Our Team
We are the team who put this project into motion.
Peyton Archibald
Mechanical Engineering
Team member
Peyton is a 4th year Mechanical Engineering major
parchiba@calpoly.edu
Blaine Benham
Biology
Team member
Blaine is a 4th year Biology Major
babenham@calpoly.edu
Professor Benham
Project Advisor
Prof. Benham is a Professor of Materials Engineering at Cal Poly specializing in Corrosion Engineering
rbenham@calpoly.edu
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Professor Benham and Professor Shollenberger for making this research project possible. Additionally, we would like to thank Jason Felton, Tom Moylan, and the rest of the staff of the Cal Poly Pier for offering an abundance of support and advice to make this project a success.
Progression of Growth
Future Improvements and Final Thoughts
Based on the observations made throughout the course of this project, the Coil Reef is capable of supporting growth. While the growth on the coil over the course of this project was limited to various algaes, it represents the primary succession of organisms into an initially barren habitat. Over time, other organisms will arrive, grow, and develop, leading to an increase in biodiversity.
For future projects involving Coil Reef, more methods of measurement should be used to quantitatively measure the amount of biodiversity as well as total biomass present on the reef. It may also be necessary to develop an additional method to observe the coil from the outside diameter, should the inside of the coil become congested with growth.