Trip to Tatoosh!

This past week the interns ventured out to Tatoosh Island to spend two nights immersed in this special place. They learned about the cultural significance of the island and the Makah history that has unfolded there from elder Spencer McCarty, and about the landmark ecological research that has been happening there since the 1960’s with Dr.’s Cathy Pfister and Tim Wootton (and their awesome students Teresa, Lizzie, and Alex) from the University of Chicago.

Thursday

On thursday afternoon we loaded up the boat and headed out to the island, where Tim met us in the zodiac as we were coming into the main beach. We ferried our gear to the beach and then began the trek up the stairs to the main part of the island. After settling into the bunkhouse, Spencer sang a welcome song belonging to his namesake to celebrate our arrival. Then we set out to explore the trails that lead out from the central area of the island to the water. The sun was warm and bright, and it was a joy to spend the afternoon getting acquainted with the space and getting our first peek at each of the field sites where we would be spending the next morning. After a delicious “Tatoosh burrito” dinner, we settled in to play cards until the sun set and the full moon rose over Cape Flattery.

Friday

Bright and early on Friday morning we headed down to the main beach and out to Strawberry Draw. Tim and his students showed us the site (called the Glacier) where Bob Paine did his iconic sea star removal experiments that led to the development of the keystone species concept, which is now widely used throughout ecology. The interns then did a series of measurements to record the widths of each of the intertidal community zonations (barnacles, mossy algae, mussels, and large bladed algae) to monitor for the variability associated with phase shifts, adding to a dataset that has been ongoing for at least 50 years. While there, we also spied some sea palms, which are probably the most charismatic macroalgae, and some nudibranchs.

There are also many seabirds that nest along the cliff faces there, and we had the chance to spy on some cormorant and gull chicks. We generally agreed that they looked like tiny cute dinosaurs. Tim took this opportunity to talk about seabird nest failure, which has been generally increasing recently due to a variety of threats, including eagle predation and climate change.

On the way back to the main beach we stopped at a cliff overhang that is home to many cool species usually found in the subtidal but visible above the waterline because of the low light conditions, including orange cup coral, encrusting sponges, coralline algae, and nudibranchs. While over there, we spied some surf grass seed pods, which are great for snacking, like slightly sweet/salty/starchy peas.

Back at the main beach, we met with Cathy who showed us the cave, which is also a haven for subtidal and low-light loving species. It also hides many relics of the past hundred years, including the remains of a railroad that used to cross the island from the boom, and a rusted out engine from the model T that used to traverse the rail. We talked about the increase in urchin barrens that has been taking over some of the island kelp habitat and how wave action determines which species of algae settle on rock surfaces.

When we emerged from the cave, the interns decided to harvest some boots (gooseneck barnacles) to boil up for lunch, so we headed over to a thick patch on the northern rocks of the island. While there, we also learned about the “hydrolab” tidepool from Tim, where he sets up sensors that measure temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen continuously from April to September.

Back at the top of the island, we ate lunch and the boots, and then spent the afternoon playing games, catching up on sleep after an early wake-up, listening to stories from Spencer, and exploring the island. Spencer was especially excited about the boots, and sang a few songs to celebrate the food and give thanks for such a special place. After lunch, a warm haze surrounded the island, and we decided to head down to the beach for a swim to cool off, and to snorkel around the main bay and catch a glimpse of all the creatures we had spent the morning looking at above the waves. Ryana and Shilaily lasted the longest in the frigid water, paddling around with the mask and snorkel like seals.

We spent the evening chatting in the mist, slowly becoming covered in sparkly droplets. Spencer shared creation stories and tales belonging to the island, the interns talked about funny happenings at school, and the U Chicago students chimed in with some midwest lore. As the sun began to set, we decided to work off some steam with a game of sardines before bed, which left us all exhausted, damp, and satisfied as we headed to bed in the dark.

Saturday

We woke up on Saturday morning to a dense fog that stuck around all day. After breakfast we headed down to Simon’s Landing to take some measurements of the tide height with the laser level and check out a cool tidepool rock. Then we climbed over to a set of caves where elephant seals sometimes rest. We didn’t find any seals, but we did find some new species, including blood stars and gumboot chitons. On the way back up Tim pointed out the site of a large urchin barren, which might finally be showing signs of shrinking after consuming all the kelp nearby for the last couple years.

Back at the bunkhouse we spent some time working on independent research projects. Each intern read a scientific paper relevant to their project and shared the most important information from it with the group, including the main motivation for the project, their big takeaway, and which parts of the paper they thought would be most relevant to their own project. When we finished, the only thing left to do was pack up and head down to the beach to return to Neah Bay.

It was such a fun trip, and the interns did a great job staying focused, being curious, and asking lots of questions about everything in their midst. Now we’re ready to hunker down and get these projects done. The final presentations are in two short weeks!