Marine Experiment...

[Alex1524]

Hey guys, im not sure if this is the section this should be under but here it goes. Im taking biology in college and we need to do some type of biology research experiment. My passion is diving and the ocean of course. Does anyone have any ideas on an experiment I can preform with marine life preferably underwater considering I have an underwater camera and I can take videos which would be amazing to share with the class. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you =-)

 

[LittleOne]

How largescale is this project? Also, how is the diving in FLL? I have a condo down there and was always wondering what it was like.

 

[Alex1524]

The project can be whatever. Im sure people in my class or going to do stupid experiments like put vinegar and baking soda in a bottle and put a balloon on top and watch it blow up. But like I said this is the perfect opportunity to do something awesome and take great videos to show to the class. The diving down here is awesome!! I love it! I love it so much I want to do my project with diving haha

 

[LittleOne]

Hmmm...well you could always do statistics of organisms but that's not very fun. It's just hard because you can't really touch/capture/interact that much with the organisms. The best I can think of is to possibly create perhaps a fake fish/predator of another organism and see how the fish react? It's quite childish but I'm sure it would be loads of fun and pretty amusing for the class. That's about how much my tiny brain can think of.

 

[super7]

How about "Relation between depth and oceanic vegetation"
You can take photos or video and compare them against what the vegetation should look like theoretically, analyze the difference and study what causes the difference. Geological and environmental aspects might play an important role. They might in turn explain why some marine life are abundant or rare at the observation area.

I hope this helps you in some way.

Kaz

 

[Alex1524]

That sounds like a winner Kaz. Thanks for your help!

 

[super7]

That sounds like a winner Kaz. Thanks for your help!

Thanks Alex for reading my post.
I hope your project goes well!

 

[robint]

geez, you live in Ft. Lauderdale, i can think of lots of ideas!

many creatures and fish are territorial... if you could dive the same spot at least a few times per week you could document a specific creatures life cycle. I like finding a nest of sargeant majors with eggs and taking pictures as the eggs develop and then hatch (I think I was told the cycle is about 10 days but not sure). Also, jawfish hatch eggs in the male fishes mouth, lots of people find them in their hole and go back each day to see how long it take for them to hatch.

another thought is to go to one of the smaller shallow wrecks there in your area and document what critters live on each side - north, south, east, and west, in current or out of current and see if there are differences. Or take a specific fish (like secretary blenny) and count how many are in a 3' radius on the wreck (they live in colonies, building little hole condos).

Or take 4 pvc pipes and make a square, 3' or 4' would be plenty big. Put the square down on the reef and count every fish or critter you find inside the square (take pictures or video, too). This is one of the ways scientists study reefs to see if they are healthy or not.

geez, lots of ideas........ need any more?

robin