Dolphin Talk

            Thank you for your trust and confidence by electing me president of TMEA. I am humbled and in awe of the many talented professional people I have the pleasure to learn from and work with during our meetings and workshops.
            I am so excited about the things planned for this year. We are in the process of creating a Wiki, a website that will facilitate our members by having a central location where we can post and share our successful activities with other members. It will also be a place to post any questions or comments you might need to share.
            We have two exciting workshops planned! On March 27th, we will meet in Matagorda for the 3rd leg of our series following the Colorado River from its headwaters in San Angelo, to Austin where we explored the watershed system, and finally to where the Colorado River ends its journey as it enters the Gulf of Mexico! You won’t want to miss this fun workshop!!! The second workshop planned will take us back to Galveston as we explore the Texas gulf coast to see the effects of coastal erosion in the fall of 2010.
            My hope for TMEA is to make it one of the best organizations in Texas. I want it to be the place to make new friends, to answer all of your questions relating to water issues (both fresh and salt water) in Texas, and a place to excite you about teaching as you work with children through adults about our Earth, the water planet.
            I challenge each of you to encourage your cohorts at work or home to join us as we begin this exciting new year in our quest to clean up our one ocean. Think of all of the wealth of information our organization would have if each one of you invited at least 2 or 3 of your colleagues to join TMEA and help us as we build our Wiki and then come to our workshops to share their ideas. I promise each one of them that it will be the best $10 they will ever spend!!
            I look forward to serving you this year. Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions you might have to help me make TMEA the organization to be a part of!

TMEA SPRING WORKSHOP

At Matagorda, Texas March 26^th-28th, 2009

for “A river runs through it”

The Colorado River and its tributaries

Third Leg

“What happens in Texas does not stay in Texas”

Join the Texas Marine Education Association near the town of Matagorda on March 26^th for the third stage of a multi-part workshop to study the movement of water through the Colorado River watershed system from its headwaters down to where it empties into Matagorda Bay. This workshop is designed to help teachers of all disciplines gain a better understanding of how we impact the world of water in many ways.

The last workshop of this two-year examination will develop an understanding of the ecology, history, usage, and problems of water. During the workshop the participants, with the help of the Lower Colorado River Authority, will explore the Colorado River in the area where it empties into Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico..

Details and registration information for the workshop will be available on the website by the end of January: http://statweb.org/TMEA/

TMEA Planning Meeting

Everyone is invited to join us for the January 30^th TMEA planning meeting at UTMSI from 12 noon until 3 pm in the meeting room of the Visitors’ Center. We will be discussing workshops and plans for CAST 2010 and beyond. We need your input. Be sure to call John or Nathan if you cannot find the meeting room. John’s cell is 361-739-3813, Nathan’s cell 713-502-3726.

Report from Nobel 45: H₂O Uncertain Resource by Diane Humes

Take the link below for a very informative coverage of the worldwide freshwater as a resource problem as discussed by Nobel Prize winning scientists.

This report is found on pages 6-8 of the December Midden at http://gbamasternaturalist.org/

You can survive about a month without food, but only 5 to 7 days without water.

National Environmental Education Week, April 11-17, 2010. National Environmental Education Foundation. Our nation’s water and energy resources are increasingly relevant topics of discussion in today’s media, classrooms, and homes. Recognizing the importance of conserving both water and energy in order to protect the planet and reduce costs, and acknowledging the interdependence between water and energy, EE Week’s 2010 theme is “Be Water and Energy Wise!” Learn more or register your events by visiting http://www.eeweek.org/water_and_energy_wise.

TMEA Rocked at CAST 2009!
by Nathan Veatch, Frank Budny; Photos by Mel Measeles

The Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) was held in Galveston from November 5th through the 7th and our TMEA members played a very important part in its success. This conference is the largest science teachers’ conference of any state or national organization and over 6000 Texas teachers attended this year. Texas always does everything bigger.

TMEA Strand Fieldtrip- November 6- “Galveston Island State Park- A Learning Laboratory.”
TMEA hosted a great fieldtrip to Galveston Island State Park (GISP) for 24 teachers on Thursday, November 6th. The field trip was divided into three sites into which all the teachers rotated to in small groups.

This was a great day for a visit to the beach as TMEA members Mary Jean Hayden (below), Frank Budny, and Master Naturalist Bill Ashby showed the teachers the effects of hurricane Ike and the recovery efforts since then on the beach. Grasses planted in the spring on the dunes had become a lush and thick carpet of vegetation. A few small ghost crabs came out of their holes on the upper beach as if on cue leading to a discussion of their niche.

An extremely low tide due to a north wind provided several wrack lines on the beach. An interesting assortment of sea beans including small coconuts, mangroves, and even a hamburger bean were found in the drift. The high tide line contained an assortment of shells, including arks, whelks, angel wings, pen shells, disk dosinias, and channeled duck clams.

The most common items on the beach were worm tubes. The Diopatra worm produces a mucous secretion to which it attaches shell fragments and lives within the tube, coming out to feed. Normally these tubes are anchored in the sand, however it is not unusual for waves to break them off and deposit them on the beach.

The surf line was fairly calm and the tide low. Shifting the sand at the waters edge produced mole crabs and one coquina clam. Ghost shrimp holes however, were plentiful. Several teachers were delighted to be able to extract a ghost shrimp with a Creature Catcher. (Above right: Mary Jean Haden demonstrated how to extract ghost shrimp from their burrows in the swash zone.) Numerous moon jellies had washed up on the beach. Seining near the shore produced a few organisms including moon jellies, silversides, larval ladyfish, and a juvenile red fish. It was a wonderful day at the beach. There were plenty of things to discover and discuss, and the teachers should have fond memories of their day at the beach.

Master Naturalist Dick Benoit (left) and TMEA member Ellen Gerloff conducted the exploration of the Prairie habitat with a hike through the prairie to view many plants and ended with the groups making seed balls to take home. They also were given a 13- page Prairie Activities hand-out which included worksheets and instructions on how to make seed balls and plant presses. A number of plant presses were also passed out. Jill Veatch (outgoing TMEA Secretary) was the Welcome Center Hostess along with Ellen Gerloff and made sure snacks and hot coffee were available to each group. TMEA member Mel Measeales rotated to all the sites and photographed the days’ activities.

TMEA members Steve Alexander and Nathan Veatch helped the groups in an examination of the salt barrens, marsh and the waters of the bay-shore. The life history of the fiddler crabs was discerned by observing the holes and then the living crabs. The question of whether fiddler crabs are “born” right handed or left handed was queried and several small fiddlers were captured and were seen to have both large right and left pincers on the male crabs. Marsh periwinkles defied gravity and their “elevator” life was observed. Striped hermit crabs coming out of their lightning whelk shell homes fascinated many of the teachers. The catch in the seine was typical of the bay-shore but a few special organisms were collected. A hogchoker, a little flat fish, and several pipefish were in the catch. Shoal grass, one of the sea grasses, was noticed growing on the bottom. An arrow shrimp, Tseuma, was found in the catch. Both Steve and Nathan had never seen this member of the sea grass community in Galveston Bay. The restoration of the sea grass beds in the park has finally led to the reestablishment of those organisms that live in this habitat.

The group ate the box lunches provided in their conference registration and enjoyed the sunshine. After lunch the group watched the videos on the effects of hurricane Ike on the Park and the DVD, “Mollusks in Action,” and many lamented that they could not see the complete DVDs. The group assembled at 2:30 pm for a wrap up session and a raffle of door prizes. Galveston Bay Area Chapter-Texas Master Naturalists donated eight half –moon aquariums, shell collections and many other prizes. Everyone took home a CD of beach and bay animals and most teachers got more than one door prize.

TMEA members Julie Massey and Nathan Veatch presented workshops leading off the TMEA Strand Workshops on Friday at the San Luis Hotel to full rooms of eager teachers. Each workshop had 45 to 50 participants, with many staying for both workshops.

Julie Massey presented “Something Fishy for Your Class” and the group got to dissect fish and fish print, which was quite an accomplishment with so many people attending the session. The group was treated to very fresh specimens that made the dissections superb and not quite so smelly. Julie passed out a CD with a fish and squid dissection PDF on it for the teachers to use in their classrooms.

Nathan Veatch presented a workshop entitled “Have Fun With Squid Form and Function.” The group “got into it” and really enjoyed it when Julie pulled out at an 18-inch squid. An immediate appeal went out from the group to dissect out the pen and ink sac, which two participants promptly did. Time ran out and the next group came in, but it was a very good session. Julie and Nathan are planning a combined session next year when the CAST 2010 conference will be in Houston. If this workshop sounds interesting, catch us at the Brown Convention Center in Houston.

Pam Stryker and Marolyn Smith explored the diversity of habitats and life in the ocean through skits, songs, investigations and activities in their workshop “Adaptation: Living the Life Aquatic” to a full room of eager elementary teachers who enjoyed the skits, costumes and the great handouts.

“On Site and Online: Wetlands Education Center Curriculum.” John Williams introduced aspects of curriculum developed for the Wetlands Education Center at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas in an interactive session with a good group of teachers in attendance. The WEC, a 3.5 acre saltwater marsh, provides education about coastal wetlands to the public and allows elementary teachers to bring their classes. The session showed teachers how they can use the wetlands curriculum online and discussed ways that teachers can use these resources both before and after a visit to the WEC.

Bill Crowley’s presentation “Ocean Alert- Imperative Issues Concerning Our Marine Environments,”covered five critical issues concerning the health and status of the oceans, and he distributed several handouts, particularly from the Flower Garden Banks NMS to 30 teachers. He discussed run-off and drainage issues as they apply to the Gulf of Mexico, hypoxic zones, the North Pacific Gyre pollution, ocean acidification, over fishing which emphasized by-catch and shark finning, and the Lionfish invasion along the Eastern seaboard.

Several members of TMEA volunteered their time to help out with the conference in several ways. Those included Kelly Drinnen, Cindy Ross, and “The Runner” Steve Alexander. We appreciate Kelly and Cindy’s huge contributions as they served on planning committees and helped organize this CAST conference. And the fieldtrips could not have functioned without Cindy’s personal touch in getting all the lunches on the busses. I apologize if I have missed the names of any other TMEA members who volunteered at the conference!

Several members volunteered at the TMEA booth in the Exhibits Hall handing out the Special Edition of the Dolphin Talk: Cindy Ross, Mark Stamp, Luz Telluz, Marolyn Smith and Jill Veatch. Several other members extended invitations to join TMEA. Thanks to Cindy and Mark for the design and set up of our booth.

TMEA finished CAST 09 with its annual business meeting and luncheon at the NOAA Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary Office at Fort Crockett. Shelley DuPuy provided us with great sandwiches, salad and desserts from Sunshine Bakery. Thanks for your hospitality, Shelley! Jill and Nathan Veatch shared photos and experiences from their August trip to Australia.

The business meeting was chaired by out-going President Trish Lowe and then our new President, Marolyn Smith, assumed office by donning the traditional Pirate’s hat!

Planet's Nitrogen Cycle Overturned by 'Tiny Ammonia Eater of the Seas'
submitted by Bob Huntington

Methanogens belong to an ancient group related to bacteria, called the archaea -- thrive without oxygen. (Credit: NASA/JPL)

ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2009) — It's not every day you find clues to the planet's inner workings in aquarium scum. But that's what happened a few years ago when University of Washington researchers cultured a tiny organism from the bottom of a Seattle Aquarium tank and found it can digest ammonia, a key environmental function. New results show this minute organism and its brethren play a more central role in the planet's ecology than previously suspected.

The findings, published online September 30 in the journal Nature, show that these microorganisms, members of ancient lineage called archaea, beat out all other marine life in the race for ammonia. Ecologists now assume that ammonia in the upper ocean will first be gobbled up by phytoplankton to make new cells, leaving very little ammonia for microbes to turn into nitrate.

"Our data suggests that it's the other way around," said co-author Willm Martens-Habbena, a UW postdoctoral researcher. "Archaea are capable of stealing the ammonia from other organisms and turning it into nitrate. Then it's the phytoplankton that take up that nitrate once again."

Ammonia is a waste product that can be toxic to animals. But plants, including phytoplankton, prize ammonia as the most energy-efficient way to build new cells.

The new paper also shows that archaea can scavenge nitrogen-containing ammonia in the most barren environments of the deep sea, solving a long-running mystery of how the microorganisms can survive in that environment. Archaea therefore not only play a role, but are central to the planetary nitrogen cycles on which all life depends.

"Bacterial nitrifiers were discovered in the late 19th century. One century later this other group of nitrifiers is discovered that is not a minor population, it turns out to be the major population," said co-author David Stahl, a UW professor with appointments in the departments of civil and environmental engineering and microbiology. "We have to revise our basic understanding of the nitrogen cycle."

In the tree of life, archaea occupy its own branch. Archaea were discovered only about 30 years ago and were first thought to exist only in extreme environments, such as hot springs or hydrothermal vents. They are now known to be more widespread.

In the early 1990s scientists collecting seawater found strands of genetic material that suggested at least 20 percent of the ocean's microbes are archaea, and circumstantial evidence suggested they might live off ammonia. Stahl's group in 2005 was the first to isolate the organism, which they got from a tropical tank in the Seattle Aquarium, and demonstrate that it can, in fact, grow by oxidizing ammonia. His lab and others have since found the organism in many marine environments, including Puget Sound and the North Sea. The microbe is likely ubiquitous on land and in the seas, they say.

The new experiments show that the organism can survive on a mere whiff of ammonia – 10 nanomolar concentration, equivalent to a teaspoon of ammonia salt in 10 million gallons of water. In the deep ocean there is no light and little carbon, so this trace amount of ammonia is the organism's only source of energy.

"What Willm's work has shown is that these archaea can grow at the vanishingly low concentrations of ammonia found in the ocean," Stahl said. "Until we made the measurements, no one thought it would be possible that an organism could live on these trace amounts of ammonia as a primary energy source."

That finding has two important implications for ocean ecosystems. Scientists knew that something was turning ammonia into nitrate in the deep ocean, but could not fathom what organism might be responsible. Now it appears archaea are those mysterious organisms.

And in the sun-dappled upper ocean waters, it appears that archaea can out-compete phytoplankton for ammonia. The same may be true in soil environments, the researchers say.

The archaea in question are small even by the standards of single-celled organisms. At 0.2 micrometers across, about 8 millionths of an inch, the only life forms smaller are viruses. Martens-Habbena speculates that archaea's size could explain how they are able to survive on such a scant energy supply. The strain used in these experiments is named Nitrosopumilus maritimus, which means "tiny ammonia-oxidizer of the sea."

A better understanding of archaea's lifestyle and role in nitrogen cycles not only would rewrite ecology textbooks. It could also have practical applications, such as devising natural ways to boost a soil's nitrogen content without needing to use chemical fertilizers, or designing sewage treatment plants that employ microbes to remove nitrogenous waste more efficiently, or understanding which microbes produce global-warming gases such as nitrous oxide.

The new findings will also affect the equations used in global climate models, researchers say. Computer models use global cycles of nitrogen and other chemicals to estimate how much carbon dioxide the oceans will absorb and ultimately sink to the bottom of the sea. The new findings suggest that most of the nitrate in the surface water comes from recycling of biomass, and not from the deep water as currently assumed.

"Our data suggest that the carbon pump is weaker than currently assumed, so current climate models may overestimate how much carbon can be absorbed by the oceans," Martens Habbena said.

Other co-authors are the UW's Paul Berube, Hidetoshi Urakawa and Jose de la Torre. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Octopus Uses Coconut Shells as Armor
by Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press
Tuesday, December 15, 2009

SYDNEY – Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. Go to http://www.bdb.com.au/movies/index.php?resourcetype=movies&movie=1
            Julian Finn and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne observed the odd activity in four of the creatures during a series of dive trips to North Sulawesi and Bali in Indonesia between 1998 and 2008. Their findings were published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology.
            "I was gobsmacked," said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. "I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh."
            Octopuses often use foreign objects as shelter. But the scientists found the veined octopus going a step further by preparing the shells, carrying them long distances and reassembling them as shelter elsewhere. That's an example of tool use, which has never been recorded in invertebrates before, Finn said. "What makes it different from a hermit crab is this octopus collects shells for later use, so when it's transporting it, it's not getting any protection from it," Finn said. "It's that collecting it to use it later that is unusual." The researchers think the creatures probably once used shells in the same way. But once humans began cutting coconuts in half and discarding the shells into the ocean, the octopuses discovered an even better kind of shelter, Finn said.
            The findings are significant, in that they reveal just how capable the creatures are of complex behavior, said Simon Robson, associate professor of tropical biology at James Cook University in Townsville. "Octopuses have always stood out as appearing to be particularly intelligent invertebrates," Robson said. "They have a fairly well-developed sense of vision and they have a fairly intelligent brain. So I think it shows the behavioral capabilities that these organisms have."
            There is always debate in the scientific community about how to define tool use in the animal kingdom, Robson said. The Australian researchers defined a tool as an object carried or maintained for future use. But other scientists could define it differently, which means it's difficult to say for certain whether this is the first evidence of such behavior in invertebrates, Robson said. Still, the findings are interesting, he said. "It's another example where we can think about how similar humans are to the rest of the world," Robson said. "We are just a continuum of the entire planet."

Editor’s Note: Elementary teachers may be able to buy a wonderful book, The Octopus’s Garden, The Secret World Under the Sea by Dr. Mark Norman at a Scholastic Book Fair* at your school. This book contains a section on the coconut octopus and nine other cephalopods and includes an incredible 10-minute DVD of these creatures in action filmed by Dr. Norman and Julian Finn. The DVD is worth the $10.99 price of the book a lone. This is a must have book for every teacher who covers mollusks in their curriculum. *An internet search for this title found prices from $29.99 and up.

River, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash® is gearing up for the 17th annual event. To date, approximately 60,000 volunteers from 13 counties have collected more than 1,700 tons of trash from 100 miles of shoreline. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, March 27, 2010, and there’s still time to join the team as a volunteer or as a sponsor. The success of this event is always dependent on the generosity of both volunteers and sponsors. Corporate sponsors not only satisfy requirements for Clean Industries, Clean Industries Plus, and Responsible Care® programs, they also have the chance to give back to the community. A variety of sponsorship levels are available. The deadline for sponsors to be included on event T-Shirts, posters and banners is January 15, 2010. For more information, please visit http://www.trashbash.org or contact Jean Wright at jean.wright@h-gac.com or (713) 499-6660.

Trashing Texas Beaches Isn't Cool!
The next coast wide cleanup is April 24, 2010

The Texas General Land Office has been sending this message across the state for twenty-two years, and Texans have responded. Since the first cleanup in 1986, more than 374,000 Texas Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 7,100 tons of trash from the Texas coast.

Due to tide patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, trash dumped anywhere in the gulf is likely to end up on a Texas beach. Volunteers record information such as the source and type of debris collected on data cards provided by Ocean Conservancy. This data has been instrumental in the passage of international treaties and laws aimed at reducing the amount of offshore dumping.

Keeping Texas beaches clean and safe is an economic as well as environmental priority. Coastal tourism, a $7 billion industry, and commercial fishing, a $1.9 billion business, demand clean beaches and a healthy gulf to thrive.

The Texas Adopt-A-Beach Program, an all-volunteer effort, is dedicated to preserving and protecting Texas beaches. The program's success is due to the generous efforts of dedicated volunteer county coordinators, coastal community leaders, sponsors and citizens. Strong support from the private sector helps carry our message to Texans all across the state.

Please join us at our next beach cleanup. Request to be put on the Adopt-A-Beach mailing list--please include your name, address, and telephone number. Email us with your input at beach@glo.state.tx.us

TMEA is an affiliate of NMEA and many of our members attend the conferences held in June/July. The next NMEA conference will be held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, July 18-23, 2010. With lectures from world-renowned experts, fieldtrips with the host chapter to the best places, and socials that give you an opportunity to enjoy new and old friends, this NMEA experience is not to be missed! Take the NMEA10 button on the TMEA web page to find out more about the 2010 conference.

Visit the TMEA Website http://www.statweb.org/TMEA/ See our newsletter and check out a photo album our recent activies. Check it out!

As a TMEA member, you will receive periodic updates from the TMEA News Google Group. Right now TMEAers are urged to look at the first draft of the proposed Science TEKS posted at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/scienceTEKS.html and submit their comments.

Do you have marine-related news or classroom activities that you are willing to share with other marine educators? Would you like to make comments or suggestions for improving the Dolphin Talk or TMEA? This is a joint effort, let us hear from you!

Please keep your membership current! Provide the following information and send with appropriate dues money to:

City, State, Zip ________________________________________________________________

Which newsletter delivery do you prefer? ____ e-mail notification/web-based OR ____ US mail copy
Please choose one!

Your TMEA membership includes a quarterly newsletter, Dolphin Talk, meetings throughout the year, including an annual meeting at C.A.S.T., plus opportunities for tours, field trips, and workshops.

Your NMEA membership includes a subscription to Current, The Journal of Marine Education, a quarterly newsletter, and a national conference.

___ Joint TMEA ($10) / NMEA ($35)
___ TMEA ($10)
___ NMEA ($40 w/o TMEA)
___ FAMILY: active members receiving only one set of mailings per household. 1 year--$65
___ New Member

Make check out to TMEA for TMEA membership only. A separate check made out to NMEA will be forwarded if national membership is desired. Mail with this form to: Luz Tellez, TMEA Treasurer, 607 Beckman, Alice, TX 78332

If the date on your address label is highlighted, it is time to mail in your dues to Luz Tellez, TMEA Treasurer.

The Newsletter of the Texas Marine Education Association