2022 | Issue 13 | SJC Newsletter

On Tuesday 9 August, Year 9 Science of the Seas students participated in a day excursion to Queenscliff. The purpose of the day was to provide students with real-life examples and experiences of a marine ecosystem and to be able to observe some of the organisms that exist within it, along with the relationships that exist between them. Students spent the morning on a charter boat on Port Phillip Bay in order to familiarize themselves with the bay, and they had the opportunity to visit sites such as Popes Eye and Chinaman’s Hat and observe species such as Australasian Gannets and the seal colony. While on the bay, students also used a drag net to collect and observe smaller specimens that live in the bay before returning them to their habitats. These species included seahorses, decorator crabs, wandering anemones, sea cucumbers, shrimp, sea grass and amphipods.

In the afternoon, the class participated in a session at the Marine Discovery Centre, where they had the opportunity to observe and handle smaller specimens including green lipped abalone, sea stars, decorator crab, sponges, and sea slugs in the rockpool display. At the end of the day, students completed a laboratory session that focused on the various adaptations that organisms in the bay possess in order to enhance their survival chances.