Notes

Outline

Slide 1

You will meet the boat and crew at the Antioch marina, in the parking lot in front of Humphrey’s restaurant.

Your group should remain on the deck behind the restaurant until the crew has given instructions for boarding the Brownlee.

The students will receive a “dock talk” before they board the boat.

Meanwhile, the Captain gives the chaperones their own prep talk.

We use a ladder to board the boat.  Please inform us ahead of time if you have any students in wheelchairs.

Once everyone has boarded the boat, each person will don a lifejacket.  An instructor will then brief the students on safety and introduce them to what they will be doing during the voyage.

Slide 8

Each group of students will help with a fish trawl, as well as rotate through four stations:

During the hydrology station, students take water samples from the Delta using a Van Dorn bottle.  This scientific sampler can collect water from any depth.

They test physical properties, such as temperature, density, and salinity of the Delta water.  These measurements are repeated for water from the South Bay and then compared.  Students will also discuss where their drinking water comes from, water pollution, and mercury contamination.

At the plankton station, students first take a sample of plankton using a small net at the bow of the boat.

Many different kinds of microscopic plants and animals are seen and identified using the videomicroscope and plankton identification posters.

At the benthic station, students use a Peterson grab to collect sediment samples from the bottom of the Delta.

Then, the sediment is divided and spread out into trays for examination.  As students search through the sample, they find examples of invertebrates that live at the bottom of the Estuary.  They even get to join the “mud club!”

Crayfish and Chinese mitten crabs are some invertebrates that are found in the Delta.

The net will tow behind the boat for 5 minutes before it is pulled back in.

Everyone helps out to pull the net back in to the boat!

At the ichthyology station, students work in small groups to identify fish that were caught in the trawl.

Some of the fish found in the Delta are striped bass, catfish, Delta smelt, Sacramento surfperch, and starry flounder.  Students will have a chance to observe and touch the fish that are caught!

The voyage ends with a closing discussion about water conservation and pollution.  The students talk about how they can apply what they have learned to their own daily activities.

We look forward to seeing you in Antioch!