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Tales from the Field in Antarctica: Post 3

May 18, 2015September 29, 2020mlmlblog

By Jamie Sibley Yin

Dr. Valerie Loeb is an adjunct professor at Moss Landing Marine Labs. Currently, she functions as an independent Antarctic ecosystem research scientist collaborating with Jarrod Santora of UC Santa Cruz. In April, she headed out to sea with a new NSF funded project entitled "Pilot Study: Addition of Biological Sampling to Drake Passage Transits of the 'LM Gould'". The following are updates from the field by Jamie Sibley Yin who is in charge of communications.

April 19^th, 2015 - Palmer Station and Ice Fish Project

A view of the Lawrence M. Gould (our ship) and Palmer Station.

When I woke up it was hard to believe we were in the same ocean as last night. The water was glassy and glaciers cut with snow-capped black rock towered on either side of us. We were due at Palmer Station in less than an hour. Palmer was the final destination for some folks—but not us. We were going with the ship, wherever she went.

This meant fishing in Gerlache Strait and recovering underwater gliders from Shackleton Ridge.

Palmer far exceeded my expectations for a station on an island off the coast of Antarctica. It’s nestled between light blue glaciers and looks out to the rock-studded ocean. The station feels like a ski cabin, fire roaring in thewood stove and floor to ceiling glass windows. The facilities are excellent and include a sauna and outdoor hot tub. After lunch we walked up the glacier behind the station (think gentle sloping glacier—nothing hard core). We take a radio and write our estimated time of arrival on the board. If you are not back by this time, the rescue team at Palmer must spring into action and come find you. The Antarctic landscape is harsh and far from any medical facilities, thus, every precaution is taken to prevent and minimize injuries.

After our glacier jaunt, dinner was served at the station, everyone from the ship was invited to dine with the station dwellers. All was merry and the food was spectacular: tacos with chile verde, seared fish, heaping bowls of guacamole and honeydew relish. Who knew food could be so wonderful in Antarctica.

I was a bit sad to leave station after basking in its’ glory for only two days, but to sea again it was. This leg of the journey was for the icefish group to catch their fish. They are studying two groups of fish: Nototheniods, an endemic group of Antarctic fish, and Channichthids, also known as icefish. Icefish are unique in that they don’t have hemoglobin, a vital oxygen-binding protein found in the blood of all vertebrates. Their blood is therefore milky white. They are studying the thermo-tolerances of these fish and how they will respond to warmer water temperatures, potentially modeling their response to climate change.

A gravid icefish in the lab at Palmer Station.

They have a lab set up at the station but first they must find their fish. They use pot traps and benthic trawls to fish. The boat goes to specific locations where they have had success catching their fish in previous years. The trawling areas must have sandy bottoms (so the net doesn’t become snagged on underwater pinnacles). The pots are deployed in strings of four. They are left out for 24 hours after which we retrieve them and the fish inside. The icefish are strange-looking creatures, with flat elegant mouths and large sentient eyes they look more like crocodiles than fish.

Kristin, one of the PIs of the icefish project getting ready to unload a fish.

Our zooplankton sampling has been put on hold until the fish crew is done. We are still sorting through our samples and attempting to identify all our critters, including some very small copepods that are barely a few millimeters in length. It will be interesting to see how their composition changes when we sample closer to the continent.

Tales from the Field in Antarctica: Post 2

May 4, 2015September 29, 2020mlmlblog

By Jamie Sibley Yin

April 9^th, 2015 - Northern Drake Passage

Checking out one of the critters with the microscope.

Our first net tow scheduled for 2am was cancelled. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was nervous about sorting and identifying species of zooplankton I had never seen before, staying up late into the night, and working with no end in sight.

The tow didn’t actually get cancelled, but got pushed back to 9am. We eventually dropped our net in the water at 11am. The net we use is called a Isaacs Kidd Midwater Trawl and is a vast swath of tough black nylon suspended by cord that hangs from a large metal hook. The whole contraption looks like an off-kilter puppet. The marine technicians are the ones that actually deploy our nets. It’s time. The ship slows to a crawl, the net slithers off the back deck into the icy waters. Half an hour later the cod end is delivered to us in a bucket. The cod end is a thick white plastic container with mesh holes. It’s attached at the end of the net and the unfortunate critters that don’t swim away are trapped there. The sample is a pink wriggling gelatinous blob. We dump it into another container and add seawater. Copepods, krill, amphiphods buzz around the dish, relieved to be in salty water once again. The salps, jelly fish, and chaetognaths are already dead. We pick them out with tweezers and count them. After sorting, counting, and recording all organisms in the sample except for the tiny copepods we are done. The stations were we sample are five hours apart going full speed on the boat. We have one hour to recuperate before the next station.

The marine technicians pulling in our net, an Isaacs Kidd Midwater.

We sampled six of the nine stations planned for the southbound transit. It was a brutal two days as we processed samples around the clock, catching two, maybe three hours of sleep when we could. I was not enthusiastic about missing my precious sleep, but the night samples were filled with loads of small shiny fish, called myctophids, which were so cool I soon forgot my lack of sleep.

The ship journey overall was quite calm except for our very last day in transit. Waves pummeled the side of the boat and splashed my window on the third floor, snow flew sideways outside, it was difficult to even stand without bracing myself against a wall. My productivity on the ship fell to zero as I all my focus turned to just functioning. Peering through a microscope and trying to sort krill is no easy task when the water in your petri dish sloshes from side to side every time the boat goes through a wave. Books and DVDs hurled themselves from the shelves in the lounge. People slid off the leather couches as the boat continued to rock. It felt like a fun house—one that was not so fun and that you couldn’t leave.

Tales from the Field in Antarctica: Post 1

April 20, 2015October 23, 2020mlmlblog

By Jamie Sibley Yin

April 8^th, 2015 - First Entry

My chair sways gently, a jackhammer-like sound comes from an undisclosed location, men with white beards and black wire rimmed glasses stare into their laptops. Where am I? I’m somewhere in the Straits of Magellan, en route to Antarctica.

Hi, my name’s Jamie and I’m going to share my journey to, and my time in Antarctica with you all. I’m a recent marine biology graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and I’m working with Valerie Loeb of Moss Landing Marine Labs on her ecosystem survey of Drakes Passage.

Today was the first day of real work--which I have been eagerly anticipating. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but, then again, I haven’t known what to expect this whole time. There was lots of back and forth, running in and out of the ship. Tying down the microscopes and lights putting away boxes of petri dishes, pipettes, and one liter glass jars.

Outside the cool wind blows and the sea delivers unexpected blasts of seawater to my face. It’s cold, but not unbearably so. We have been issued special ECW (extreme cold weather) gear, which consists of everything you need to survive on an Antarctic boat including steel-toed boots (always needed on deck) and lined rubber gloves similar to the ones my mother uses to wash dishes.

The bird and marine mammal observer for our project, Mike, said he saw a minke whale and various birds including a giant petrel. I visited him in the bridge where he does his observations behind panoramic windows through a large pair of binoculars. The bridge is on the fourth level of the ship where the captain and mates orchestrate the movement of our ship, the Lawrence M. Gould or LMG. All I could spot were some birds that looked like small sea gulls (actually Antarctic fulmars), and lots of choppy waves. On the horizon I saw a snowy island, which, upon further inspection proved to be a cruise ship.

I’m still getting my “sea legs” as they say, and after breakfast I felt like regurgitating the eggs and bacon I had just eagerly consumed. But after seeing a whale, some Peale’s dolphins, and two penguins, my on-the-verge seasickness had left me. It was time to take a nap in preparation for our 2am zooplankton net tows.

Jamie standing in front of the US's National Science Foundation's icebreaker and research vessel, the Laurence M. Gould, named after an American scientist.

Project summary by Dr. Valerie Loeb

Overview

Changes in the Southern Ocean due to climate warming are expected to be visible in ecosystem dynamics. Analysis of ADCP records from supply transits of Drake Passage by the “L.M. Gould”, 1999-present, indicate that underway observations of the upper ocean scattering layer can serve as a proxy to monitor these changes. Recent results indicate that interannual variability in backscattering strength (i.e., quantity of responsible organisms) is correlated to climate indices. The interpretation of these ecological changes is severely limited because the sound scatterers have not been identified and linkages to upper trophic level predators are unknown. This project adds biological sampling to the “L.M. Gould” time series with the expectation that ADCP data, calibrated with net-tow data and depth-referenced underwater videography and predator distribution, can be used to extend the spatio-temporal coverage of in situ sampling in Drake Passage.

Intellectual Merit

This proposal provides a novel approach on how to make use of long term ADCP records in identifying those organisms responsible for seasonal, interannual and longer term variability observed in ADCP records collected since 1999. Net tows accompanied by videography during spring, autumn and winter periods will provide information on the abundance and taxonomic-size composition of organisms likely to be dominant sound scatterers within the 3 biogeographic zones of Drake Passage. The distribution and densities of distinct zooplankton assemblages and backscattering strength will be linked to seabird/mammal predator populations to illuminate ecologically important areas (i.e., characterized by high trophic transfer), which may be candidates for Important Bird Areas (BirdLife International). Establishment of “bottom-up” trophic connections enable future integrated assessments of climate variability on upper trophic level predators. Examination of ADCP backscatter variability and trends in southern Drake Passage with respect to zooplankton data independently collected here from 1994-2009 should indicate organisms underlying past ADCP trends and cycles relative climate indices (e.g., ENSO). Successful implementation of this project may initiate spatially and temporally coherent biological sampling extending over a sufficient number of years into the future that would provide statistically robust data sets on the species composition and abundance of zooplankton and seabird/mammal populations essential for assessment of significant ecosystem change in Drake Passage associated with a warming Southern Ocean.

Our first field season is October 27-November 22, 2014 (Austral spring) and the second is in April-May, 2015 (autumn).

Marine and Green

March 17, 2015October 23, 2020mlmlblog

To the End of the Earth (for Kelp!)

March 16, 2015October 23, 2020mlmlblog

By Heather Kramp, Ichthyology Lab

Chile is dotted with volcanoes, and we — Puerto Montt is surrounded by farmland, volcanoes, and fjords, with the Andes looming the distance, making for amazing views on our flights in and out. Photo: Heather Fulton-Bennett

In early January of this year, I boarded a plane bound for Puerto Montt, Chile. It was my first time to South America and my first time crossing the equator. Though Chile is an amazing vacation destination, I was headed there for an even better purpose - research! Myself and five other MLML graduate students were fortunate to have the opportunity to take a ten-day intensive field course at the Universidad de Los Lagos in Puerto Montt. The course, Global Kelp Ecosystems, is taught every three years in partnership with MLML and the Universidad de Los Lagos. Five instructors co-teach the course, including Drs. Michael Graham and Scott Hamilton of MLML, Dr. Alejandro Bushman from the Universidad de Los Lagos, and Drs. Silvain Faugeron and Alejandro Pérez-Matus from the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile. In addition to MLML students, four Chilean graduate students and one French graduate student studying in Chile also took the course.

The 2015 Global Kelp Systems class in Pucatrihue, Chile.

After a day-and-a-half of travel with an unbelievable amount of luggage (including dive gear) we all arrived in Chile.

Are you a Friend of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories?

March 4, 2015October 21, 2020mlmlblog

By Angela Zepp

It’s true that many people in the Monterey Bay area are “friends” of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in some way or another. Maybe they are alumni or maybe a current MLML student tutors their child. However, there is a Friends of MLML organization that has been around since 1994. This organization has been serving the lab by garnering support from the local community, fundraising for student scholarships, and connecting MLML to the community through outreach and events for more than 10 years.

Lucky winners of the student scholarships.

What does it mean to be a Friend of MLML? Aside from the gratification of knowing your support is helping fuel student scholarships and general lab activities, there are also some great benefits!

For one, all Friends of MLML receive the MLML Wave magazine. The lab is constantly busy in novel scientific discoveries and events and there is always a lot going on. This is a great way to keep up

Friends of MLML are invited to attend exclusive Friends tours of the MLML facility lead by students, to get a firsthand look at our beautiful facility.

A student lead Tour through MLML — A student led tour through MLML

Another perk of being a Friend of MLML is a mailed invitation to each of our Evening Community Lectures which feature local scientists eager to share their research with the general public. Previous topics have included saving trapped gray whales working with white sharks, and even voyages to Antarctica. These events are open to anyone wanting to learn and they are free for Friends of MLML. For those attending who are not Friends of MLML, the recommended donation is only $8.

Click here if you’re interested in becoming a Friend of MLML or email Friends@mlml.calstate.edu if you have any further questions. We hope to see you around!

Ichthyology, the R/V Point Sur, and McDonalds

February 22, 2015October 21, 2020mlmlblog

Do you know where your seafood comes from?

January 23, 2015October 21, 2020mlmlblog

By Jessica Jang

With oceans covering over 75% of Earth’s surface, nearly one billion people depend on seafood for sustenance. As more people continue to add seafood into their diets, our seafood resources are becoming depleted. Some seafood such as bluefin tuna are very valuable, resulting in unmanaged fisheries. To keep up with the demands and profits, products are purposely being mislabeled in hopes that the consumers will continue buying these products. Today, around 25 – 75% of the seafood we consume is mislabeled. This is an alarming issue, as seafood fraud encourages increased illegal fishing activities and impairs consumers right choices in seafood and can impact our health.

Seafood is an important source of food for many people, especially in Japan. Here is the famous Tsukiji Fish Market known for selling high quality bluefin tuna; photo credit to Japan-Guide

SCUBA, it’s to dive for!

December 23, 2014October 7, 2020mlmlblog

Imagine you are a scientist about to begin researching the density of a type of Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. Let’s pretend you have already spent hours and hours doing the background research necessary and now you are tasked with collecting the data. You create a list of all the tools you’ll need; meter tape, data sheets, flagging tape etc, and now you’re ready to go into the field to sample. A quick drive up to northern California will put you right in the middle of the Redwood forest where you can easily collect your data. Now picture that your next project is to collect the density of blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus. It sounds pretty similar to your previous study but with an added challenge; your site is underwater. This added challenge will require a completely different method to collect your data. You’ll need to actually see these rockfish in order to count them, but how?

Things that go “bump” in the ocean

December 17, 2014October 8, 2020mlmlblog

By Jackie Lindsey, Vertebrate Ecology Lab

When Jacques-Yves Cousteau gave the world its first video footage of the ocean in color, he named this documentary The Silent World. Perhaps as a result, most of us think of the ocean as a quiet refuge, punctuated by occasional humpback whale songs or clicks from a passing pod of dolphins. In recent years, scientists have dipped microphones into the water and discovered that this could not be further from the truth.

Movie poster from documentary Le Monde du Silence

Sound travels four to five times faster in water than in air, making it an efficient communication medium for ocean-dwelling animals. Fish larvae track the sounds of a coral reef to locate this source of shelter and food. Shrimp stun their prey and defend themselves using a noisy popping sound emitted by their pincers. Even baby sea turtles produce high pitched calls in their nests, possibly to coordinate hatching or their rush to the sea.

Baby leatherback turtles emerging from a nest. Photo credit: Oceana/Tim Calver

In some marine species small adjustments in pitch and tone signal specific information about breeding or foraging. Male bearded seals in the Arctic alert nearby females that they are ready to mate by producing long trills and whistles as they surface. These vocalizations could also indicate the breeding fitness, or quality, of the male to his potential mates. Bearded seals mate far from land; without these broadcast calls, two receptive partners might never find one another. Listen to one of these calls here.

Marine scientists have only recently begun to conduct research on ocean sounds, and we still don’t know the origin of many noises recorded in the marine environment. A forty year old acoustic mystery was solved this year when an Antarctic minke whale was recorded making the “bio-duck” sound. Listen to the bizarre quacking sound, first recorded by navy sonar operators, here. While we finally know the source of this sound, we still don’t know how or why it is produced. We are left with more questions than answers, but for marine scientists this uncertainty only makes the emerging field of acoustics more exciting.

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