Month: March 2020

Vertebrate Ecology Lab bioacousticians publish new rockfish study

Victoria Vasquez

Dr. Alison Stimpert and recent alumna, Brijonnay Madrigal, M.S. from our Vertebrate Ecology Lab, have applied their bioacoustic research skills from marine mammals onto rockfish.

In a recent publication for the The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Stimpert and Madrigal studied noise produced by scientific equipment during fisheries surveys so as to better understand how this noise affected the general soundscape of a rockfish habitat. Anthropogenic noise, in this study, was found to be out of the expected sensitivity range for fish hearing. However, this is a largely unstudied section of fisheries research and in other cases could effect stock assessments. The open access scientific article also includes recording samples you can hear.

Two research proposals from SJSU/MLML’s Ichthyology lab are now Sea Grant funded!

Victoria Vasquez

California Sea Grant today announced funding for a total of 19 new research projects that will take place over the next one to two years. A total of $900,000 will go to 19 research projects led by California investigators and graduate students. We are PROUD to announce that our professor of ichthyology, Dr. Scott Hamilton, is one of the grant recipients. This year for the first time, CA Sea Grant solicited project proposals directly from graduate students. We are therefore doubly PROUD to announce that Dr. Hamilton's student Katherine Neylan, is also a recipient thanks to the graduate fellowship in aquaculture.

Development of techniques for the cultivation of monkeyface pricklebacks as a sustainable alternative to unagi

For this project, Dr. Hamilton is interested in using a local fish, the monkeyface prickleback, as a  farmed and sustainable alternative to unagi (the seafood cuisine of sea urchins). Co principal investigators include our phycology professor, Dr. Mike Graham, as well as, Dr. Luke Gardner both a research faculty member and the CA Sea Grant Aquaculture Specialist.

Eat your greens: Evaluating microalgae supplemented feeds for sablefish nutrition and growth

Ichthyology student, Katherine Neylan will study the nutrition and growth of sablefish given a microalgal diet. Currently, farm-raised fish rely on a diet that is heavily dependent on the use of forage fish in fish meal and fish oil. However, allocating the proper nutrients to a farmed fish via ocean resources can place a significant strain on forage fish stocks. The project therefore seeks to formulate a diet that incorporates algae and meets nutritional needs while also examining the palatability and digestibility of it for sablefish. 

Dr. Dustin Carroll, SJSU/MLML research affiliate, co-authors paper on subsurface glacial melt

Victoria Vasquez

In Geophysical Research Letters, Dr. Dustin Carroll, a SJSU/MLML research affiliate, co-authored the article, Distinct Frontal Ablation Processes Drive Heterogeneous Submarine Terminus Morphology. Using ship-based observations in Greenland fjords, Dr. Carroll and his collaborators mapped the subsurface, three dimensional face of a glacier to better understand how they melt from warming ocean waters.

Image: Small boat work in west Greenland by Dr. Dustin Carroll

Small boat work in west Greenland. Image by Dr. Dustin Carroll

Professor of Invertebrate Ecology, Dr. Amanda Kahn, Studies the Behavior of Benthic Invertebrates of the Abyssal Plain

Victoria Vasquez
For her latest research SJSU/MLML invertebrate ecologist, Dr. Amanda Kahn, reviews time-lapse photographs to study the behavior of deep sea benthic invertebrates. The work of Dr. Kahn and her colleagues from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) demonstrates the ability of some benthic invertebrates to move along the abyssal plain. The below video, shows a glass sponge doing something that can best be described as a 'sneeze'. The sneeze event takes about 30 seconds in the video, but in reality this occurred over a span of 3 days.

Watch a glass sponge sneeze on the deep seafloor!

UPDATE on Response to Coronavirus Outbreak

Victoria Vasquez

MLML is officially CLOSED to ALL PEOPLE until further notice.

DUE TO THE RECENT CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

MOSS LANDING MARINE LABS

IS CLOSED* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

IF YOU HAVE AN URGENT MATTER

PLEASE EMAIL frontdesk@mlml.calstate.edu or call 831-771-4400

M-F 9AM TO 5PM

*MLML classes will continue online. Please reach out to our director, Dr. Jim Harvey,  if you need lab access during this period.

WE APPRECIATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND PATIENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WE TAKE THIS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO REDUCE THE POTENTIAL OF PEOPLE BEING INFECTED WITH COVID-19.

MLML has Suspended ALL COURSES and is CLOSED to the Public

Victoria Vasquez

DUE TO THE RECENT CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK MOSS LANDING MARINE LABS 

HAS SUSPENDED ALL COURSES AND IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

PLEASE CALL OUR FRONT DESK AT 831-771-4400 
M-F 9AM TO 5PM
IF YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT OR REQUIRE ENTRY.

WE APPRECIATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND PATIENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WE TAKE THIS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO REDUCE THE POTENTIAL OF PEOPLE BEING INFECTED WITH COVID 19.

For more information here is the link to SJSU's official statement. 

Dr. Alison Stimpert & almuna Brijonnay Madrigal Publish New Bioacoustics Study on Rockfish

Victoria Vasquez
Dr. Alison Stimpert and recent alumna, Brijonnay Madrigal, M.Sc. of our Vertebrate Ecology lab, take their bioacoustics research from marine mammals to rockfish with a recent publication in the The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. They examined the noise produced by scientific equipment during fisheries surveys, which is largely unstudied yet could affect the habitat of the target species. Dr Stimipert and Madrigal's work showed increases in noise over ambient levels were high, but the majority of sound energy was out of the expected sensitivity range for fish hearing.

Nature Article Honors Dr. John Martin’s Legacy on the 30th Anniversary of his Groundbreaking Iron Hypothesis

Victoria Vasquez

Former director of MLML, Dr. John Martin, was recognized in this article from Nature Research (Publishing) on the 30th anniversary of his revolutionary, Iron Hypothesis. His work was continued by Dr. Kenneth Coale, who also served as director to the labs and is now an emeritus professor of chemical oceanography. From the article:

Thirty years ago this month, John Martin proposed a solution to one of the biggest mysteries of Earth’s climate system: how was nearly one-third of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (about 200 gigatonnes of carbon) drawn into the ocean as the planet entered the most recent ice age, then stored for tens of thousands of years, and released again as the ice sheets melted? 

For more on Dr. Martin and his legacy, here is a piece about him written by Dr. Coale for the 50th Anniversary Blog.

New publication from Professor of Physical Oceanography, Dr. Tom Connolly

Victoria Vasquez

SJSU/MLML professor of physical oceanography, Dr. Tom Connolly, and co-author, Dr. Anthony R. Kricinch of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. Their article, "High-resolution observations of subsurface fronts and alongshore bottom temperature variability over the inner shelf", found that drastic variations in water temperatures occurred often and within short distances along Martha's Vineyard coastline which were caused by several influences, such as bathymetry. In terms of data collection, this information is valuable to scientists because it demonstrates the need to take temperature readings at multiple locations within the study area.

*FYI: This scientific article includes 'Abstract' as well as a 'Plain Language Summary'