The end has come.....

Hi everyone!  You can't say we didn't try..... 

We sent the benthic net down 4 times to the top of the seamount and each time something went wrong-  the net didn't hit the bottom, the net doors crossed so the net was closed for the duration of the tow, the seas were not so friendly to allow us to deploy the net, you get the idea.....  The deck crew were awesome in staying safe while deploying and retrieving the net and everyone on board was a bit disappointed that we didn't come up with a better haul back.

Benthic net as it comes up

Haul from one benthic tow

So, after the 4th attempt with it involving a couple of tears and twists in the net and the weather starting to turn bad we began the bumpy ride back to Newport, RI.  It was time to start packing and cleaning up the wet and dry labs.  The entire group got to work scrubbing, organizing, and making sure the specimens were labeled for the right destination as there are 4 different places for the material to go.

We made it back to port late last night and today will demobilization day.  Packing, getting rental cars, shipping boxes and loading trucks is what will keep us busy as we confirm flights back to our respective homes. 

Bear Seamount Scientists

I have to say this cruise was an overall success! The chief scientist was pleased with how the midwater trawls went which was our goal for the trip.  One thing I have learned is that science is always tricky using gear, handling the seas and weather and we always go out with the best plan of attack and have to remain flexible as operations go on throughout the entire trip.  This science team and the Pisces crew were great to work with and I can't wait until the opportunity arises for us to hit the high seas again!

Even with the best plan of action....

Hi everyone!  

Yesterday morning we switched nets- from the pelagic net to the benthic net to collect organisms from the summit of the seamount.  Yesterday afternoon was the trial where we deployed the benthic net to midwater to make sure it was put towing correctly.  

We deployed the benthic net twice since, once last night and once this morning and both times the net doors crossed which meant that if the net was closed early in the tow, we would get no organisms or late in the tow where we would have animals caught in the net.  As you can see from the picture, we think it was the first option.  If the doors cross, it’s difficult for the crew as they are working in tough conditions on the back deck. It can take hours to realign the nets and cable.  The waves have been consistently 6-10 ft high and they’ve done an excellent job changing nets and getting gear back on board safely.

Benthic net catch

Crew hauling in the benthic net

Seastar collected from benthic trawl

We are in a holding pattern and will try another benthic trawl sometime after midnight once the crew can fix the door cables on the net.  I can't believe tomorrow is already Saturday- time has been moving quickly and we only have a few more days left before we head back to Rhode Island.

Let's talk about fish

Each trawl we complete, the vast majority of the animals are fishes.  All shapes and sizes are represented in this group and the fish experts, Dr. Jon Moore and Dr. Tracey Sutton are kept busy identifying them while Greg Watkins-Colwell takes tissue samples of literally hundreds of fish for various projects. 

Projects include collecting DNA samples for a Biorepository project, creating teaching collections of various fishes for the researchers, collecting quality specimens for museum collections, taking DNA samples for the connectivity project as well as discovering the overall fish biodiversity that is here on Bear Seamount.  This location has been surveyed over the past 12 years and the data collected starts to give us a picture of the deep sea diversity found at this site.

More highlights to follow as weather allows- It's supposed to get a bit dicey as a low passes up tonight so may not have internet until sometime tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Fangtooth and Hatchetfish  Photo: H. Judkins

Deep-sea Anglerfish  Photo: H. Judkins

Kaup's Arrowtooth Eel (aka Slatjaw Cutthroat Eel)  Photo:  H. Judkins

Great Days for Invertebrates

Sorry for the delay in updating you-  we had some higher seas last night and that means no direct TV nor internet-  calmer this morning so here’s what we’ve been up to...

We were back in action starting Monday morning with dropping nets and collecting some amazing deep sea organisms!  Monday night we squid folks felt like we hit the jackpot with one of the shallow night trawls.  We had some rare species to add to our diversity count.

Histioteuthis meleagroteuthis  Photo: H. Judkins

Hyaloteuthis pelagica  Photo:  H. Judkins

Staying with invertebrates, the tows yesterday brought in some we haven’t seen yet-  Three deep sea spiders, 2 deep sea cucumbers, and a Blind Lobster to name a few.  All found near the ocean floor which meant our net got pretty close to the bottom- we were down at 1900 m for that tow. 

Pycnogonid (Sea Spider)  Photo:  H. Judkins

Blind Lobster  Photo:  H. Judkins

Dr. Tammy Frank is our resident crustacean expert on board and she’s been working with her graduate student on crustacean biodiversity as well as preserving animals for a couple of projects to be completed in the lab, one being a connectivity comparison study with the Gulf of Mexico.

Deep Sea Shrimp  Photo:  H Judkins

The connectivity project looks at fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans from this area and will compare the DNA sequences to the same species found in the Gulf of Mexico.  This will tell us if species have broad ranges and intermingle throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic or if there are separate populations of sampled species.  If the DNA sequences of these animals are not close to the same it could mean that the Gulf of Mexico is a closed system for species gene pools. This is important to understand in case any sudden changes to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem occur.

Back to Work

Yesterday we anchored in Cape Cod Bay and at 8am this morning, we pulled anchor and we are headed back out to Bear Seamount to continue our sampling.  Yesterday was spent catching up on data entry and doing work we brought out with us to do.  There was a variety of work being done- homework assignments for the undergrad and graduate students, manuscript editing and writing and some college football watching done by others.

We did see some marine life while anchored and as we head out to the site.  We have seen multiple mola molas (ocean sunfish) which are always a treat to see at the water's surface. These animals are the largest bony fish in the sea and they reach 11ft in length and can weigh up to 5000 lbs as adults.  They are omnivores who feed near the surface.

Ocean Sunfish  Photo:  Save Nature Save Human Blog site

We saw many marine birds as well- Northern Gannets and Shearwaters were the most common ones flying close to the surface of the water.  We also were lucky enough to have some Atlantic White-sided dolphins ride the bow briefly before falling back riding the waves alongside the ship a few hours ago.

 

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin  Photo:  Whale sightings blog site

Tomorrow I will highlight the crustacean and fish projects we are doing-  we've been collecting some beautifully odd-looking animals.  Stay tuned!

Sailing to sheltered waters

Hello from the North Atlantic Ocean-  the science team worked extremely hard yesterday as weather and sea conditions deteriorated throughout the night.  The decision was made to head for Cape Cod Bay this morning and anchor until the front and Hurricane Gonzalo passes by.  We are in route now and should be there by 9 pm tonight.  So, this is the time where the team enters data, does laundry, and catches up on sleep.

As the weather started to turn  Photo: H Judkins

Grad students working away  Photo:  H. .Judkins

Processing samples  Photo:  H. Judkins

Today I would like to introduce you to two graduate students who are on board with us.  They are working towards their masters degree in marine biology at Nova Southeastern University.  Valerie Miranda is working with Dr. Tammy Frank looking into crustacean biodiversity of Bear Seamount.  Alex Marks is working in Dr. Tracey Sutton's lab working with deep pelagic fishes and their reproduction cycles.

"This is my first research cruise and the most exciting thing for me is to see are the animals in person as they come up from the deep sea rather than preserved material I've been working with in the lab." -Alex

"For me, the most exciting part about the cruise is when the nets come up and I see the diversity that exists.  It strengthens my excitement and reminds me of cool science is."  -Valerie

 Such an amazing experience for these students!  They have been working hard and make two perfect additions to the science team on board.  More to come in tomorrow's blog!

What exactly is beneath us?

Hello!  Day 3 out here in the North Atlantic the science team has gotten an efficient routine for working through our deep sea samples.  Everyone is excited to see what comes up in the nets and when they do, the sorting begins!  It takes about 4 hours from the "shallow" tow to go down to 700m and back.  It takes about 5 hours for the deep tows to go down 1500m and back up.  Believe me, we need all the time we can get! 

This is whats below!  Bear Seamount  Photo: H. Judkins

Time to pick the net  Photo: H Judkins

Cephalopod Projects:

There are 3 of us who are working with the cephalopods.  We get the cephalopods that are sorted and we have 3 projects we're doing that include the cephs.  One is obviously the biodiversity of this seamount- who lives here and how many? 

Another is collecting tissue samples of all species possible and preserving them in liquid nitrogen- pretty much a flash freeze for our tissue.  These samples will go to the Biodiversity Repository in Washington D.C. where genomic work will be conducted.  The tricky part for this project is that the animal needs to be in perfect condition which is difficult to get in the nets we're using. 

The project that I am working on involves taking tissue samples as well for DNA sequencing to determine if species in the North Atlantic are the same as in the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico.  If the DNA is different, they could be separate populations with no movement among areas.  If they are the same, that could mean that these animals are one huge population spanning many bodies of water.

Example of some of the cephalopods we find!  Photo: H. Judkins

 More to follow on other projects- we have been finding some great fishes and crustaceans.  We are also keeping an eye on the weather as the sea state is getting a bit lumpy.  We may run into Vinyard Sound if the seas get to rough to get work done.  The Captain and Chief Scientist will make that decision tomorrow morning.  More soon!