Journals 2008/2009

Maria Gomez
Dr. Theodore Alexander Science Center School, Los Angeles, California

"Sound Localization in Plainfin Midshipman Fish" Bodega Bay Marine lab, Bodega Bay, California July 17 - July 26, 2009

Journal Index: July 17-18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22        23 - 24 - 25 - 26

July 24, 2008
Final Collection Day

This morning I woke up feeling a bit sad that it was our last day of specimen collection. I had gotten into a routine and enjoyed going out the beaches to work. Today we returned to Tony's Beach to collect our final batch of midshipmen fish. Since it was our last day, I asked Dr. Sisneros if we could take pictures of him dissecting the fish tonight after the experiments were finished. Later tonight Dr. Sisneros obliged by dissecting one of each type of midshipmen fish: female, Type 1 male, and Type 2 male. Once he cut into the female we could see that she had a bunch of eggs still in her ovum. Next, he dissected the Type 1 male and he showed us the swim bladder, which the male uses to vocalize his grunting sounds. When he dissected the Type 2 male, we could see that he lacked a developed swim bladder and we noticed how large the sex organ was compared to the Type 1 male.

Midshipmen Fish getting ready for dissection

Midshipmen Fish eggs in a nest