As Jefferson Community School (JCS)
students have learned, Pinto Abalone, a shellfish unique to Puget Sound, are
nearly extinct. On Monday, June 9, from 6-8 p.m. at the Port
Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC)’s Marine Exhibit on the pier at Fort
Worden beach, science students from JCS will present results from their
year-long research projects on Pinto Abalone. Admission is free.
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| Mikayla Hemsley (left) and Rio Golden are removing abalone from their nursery cage to record growth of shell length and mass of the individual. |
"We welcome the public to the students’ presentations
about their work over this past year and invite questions regarding their
findings," said Jamie Landry, PTMSC citizen science coordinator and head
science teacher at JCS. "The students' research is real science—they are
contributing valuable data to the scientific community on how this
almost-extinct species responds to different types of food.”
This is important data the students have gathered, because
the faster researchers can raise juvenile abalone in a lab setting, the faster
they are able to release them into the wild for restoration efforts. Students
used a stock of juvenile Pinto Abalone given to the PTMSC for research by the
Puget Sound Restoration Fund.
Once the research projects were completed, several
individual abalone were kept by the PTMSC for display in the science center’s
aquarium tanks. Attendees to the event will have an opportunity view these rare
animals and learn more about the restoration efforts taking place in our
region. For more information, contact Jamie Landry at 360.385.5582, ext. 112 or
via e-mail at jlandry@ptmsc.org.
