The data collected for this research was conducted over three separate trips to the Marine Science Center in Nahant, Massachusetts. On our first trek out to the rocky intertidal, students were expected to examine the organisms and ecological happenings around the area and then formulate projects from this first visit. On this first visit, I chose and mapped out six different tidepools which were in the high intertidal zone. I then obtained water samples from each in order to take back to the lab. Because dissolved oxygen is one of the components in the water that I wanted to take a look at, and because dissolved oxygen levels can change quickly during the transit from the site to the lab, I took specific samples from each pool (separate from the other water samples) and fixed the oxygen content with an oxygen fixer. This way, the levels of oxygen tested would not reflect extra oxygen gathered in the transit back to the lab. I also placed an iButton in each of the tidepools in order to determine the temperature of the water.
Field Work - Taking water samples 
Assessing the Biotic Content of the Pools
In order to assess the biotic content in each of the pools, I placed a .25 m2 quadrat in two randomly picked places in each tidepool. These spaces were then assessed in order to determine percent cover of each of the biotic components of the pool. Bare rock was also counted in these observations.
Examples of Quadrat sampling
Manipulating the Tidepool Environment
On day one, I decided to take just the preliminary water samples, as we did not have too much time. I then decided that on each of the subsequent trips, I would manipulate the environment to see what would happen to the pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen composition in the tidepools if sunlight were removed from the equation. For the second and third trips, I took the preliminary water samples and temperatures as described above and then placed a black trash bag over each of three of the pools (pools 1, 3, and 4), leaving three uncovered. I allowed the trashbags to remain in place for one hour (due to time limitations), and then took water samples and temperature data from all six pools again. My hope was to see a change between those that had been covered and those that had been allowed to remain in natural light.