Author: mlmlblog

May the Flow Be With You!

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By Scott Gabara, Phycology Lab

Circulating seawater systems are very important for marine laboratories as they need to keep organisms from the ocean alive and use the water to aid in conducting experiments.  We have recently had our Moss Landing Marine Laboratories offshore intake upgraded and we went on a dive to inspect its current status.  The large meshed cylinder sucks in water and supplies our lab with flowing seawater.  We routinely inspect and clean the surface of the grates and the structure. 

One of our MLML intakes rising from the sand.
One of our MLML intakes rising from the sand.

It is interesting to see what invertebrates recruit or move onto the structure.  With sand surrounding us we create a small oasis of life concentrated on the hard substrate.  One of the issues we have to deal with is that seawater contains invertebrate larvae and some species will settle on the inside the pipes and eventually constrict and clog our flow, similar to plaque buildup in an artery.  We have to force a Pigging Inspection Gauge (PIG), a tool which is usually a piece of cylindrical foam, through the inside of the pipe to clean and clear the walls.  It's great we can get routine cleanings so our seawater system continues flowing and our lab doesn't have a "heart attack"!

Diana Steller inspects our intake line.
Diana Steller, Dive Safety Officer, inspects our intake line.

Beach Wrack: What is it and why is it here?

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By Jarred Klosinski, Phycology Lab

If you’re like me and take long walks on the beach, you may have noticed more mounds of algae along the shore. These mounds are called beach wrack and can contain kelps as well as seagrasses. Other types of seaweeds including red and green algae are also found, but not as often.

beachw1
Kelp wrack composed of the giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and the feather boa kelp (Egregia menziesii) at an incoming tide near Monterey. Photo credit: Jarred Klosinski

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Ballast water and epifluorescence microscopy

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by Liz Lam, Biological Oceanography Lab

The Golden Bear Facility, home to MLML's ballast treatment testing team
The Golden Bear Facility, home to MLML's ballast treatment testing team

Ballast water treatment and testing is a big focus here in the Biological Oceanography lab, and this is no exception even when it comes to class projects.  Last semester, I started a project aiming to improve one of our counting techniques.  I’d previously written about IMO’s restriction to 10 organisms per 1,000 liters of discharged ballast water and counting zooplankton under a microscope in order to check for these results.  But when it comes to even smaller organisms, such as algae and other even tinier phytoplankton, different methods are called for.

We already have a pretty clever way of quantifying such microscopic organisms by using a few chemical and optical tricks.  The first key ingredient is fluorescein diacetate, or FDA.  One of the special features of this molecule is that it can only be cleaved by certain proteins in live cells.  Once FDA is split, what remains is fluorescein, a compound that glows bright green when excited under blue light. We can then use an epifluorescence microscope to both shine the right wavelength of light and magnify a sample in order to count any green organisms.  If it glows green, then it means it’s alive!  This allows us to quantify the number of live organisms that are extremely small and difficult to see.

Epifluorescence microscope and image capture software
Epifluorescence microscope and image capture software

Unfortunately, even such a clever method has a few key disadvantages.  First of all, these water samples must be counted in a 3D well-plate, making it very difficult to find organisms at different depths.  This is like trying to count chickpeas in an Olympic sized swimming pool!  Secondly, fluorescein eventually leaks out of cells, so these samples have to be counted immediately after they’ve been treated and they can’t be preserved over time.  That’s a bit too time-consuming and inconvenient for ballast treatment testers.

An algal culture glowing green with fluorescein under an epifluorescence microscope
An algal culture glowing green with fluorescein under an epifluorescence microscope

What I investigated at the end of last semester is the possibility of preparing samples on flat slides.  This would eliminate the depth-of-focus issue and as a bonus, allow us to take photographs of known volumes of samples.  I also experimented with a variety of fixation methods, or ways of preserving the fluorescein inside cells so that it would stay there for an extended period of time.  Surprisingly, microwaving the slides seemed to do a fairly good job of keeping the fluorescence within the cells.  These findings have given me an exciting jumping-off point for this semester!

Fukushima – is the ocean safe?

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 By Jackie Lindsey, Vertebrate Ecology Lab

If you are a marine scientist, you may have had the same experience that I did over the recent holiday break - all of my relatives want to know if I think our seafood is safe from Fukushima radiation.  If you aren't a marine scientist, you and I may still have something in common - this topic is not my current focus of study and I will (probably) never be one of the "experts" on this matter.  However,  I have started to do some extra research.  I may not be an expert on food safety inspections or the dispersal of different types of radiation, but I do have some ideas about where to look when I don't know all of the answers.  This is what I told my relatives:

Let's do some research!

If you want to become informed about Fukushima radiation, its dispersal and dilution in the ocean, and the safety of seafood caught here on the US Pacific coast, I have some links for you.  Many of these links come from one of my favorite blogs to follow:

Deep Sea News
deepseanews.com

They often invite guest experts to blog their opinions on topical issues, and they compile and analyze news and journal articles about some of the latest and greatest in ocean science.  They answer commenter's questions and are also a little bit snarky.  (Both are appealing to me as a reader.)

The links I promised:

A good overview

An example of a misunderstood publication on the subject

An explanation of some confusing radiation-speak

Testing some California sand

Tuna safety

A PNAS article for you technical-paper junkies

An expert's review of sea star wasting and the radiation scare

But:

Reading Rainbow
(Reading Rainbow)

Stay informed!  Science updates all the time, journalists don't always understand the findings they report, and our news is filled with "facts" to keep you glued to the screen until the next segment.  So "Don't Panic", but do your research! For the time being, it looks like I can continue to enjoy low-radiation-risk cioppino by the bucketful. 

The Great Risso’s Haul Out!

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By Jessica Jang

On Sunday 22nd of December, I had the opportunity to participate with the Marine Mammal Center and help move a Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus ) carcass at Breakwater Cove. Risso's dolphins are distinguished by their bulbous head and white body which are heavily scarred from teeth raking between dolphins, as well as markings from their prey such as squid. They are a common species of dolphin found here in Monterey.

This particular individual was found washed up near Monterey and took more than 12 people to move this animal onshore away from the waves. We had to set tarps to make it easier to move it. Risso's dolphins weigh around 600 to 1,000 pounds and can reach a length of around 13 feet, making them one of the larger dolphins.

However, the area where we planned to move the dolphin was too steep and we lacked the manpower or the equipment to move the animal smoothly to the truck. So while we waited in the warm sunny weather on what to do next, we tethered the dolphin with rope to prevent the waves from dragging the dolphin back to sea.

So after waiting for an hour, we decided to have the harbor master tow the dolphin back into the water and transport to place to pick the dolphin up with a forklift. Took us two tries to push the dolphin back into the water. The first attempt the rope broke from the stress. Also timing of the waves were not in our favor most of the time, so we have to wait till the perfect wave came to push the carcass back into the water. Overall, I had fun! Never thought I would be able to see a Risso's up close and personal! Necropsy will be conducted soon, so hopefully we'll figure out what was the cause of death.

Kenji: Cruising with an ROV

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By Jackie Lindsey, Vertebrate Ecology Lab

First year students at Moss Landing Marine Labs are encouraged to seize every opportunity to get involved in research.  That is just what Kenji Soto is doing (December 7th-23rd) as a volunteer on the Research Vessel Atlantis.  He is helping Sam Hulme (MLML) and Geoff Wheat (MBARI adjunct researcher) with a project titled: Collaborative Research: Discovery, sampling, and quantification of flows from cool yet massive ridge-flank hydrothermal springs on Dorado Outcrop, eastern Pacific Ocean.  And the really cool part? Kenji is blogging as he goes!  Follow (HERE!) his progress, his discoveries, his photos and videos, and the delicious food he is enjoying while a member of the research team on RV Atlantis.

Kenji reports: " The [project] purpose is to map the Dorado Outcrop at the 1 meter scale using an AUV, look for warm (5-30 degrees C) hydrothermal springs, test the flow rate at the springs, analyze water extracted from the sediment for microbial communities, and analyze the pore water coming directly from the springs for chemical anomalies...Another part of the project is to visit the CORK (Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit), which are pressure data loggers that have been placed in silos under the seafloor.  These data loggers store information about seismic activity.  I believe that the hope is that these CORKs will be a "first-line-of-defense" warning system for earthquakes.  One of the main reasons for the trip is that the PI's believe that the hydrothermal vent springs here could have a significant effect on the ocean's heat budget.  Even though they are a low temperature spring, they believe that the springs are like a "fire-hose" and could flow at a rate on the order of 1000s of liters/second."

Atlantis' track www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8231
Atlantis' track www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8231

His favorite parts of the cruise so far? "My favorite part is learning to build all of the sampling gear, standing watch in the ROV van because I get to see what goes into piloting an ROV and seeing the ocean at 3000 meters...I also enjoy seeing the full process of how the samples we are taking are processed.  I've gotten to [do] some of it, up to the chemical analysis stuff...[I'm] not doing the collecting, which is done by the ROV.  But I get to do the middle part of the mud and pore water collecting process. "

Extra cool stuff? "There are 2 teachers on-board who are doing a blog too.  Since their main duties are updating the blog, they are doing a great job...people should definitely check it out: http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/dorado/"

Kenji Soto
Kenji Soto

Things to remember for your next cruise? "You should never bring homework on a cruise.  You want as much free time as possible so you can complete your ship duties as well as having some time carved out for just relaxing and having fun."

Happy travels, Kenji!  We hope to hear more from you when you get back!

Nitrox and Boat Dives – Wrapping Up MLML’s Fall Science Diving Course

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By Heather Fulton-Bennett, Phycology Lab

MLML's fall AAUS Science Diving course is coming to an end, and what better way finish than with a pair of boat dives from our own R/V John Martin.

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The R/V John H. Martin from a diver's view (Photo: Scott Gabara)

As part of the course, students get certified in Nitrox diving, a gas mix with a higher percentage of oxygen than normal air. This mix allows for longer bottom times and decreased surface intervals, which is a huge advantage for conducting research underwater.

Last week we were lucky enough to have our last dives of the semester in Carmel Bay, at Pescadero Wash Rock and outer Copper Roof House.

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Kathryn along the Wash Rock wall (Photo: Diana Steller)
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Marissa and Lindsay examine turf algae and benthic invertebrates (Photo: Scott Gabara)
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Thanks to all who made it an amazing semester!

Lights Out, Dives In

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By Scott Gabara

Recently the marine science diving class here at Moss Landing Marine Labs went down to Monterey's Breakwater to conduct a sunset and night dive.  The first dive was to a rocky outcrop called the Metridium field.  The Metridium are white plumose anemones that look like fluffy cauliflowers and filter particulates out of the water.  It is a stunning sight with so many anemones.

Martin and Metridium
Martin and Metridium

The second dive was conducted by nightfall.  Every diver had a glow-stick to better locate their buddy and stay in visual contact in the dark.  Each diver has a waterproof light, it takes practice to communicate underwater let alone now using a flashlight.  We saw different species like red octopus which were out foraging and rockfish that seemed to hover almost half asleep in the water column.  It is interesting to see these changes that happen as the rocky reef changes from day to night.

Sunset Diving with Martin Guo, Paul Clerkin and Scott Miller (left to right)
Sunset Diving with Martin Guo, Paul Clerkin and Scott Miller (left to right)

Small Boats, Great Resource: Student Small Boats Course

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By: Scott Miller, Ichthyology Lab

Nautical charts and tools to plan a route. We'll be navigating the high seas in no time!
Nautical charts and tools to plan a route. We'll be navigating the high seas in no time!

One of the perks of being an MLML student is that we get to utilize the lab's fantastic diving and boating resources - provided we get proper training first.  While "training" sounds like a drag, it can actually be quite a lot of fun!  For example, the lab recently offered a course to get checked out on the small boats.  Getting checked out on the small boats allows us to take the boats out for thesis-related work and other lab-approved reasons, so a number of students met up at the harbor to get certified.  After confirming that we had previously taken our online boating safety course, we began learning about nautical navigation and the basics of an outboard motor.

After learning all about the boats and procedures in the morning, after lunch it was time to take to the sea.  We separated into two smaller groups and went out on our Boston whalers.  The helpful staff at Marine Ops guided us as we practiced maneuvering in the bay.  Although I have boating experience on lakes, driving in-and-out of ocean swells was quite different and I had a blast learning the techniques.  After braving the ocean, we headed back into the harbor to practice docking.  While there wasn't too much boat traffic inside the harbor, we still had to drive carefully to avoid the otters and seals that are abundant in the area.  We each took turns docking into different spots and under different conditions, then we took the boats back to the dock and cleaned everything up.  Spending a beautiful afternoon on the water got at least one student excited about having the opportunity to use the boats more frequently to help with his future research!

Heading home to the Moss Landing harbor. While we technically could have asked for better weather, it really just would have been greedy.
Heading home to the Moss Landing harbor. While we technically could have asked for better weather, it really just would have been greedy.

Happy Halloween!

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By Melissa Nehmens

This time of year offers the chance to provide a romanticized explanation of autumn on the central coast. I could explain how here at Moss Landing the weather is turning colder, the leaves are changing color, and the storm clouds bring a scented promise of the rains to come.  However, we have more important things to discuss: Halloween!

This past weekend was Moss Landing Marine Labs’ annual Halloween Party. Everyone came in costumes and as part of the tradition, each lab or group brought their pumpkin to be judged by the student body in the pumpkin carving contest. Though officially there was only one winner, I think everyone did a great job. What do you think?

assorted pumpkins
Front Desk, Biological Oceanography lab, Shop, and PSRC pumpkins
scuba pumpkin
Scuba Pumpkin

sponge bob pumpkin
Plankton is finally bigger than Spongebob
Voting for best pumpkin!
Voting for best pumpkin!
Photo Credits: Catherine Drake

Halloween, however isn’t just about carving pumpkins, it also calls for sweet treats and telling tales of the unusual and scary! Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins may be the usual topic of conversation when talking about things that go bump in the night, but my favorite scary creatures to discuss are those truly unusual, and of course, found in the ocean!

One of my favorite “scary” species is the Goblin Shark. Though it is no threat to humans, as it lives very deep, those jaws are a bit spooky!

Goblin Shark
Goblin Shark Photo Credit: George Burgess

Another favorite spooky creature of mine is a Bone Worm. These worms feed on skeletons of dead whales! How’s that for an evolutionary adaption?

Bone worm
Bone worm Photo Credit: National Geographic

And last, but certainly not least is the Blobfish. While in water the blobfish has a fairly normal appearance, but out of water – due to low tissue density – its appearance is a bit unusual!

Blobfish
Blobfish Photo Credit: Mother Nature Network

Happy Halloween!