After deep, long and exhausting discussions one evening, we finally made up the master plan for our experiment. We could not wait to get our hands dirty and start sampling! As soon as we had our breakfast, we loaded up the necessary equipment, zipped on our wetsuits and jumped onto the boat. We were empowered again by the spirit of adventure!
Caption_1 : Excitement and cold.
Everything played out like clockwork in the field, despite the weather - we picked our samples, braved through the wind and rain, riding from site to site on a wave of fortune and enthusiasm. We took less time to collect our samples, as we only had to pick them randomly and in a shallow site. Meanwhile, part of our group prepared a makeshift ‘studio’ for the photography of the incoming Fucus samples.
Caption_2 : Suited up and ready to go!
Caption_3: Sample collection in process.
We encountered some difficulties in the studio setup - such as finding a good material for the backing (a white bed sheet!) and stable stands for the camera’s tripod (plastic tubs filled with water and in-set lids) as we needed a higher distance for the camera to be at in order to capture wider samples. The first shots were taken the subsequently which brought us to the next obstacle: the photo-analysis process in ImageJ.
Caption_4: Our studio setup served as a good base for Natassia’s graceful algal layout skills and Ho’s evident expertise in photography.
This is where we discovered that we had to spent some time to define our steps in order to get the data we wanted. Challenge accepted! We started to play around, set scales and took the first simplified measurements. At the end, we realized that despite being incredibly useful in many studies, ImageJ had its limits. The epiphytes were of the same color as the Fucus, and were not easily distinguishable by software recognition. We had to separate the area by hand which took us more time that we had planned to spend on data processing, but with teamwork and help from our teachers in automating other parts of the processing, everything went well.
Caption_5: Differentiating macro-algae growing on macro-algae is no mean feat!
Delegation is the name of the game when time is up against you! While some of us were processing the images, the rest of us dived deep into the mysterious, miniature world of our algal forests’ inhabitants. With the help of microscopes, we observed the epiphytes and took note of their different colors, sizes and shapes, just like their residents. It was exhilarating to find a new animal in our sample tub, and to identify them successfully. The more we found, the more we realised how every single organism - epiphytes included! - plays a important role in the environment and for the results of our project.
Caption_6: Looks like Claudia found something interesting on her petri dish!
Caption_7: One of our tiny friends dropping in to say hello! Nudibranchs are marine slugs; the ‘nudi-’ part of their name is derived from their naked, exposed gills.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, we are on a roll! With our data collection and processing done we are nearing the end of our project with our statistical analysis of the results. What will we conclude? What secrets will the shores of Tjärnö tell us? Catch up on our findings in our next blog post!
Caption_8: A brilliant moon descends upon the night as we end our work day.
|Thank you for reading | Gracias por leer | Хвала за читање | 多謝支持 |
| உங்கள் நேரத்திற்கு நன்றி | Vielen dank | Muito obrigado |
Caption_1 : Excitement and cold.
Everything played out like clockwork in the field, despite the weather - we picked our samples, braved through the wind and rain, riding from site to site on a wave of fortune and enthusiasm. We took less time to collect our samples, as we only had to pick them randomly and in a shallow site. Meanwhile, part of our group prepared a makeshift ‘studio’ for the photography of the incoming Fucus samples.
Caption_2 : Suited up and ready to go!
Caption_3: Sample collection in process.
We encountered some difficulties in the studio setup - such as finding a good material for the backing (a white bed sheet!) and stable stands for the camera’s tripod (plastic tubs filled with water and in-set lids) as we needed a higher distance for the camera to be at in order to capture wider samples. The first shots were taken the subsequently which brought us to the next obstacle: the photo-analysis process in ImageJ.
Caption_4: Our studio setup served as a good base for Natassia’s graceful algal layout skills and Ho’s evident expertise in photography.
This is where we discovered that we had to spent some time to define our steps in order to get the data we wanted. Challenge accepted! We started to play around, set scales and took the first simplified measurements. At the end, we realized that despite being incredibly useful in many studies, ImageJ had its limits. The epiphytes were of the same color as the Fucus, and were not easily distinguishable by software recognition. We had to separate the area by hand which took us more time that we had planned to spend on data processing, but with teamwork and help from our teachers in automating other parts of the processing, everything went well.
Caption_5: Differentiating macro-algae growing on macro-algae is no mean feat!
Delegation is the name of the game when time is up against you! While some of us were processing the images, the rest of us dived deep into the mysterious, miniature world of our algal forests’ inhabitants. With the help of microscopes, we observed the epiphytes and took note of their different colors, sizes and shapes, just like their residents. It was exhilarating to find a new animal in our sample tub, and to identify them successfully. The more we found, the more we realised how every single organism - epiphytes included! - plays a important role in the environment and for the results of our project.
Caption_6: Looks like Claudia found something interesting on her petri dish!
Caption_7: One of our tiny friends dropping in to say hello! Nudibranchs are marine slugs; the ‘nudi-’ part of their name is derived from their naked, exposed gills.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, we are on a roll! With our data collection and processing done we are nearing the end of our project with our statistical analysis of the results. What will we conclude? What secrets will the shores of Tjärnö tell us? Catch up on our findings in our next blog post!
Caption_8: A brilliant moon descends upon the night as we end our work day.
|Thank you for reading | Gracias por leer | Хвала за читање | 多謝支持 |
| உங்கள் நேரத்திற்கு நன்றி | Vielen dank | Muito obrigado |
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