October 2000 Volunteer teaches Jefferson students about saltwater habitat
By Sheldon J. Reber, Director of School and Community Relations
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E very week, Fin and Feather pet store manager Mark Casanova volunteers his time to help third-grade students in teacher Diana Muņoz's classroom at Jefferson Elementary understand the harsh world of a classroom saltwater reef tank. "Mark shares his expertise with my students. It's really a wonderful partnership and my students love learning about the saltwater environment," said Muņoz. "Learning about the tank fits with California's new science framework. Mark has talked with students about plant and animal adaptations like camouflage and a variety of science concepts," continued Muņoz. Casanova has also spoken with students about related careers including marine biology and research, underwater photography, and diving. Jefferson is the only school in Humboldt County to have a live saltwater reef tank. Muņoz was successful in procuring a grant from the California Science Project to help pay for the 25-gallon tank, which was installed with Casanova's help in October 1999. In addition to torch coral, curly-q anemones, polyps, and red mushrooms, the classroom ocean environment also hosts cleaner shrimp, a clown fish, Catalina gobys, green chromis, a pygmy angel, a PJ cardinal, and a sea slug. "Your tank is a very tough neighborhood," said Casanova to the third-graders. "The strongest fish feed first." Jefferson's custodian, Travis Poletski, had to dispose of an unwelcome resident, a manta shrimp. Students noticed the loud, popping sound the manta shrimp would make to disorient his prey before he munched them. "The manta shrimp snuck in the tank on some coral and ate all the hermit crabs and the Halloween crab," said Casanova. "My students really got into researching the manta shrimp. They checked out books from the library, found information on the Internet, and wrote reports about it," she mentioned. "Mark doesn't shy away from using big words and big concepts," Muņoz continued. Casanova has talked with students about the symbiotic relationships found in the classroom tank. "What's the relationship between the clown fish and the anemone?" he queries. "The clown fish drops food in the anemone and the anemone protects the clown fish from any predators with its stingers," says a student. "Who can tell me the difference between aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria?" asks Casanova. "Aerobic bacteria needs oxygen and anaerobic bacteria needs very little or no oxygen to live," says one of Muņoz's third-graders. According to Casanova, his interest in fish began at an early age. "When I was 8-years-old, growing up in San Francisco, I used to sneak into the Steinhart Aquarium through a side door. I'd go behind the scenes and look at all the tanks. It was cool until I ran into the same person twice and got kicked out," he chuckles.
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