Field Trip Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Field Trip Journal - Essay Example I even found myself loving the class more and more, especially when we began discussing the textbook and the beach types. By the time we started going for the trips, I was already in love with Marine Biology. A number of field trips that we went during the semester made the class more fun and lively and indeed, I learnt a number of things during these trips. Here is my journal on the various field trips that we went to. On 9th March 2013, we visited the Cabrillo Marion Aquarium. We arrived at around midday. The professor and the tour guide showed us around the shore. He told us to take care and be watchful of the animals and avoid those that were likely to harm us. He insisted on the safety measures that he had taught us. We then started the trip, and looked at the various animals in the aquarium. The various marine animals in the aquarium include the Lion Nudibranchia, which is a soft bodied animal. I learnt that it normally sheds it after the larval stage. I found it quite confusin g with the sea slug, and could not tell where their difference lay. Bat star (Patiria miniata) has five arms with a centre disc which is very wide. I was able to identify the many colours that the animals had, which were green, purple, red, orange, yellow and brown. I found it rather funny that an animal could have so many colours. Among the rocks I could make out the Giant sea star, (Pisaster giganteus) especially due to its huge size and the length of its arms which were very long. I also saw the warty sea cucumber (Parastichopus parvimensis) and felt its soft body that was cylindrical in shape. Its skin was leathery and which is either reddish brown or yellow in colour. California spiny lobster scared me with the huge body and large antennae that protruded from its head. I wondered how it would feel like for the animal carrying such large antennae on its forehead, imagining that it must get tired at times. California moray eel looked so ugly to me, with the huge mouth and the roc k like body that made it appear uglier and disgusting to look at. After visiting the aquarium, I think that looking and observing these marine creatures in real person is very different from studying them in a textbook. I felt that they are living, with their funny features, and sometimes weird nature making me awe at their uniqueness. I would suggest to the Cabrillo marine aquarium to assign bigger tanks or separate them because they appear to be too squeezed and uncomfortable. The following trip was to the Marine Mammal Care Centre that was on the 20th March 2013. The centre is a rehabilitation place for various animals in California, especially those that are hurt and the ones that cannot properly look after themselves. I felt quite sorry for the ones that were really wounded. However, the attendants who were mostly volunteers made me feel compassionate about animals. Their devotion towards the animals made me look at animal kingdom in a different way. While some people kill anim als for food and others wound them, some take care of their mess. There were two animals that I greatly mistook for sea lions since I had not gotten much used to their differences apart from the textbook pictures. However, I realized from the sign on the cage that they were On 27th March 2013, we visited the Point Fermin. Our professor allowed us to go to up to the shore.