BLAST!!
i've got some pics, but i need to start acclimating some corals i traded, i'll brb
Can't wait to see the pics....

 

[renogaw]

ok, UCONN Avery Point was a VERY large shorefront property that was donated a while back. It's got some great views. even the police department is nice

 

[renogaw]

the PD:

 

[renogaw]

so we get inside, and of course my low battery comes on so i wasn't able to take as many pics as i'd like, but the actual classroom had a really really nice setup. There were some bins for use in the classrooms, a maybe 10' round holding tank, and two LIS species tanks, one aggressive one not.
the classroom bins and holding tank are actually fed from water directly from LIS, where the species tanks were normal close loop setups, with probably a $1000 skimmer...my taxes at work...
these are the captive tanks, the peaceful tank had about 10 seahorses in it:

 

[renogaw]

in the holding tank/bins:

 

[renogaw]

more holding bins. the scates let you pet them... this last picture i THOUGHT was an anenome, come to find out it is squid eggs...

 

[renogaw]

when we finally got on the boat, the first thing we did was pull up 2 lobster traps. we got some spider crabs and a lobster with no front claws. then they put out the trawl net, and we got TONS of stuff, of course my camera died before i could get everything

 

[meowzer]

LOL...neat pics....so far...

 

[renogaw]

the squid had to be the highlight. the darn thing was at least 10" long. unfortunately, they don't survive long after being caught (well, actually, they don't survive long after mating, and with all the eggs in there i'm surprised any were alive). one guy got bit by the thing cause he was being stupid, and this and another were inking like mad. when caught, it was deep maroon, and changed colors all the way to the pale here. also, a flounder changes colors too:

 

[renogaw]

this hermit, plus a few others, had TWO large claws about the size of dimes, plus our audience:

 

[renogaw]

all in all, the spider crabs and stars were the most caught things there. in the big holding tank, they had 3 horseshoe crabs that were tagged (they only keep the animals in the big holding tank for about 4 days so they don't get used to eating free). i guess the population is dwindling and they are trying to find out why. there were a few other things taken with the net, glass shrimp, small hermits, and such, but i couldn't get everything. the squids and dead fish were fed to humongous sea bass at the docks, and on this trip everything else was thrown back (nothing important enough to keep)