salmon restoration project

By : Mr. Labriola’s Students of 7B

They Arrive!

Early in March, between 400 and 500 Atlantic Salmon arrive at Chariho Middle School. At this time, the salmon are only eggs.

During the process of the salmon development, we all took a peek at the salmon at three different times. We viewed them through a microscope., and a magnifying glass. Also, in order to do this we researched salmon and parts of a microscope and our classes discussed. When we saw them, we all drew them at these three stages into our notebooks.

EGGS

FRY

Alvin

Inspecting Release SitesFor a week, each of the team’s ELA classes had a chance to inspect a different potential site for releasing the salmon. These sites were located across from the turf field in the Carolina Management Area. We were looking for a gravel bed in order for the salmon to hide from predators, tree cover so the water temperature does not rise to an unbearable level, lots of dissolved oxygen, enough food to eat, a way out to open ocean and a spot far enough away from civilization so as not to pollute the water. All the potential sites were connected to the Pawcatuck River.

The Release!Ten of the students from the

blue and silver teams attended the release. If you wanted to go, you had to write an essay on why you wanted to go, and all were able to apply. We went to the site across the turf farm to release the salmon on May 22nd. When we arrived at the site, the teachers scouted the best area. Then we all found partners, were given a cup filled with salmon and were able to release them right into the water.

Tools we used

• GLX- thermometer, dissolved oxygen, and barometric pressure, pH, dew point, humidity

• GPS• Nets• Water Velocity meter• Petri dish• magnifying glass• depth measures• binoculars• microscopes

The GLX

• The GLX measures,• Temperature• Dissolved oxygen• Barometric pressure• pH• Dew point• Humidity to name a

few. We needed to know these things because they affect the salmon.

GPS

• The GPS or Global Positioning System is used to figure out the coordinates of where you are on the world. We used this to mark the different sites.

NETS

• Nets were used to catch the macro organisms in the sand. We needed to find out if the salmon will have food.

Petri Dish, Magnifying Glass, and the Microscope

• These are all used to examine specimens and to identify certain creatures. Salmon might eat these creatures.

Water Velocity Meter/Depth Measure Stick

•Used to measure water speed and the waters depth. The salmon might not like certain spots because of depth or speed.

Analyzing Data

• From the five days we used computer maps, google earth and our longitude and latitude position to investigate the surrounding areas of each site. This along with the GLX data and the Marco Invertebrate survey we determined the best location to release our salmon.