Diving Deeper Schoolship Instructor Manual Fish Group FISH GROUP Research Question (this is provided to the students in advance) Introduction: This is the research question and suggested method you will be exploring during your Diving Deeper experience at Inland Seas. You may modify the ISEA method as long as it can be done with our equipment and time constraints. We recommend looking at the data from previous years to inform the design of your study. This is your research experience; make it meaningful for you! Background: The round goby is an invasive species in the Great Lakes. It arrived in 1990 and has since grown to epic numbers in many regions. It is particularly common in shallow water, and then particularly abundant on rocky substrates. Yet, we don’t quite know how abundant it actually is because most of the official surveys for fish happen in deeper waters. At Inland Seas we are assisting the DNR is learning about goby population numbers, but first we need to learn the best way to catch a goby. Round gobies hang out right on the bottom of the lake and are relatively easy to catch with minnow traps, but trap success varies widely. What is the best way to bait a minnow trap to catch round gobies? ISEA Method: You will use 15 minnow traps and bait them in different ways to test bait success. Create 5 different treatments with three 3 traps for each treatment. These are some possible treatments: Nothing* Fish eggs Dog food* Substrate (gravel)* Live goby* Bread* * Provided by Inland Seas Bait that is small in size, such as fish eggs, can be enclosed in bait bags to prevent it from falling through the holes in the trap. The traps will be dropped onto rocky substrate and left for about 2 hours. When you haul them back in the fish in the traps will be identified, counted, and measured. Your choice: Ø You may test any bait that interests you: What baits do you want to retest from previous years? What baits have never been tested that you want to try? Ø If you vary the ISEA method use at least two treatments and be sure to create enough replicates so the data is meaningful (not more than 5 treatments). Ø If you are considering two ingredients per trap, make sure there are also traps with each ingredient alone. Ø We will do everything we can to have at least 10 live gobies available on the day of your trip, but there could be fewer if conditions were unfavorable for collecting them prior to your trip. If you will need more than 10 live gobies, please contact us at least 5 days in advance. Ø You will need to bring any materials that extend beyond those listed above. Last updated: 9/11/17 Inland Seas Education Association • schoolship.org Diving Deeper Schoolship Instructor Manual Fish Group Program for the Fish Group This plan is approximate. Be flexible, as we know you are! AM PM Ship Fish Instructor 8:00 12:45 Getting ready Arrive to set-up at least 30 min before school arrives 30 min 8:30 1:15 LEAD meets the group and brings them to the ship 8:40 1:25 At the dock All Hands: Students present and discuss research plan with the crew 25 min Ready and 1. Divide into groups, index cards, get ready to present Waiting 2. Students present their plan 3. Instructors and crew give feedback 4. Weather report and safety talk by the captain 5. Board the ship one group at a time. Fish group sits port, at mainsail 9:05 1:50 1. Cast off 1. Finalize research plan. Which treatments, # traps per treatment? 25 min 2. Motor to 2. Set up the minnow traps and datasheet mound 3. Quality control all traps – are they attached properly? 3. Drop traps 4. Stand by to drop traps. Drop traps within 25 min of leaving dock. 9:30 2:15 1. Motor to 15 min with crew: Prep sails, at the helm, or with other tasks 35 min sample In less favorable conditions students may act as lookouts. station 1. Secchi disk measurement 2. Heave to 2. Weather data (60+ ft) 3. Surface water temperature 4. Call in weather observations to the Coast Guard/NOAA 10:05 2:50 Set sails All Hands Students raise sails, train individuals to coil and hang lines 15 min Fish group: Main Throat 10:20 3:05 Launch Silence 5 min manta trawl 10:25 3:10 Sail w/ 1. Plot minnow trap location 30 min manta trawl 2. Intro to round gobies: identification, invasion, lifestyle for 30 min 3. Orient to the project/share the importance of today’s study 10:55 3:40 Haul in 4. Solutions to deal with round goby invasion 5 min manta trawl 5. Learn how to process fish when they are collected 6. Examine the Secchi graphs and consider ecosystem change 7. (if time) More weather data. Compare to earlier data/graph trends 11:00 3:45 Sail back to Stand by to collect traps 10 min traps 11:10 3:55 Sailing and Collect traps with crew assistance 10 min Collect traps 11:20 4:05 Sailing 1. Process fish collection: identify, count, measure 30 min 2. Compile data, make graphs, interpret graphs and discuss trends 3. Check all data sheets to be sure they are complete and accurate 4. Prepare students for their presentation 5. Tidy your materials and area. 11:50 4:35 Sailing All Hands: Peer teaching rotation 20 min Crew only Fish students teach about Fish 12:10 4:55 Strike sail 20 min: 10 min 1. Put away all materials; tidy your area. (students can help) 12:20 5:05 Docking 2. Closing/ Wrap-up: Try the stewardship questions 10 min 3. LEAD: thank yous, group photograph. 12:30 5:15 Disembark Last updated: 9/11/17 Inland Seas Education Association • schoolship.org Diving Deeper Schoolship Instructor Manual Fish Group 8:00/12:45 Set-up and Prepare for Group 30 min Arrive plenty early to set up your materials and leave time for unforeseen circumstances. o Minnow traps, bait bags, clips, line, staff buoy, mushroom anchor o Set up aquarium on port side near mainsail throat halyards o Collect fish from the minnow traps. There should be a dozen+ gobies in the trap o Grab bread from the galley if needed (other baits may be available) o Fish bin + measure boards o Set up materials so students can get to work right away o Datasheets, clipboard, pencil 8:40/1:25 Dockside preparation 30 min When the class arrives, they will already know their groups. 1. Learn names of students write names on index cards. Give one list of names to a person in the group. Keep the other list. 2. Find out if students brought bait with them. If not we have live gobies, bread, and gravel, which should be enough for 5 different treatments, if used in combination. 3. Ask students about their research plan. If they don’t have a plan, overview what they will be doing: Determine the best bait to catch round gobies with a minnow trap. Tips for creating a research plan: a. Let students make decisions about what should go in each trap, but help them devise a valid methodology. b. Each treatment should be different from another in just one way. For example, if one treatment contains a goby and gravel, there should be another treatment that contains just a goby, and another that contains just gravel. c. Every treatment should be replicated. This means with 15 traps, there should be 3 treatments of 5 traps each, or 5 treatments of 3 traps each. 4. Give students the datasheet and show them where to record the research plan. 5. Let students know they will be preparing traps very soon after boarding the ship. After a few minutes of getting organized the Lead will call for everyone’s attention. 1. Each group will announce what they will be researching 2. The Fish group will tell everyone: a. The treatment options for the minnow traps b. How many traps will receive each treatment. 3. Instructors and crew will accept the research plan and offer suggestions or modifications if necessary 4. The captain will report on the weather conditions and how those conditions will influence the day’s sail. 5. Captain will give the safety talk Groups will board the ship one at a time with their instructors. Fish group sits port side, near the main mast. Last updated: 9/11/17 Inland Seas Education Association • schoolship.org Diving Deeper Schoolship Instructor Manual Fish Group 9:05/1:50 Prepare and launch minnow traps 25 min As soon as you are able, involve students in getting the minnow traps set up. The ship will travel immediately to the mound where we will drop the traps, and we want the traps to be in the water 25 min after boarding. Time is limited so the group needs to be productive, but should not feel rushed. Train students well, and let them do all or most of the work. • Explain what we are about to do (if students don’t already know). o The traps will be dropped onto rocky substrate and left for 2 hours. When we haul them back in the fish in the traps will be identified and counted. We will measure the length of each goby. o We are trying to catch round gobies to help determine the number of round gobies in Lake Michigan.