Saturday, May 8, 2010

Hatfield MFC Experiment Maintenance, and, of course, Invasive Tunicate Survey - May 7, 2010

Vallorie and Lorne inspected and performed maintenance on one of OSU's chambered benthic microbial fuel cells (MFC), located subtidally in Yaquina Bay. With the experiment dependent on anaerobic activity and supplemental biomass, they checked on the integrity of the housing and injected algae.

View Hatfield Pumphouse Dock in a larger map

Task completed, the divers inspected several pilings for invasive tunicates, the underside of an oyster pen, and beneath the floating dock. They found, predictably, several patches of Botrylloides violaceus up to 30 cm square, particularly on pilings. Mussels attached to the oyster pen served as substrate to aggregations of white hydroids. The floating dock's fouling community was densely populated with mussels still young and with thin shells.

Aquarium divers included Vallorie Hodges and volunteer Lorne Curran, surface tending operations by aquarium volunteer Dylan Curran.

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