The 8th graders received a primer on marine ecology during their first Outdoor Ed/Field Science day at La Jolla Cove Marine Preserve this past week. Working with local outdoor adventure company Positive Adventures, our students were able to discover a little more about themselves, their classmates, and some of the creatures that live within our local marine habitat. Of particular interest, our students received an in-depth talk about the similarities and differences between California Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) & California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus):
For slideshow…
OTA Home Link :
1) What are some of the main differences between a seal and a sea lion?
2) What is a cormorant?
3) What is the name of our state marine fish?
Initially we had planned to snorkel the area around La Jolla Cove but the weather shifted a little too much and the tidal surge was a little rougher than we had anticipated so it was off to explore one of La Jolla gems, Sunny Jim Cave. As one of our adult chaperones remarked, “I’ve lived in San Diego most of my life and never knew this existed!” The cave offers a rare access to the sandstone being the only land accessible sea cave on the California Coast! 
Later our students were able to walk to La Jolla Shores to engage in the much anticipated snorkeling portion of our trip. Students took turns utilizing wetsuits, fins & snorkel equipment to get a glimpse of a few fish such as smelt, corvina, anchovies, sea perch, & round sting rays. The absolute icing on the cake for students was the appearance of several relatively large Leopard Sharks (Triakis semifasciata)…with a few being close to 6-7 feet. These relatively harmless creatures are ranked 94th on the list of 100 most dangerous sharks because they only eat small crabs and fish.
Although the water was a bit cloudy, the sun was shining and the water was relatively warm for a mid October day in San Diego. After snorkeling students were able to experience a little bit of La Jolla’s tidepool area where they discovered green sea anemones, a variety of small crustaceans, limpets, chitin (like a limpet or single shelled mollusk), and a small elusive California Spiny Lobster (Panulirus interruptus) that scuttled into a little dark crevice.
OTA Home Link Part 2:
1) What is the Stingray Shuffle?
2) Why do Leopard Sharks frequent the La Jolla Shores area?
SLIDESHOW:
