As the scientists return from their travels, more and more samples of Gracilaria appear in the Sotka Lab! Check out the storage containers they are kept in below.

The whole lab came together and ventured out into the field last Friday to collect samples of Gracilaria from the mudflat of Fort Johnson. 

So do they just pick up the first piece of seaweed they see?! Nope! The lab members have a method to collecting their samples of Gracilaria.

Methods:

1. Lab members walked out to the mudflat at a tidal height of 0.15ft.
2. They created a 30m transect and collected algae every 3 meters. So overall, the lab member sampled from 10 different locations along the transect line.
3. After collecting samples,  the samples were rinsed off back at the lab to remove epifauna (the little critters living on the seaweed). The epifauna are saved to later see what kinds of organisms are like to live on Gracilaria. 
4. Gracilaria samples are weighed and data is recorded. 

The whole lab has been collaborating at phenotyping populations of Gracilaria from different regions including the southeast (Beaufort, Savannah, and Fort Johnson), northeast, and Pacific northwest (Washington and Vancouver area), as well as California and Japan! 

The lab members are phenotyping Gracilaria's tolerance for salinity (Aaron’s work), thermal tolerance (Ben and Sarah), and herbivory (Paige). Dr. Stacy with help from Dr. Courtney Murren are looking at the architecture and breakage of Gracilaria. The architecture deals with the structure of plants (where the branches are etc.) They are looking at that to see if there is variation between populations. They are hypothesizing the architecture will change depending whether the populations are attached versus free floating. 

 Traveling is a major theme this summer! Eric and Stacy have returned from Japan and are already prepping for their next trip. Eric is heading to Puget Sound and Vancouver. Stacy is leaving for Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Travels for the rest of the summer include Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula, and California.