Students who want to study marine biology and oceanography have a wealth of topics to choose from. Biology, chemistry, physics, and geology are all important in understanding the ocean. Given the vastness of the topic it can be hard to focus and choose just one marine biology experiment. Here are a few ideas to inspire students as they get ready for their science fair projects.
Marine Biology Experiment #1: Temperature and Ocean Current Velocity
Websites such as Science Buddies offer a vast array of science fair project ideas including marine biology experiments. Science Buddies experiment “Ocean Currents – Modeling the ‘Global Conveyor Belt’ in Your Kitchen” is designed to show how temperature affects the velocity of currents. The experiment involves mixing vegetable oil and thyme in a dish and watching what happens as the dish heats up. Adding islands, bags of ice, or multiple heat sources can expand the experiment. Students could also discuss how salinity and density affect ocean currents.
Marine Biology Experiment #2: Ocean Acidification
Science Buddies offers a more complicated experiment with ‘Swimming in Acid: Understanding Ocean Acidification’. This month long marine biology experiment studies how increased carbon dioxide emissions affect the ocean. Using a pH meter the student will create solutions of various acidity and soak crushed shells in them for a month. After a month the student will compare the seashells appearance and weight from before and after the soak.
Marine Biology Experiment #3: Optimal Foraging Theory
Optimal foraging theory is the idea that predators will go after prey that give the most energy for the least input. This would be the most efficient way to hunt and natural selection favors successful hunters. California’s Hartnell Community College describes a marine biology experiment in ‘Prey Choice for Guppies”. Although guppies are a freshwater fish the ideas can be extrapolated to marine animals. In this experiment small crustaceans called daphnia are measured through sieving. A small daphnia is fed to a guppy and the time it takes for the guppy to catch the daphnia is recorded. Different sizes are fed to the same guppy and the experiment is repeated on different guppies.
Finding Further Marine Biology Inspiration
Students may want to design their own experiments to show off their creativity and pursue individual interests. However, having an idea to work off of can be helpful. Kathy Hart of the Education Resources Information Center offers in “Science Experiments and Activities” 199 pages of marine biology experiments and thoughtful questions students should be asking when designing a science fair project. These include chemistry, physics, and biology oriented ideas.
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