Author: mlmlblog

by Erin Loury Ichthyology Lab

Your $10 could solve science illiteracy!  OK, it would at least be a step in the right direction.   Why? Because $10 (and change) will pay for one subscription to Current Science magazine for Mrs. L’s class in Michigan.  “Breaking Science News” is the last project we need to fund to wrap up the Ocean Bloggers Ocean in the Classroom Initiative! The project only needs $177 more to bring exciting, current science to the hands of low-income students.   Your $10 may just seem like a drop in the bucket,  but the great thing about $10 is that you probably won’t miss it.   In fact, Dr. M at the Deep Sea News is so sure you can spare $10 that bad things will happen otherwise.

Still not convinced?  Well here’s my “Let me tell you why I gave $10” spiel.  I gave $10 to this project simply because I think communicating science is just as important as doing science itself.  We won’t be able to keep doing all the cool research we do if the population at large doesn’t understand why it’s important, or why they should care (or fund us).

Getting my hands on a similar type  of current events glossy when I was in 6th grade  was one of those world-expanding events that totally turned me on to learning.   Help make science tangible, relevant and fun for these kids in Michigan by showing them it’s part of their world!

OK, that’s my soap box.  Bottom line: even penny-pinching grad students can spare $10 for a worthy cause.   The Ocean Bloggers in The Classroom Initiative has been a smashing success so far, with 7 out of 8 great projects fully funded already (chest waders, coral reef flip-books, a salt water invert tank, and more)!  We are just $177 short.    So drop in and drop that $10, $20 or $200 today and make a difference!

by Shelby Boyer, Invertebrate Zoology Lab

Timing is everything when it comes to coral spawning – spawning occurs once a year and is when corals synchronize the release of bundles of eggs and sperm into the water.   In one of my first  weeks in Panama, I was invited to help two coral researchers, Dr. Nancy Knowlton and Dr. Don Levitan, with an experiment on coral spawning.

Dr. Knowlton and Dr. Levitan have been studying a reef on the Caribbean side of Panama for eight years and have found that the colonies will spawn within minutes of the exact same time every year. By releasing their eggs and sperm at the same time, coral gametes have a good chance of coming in contact with one another for successful fertilization. Different species spawn at different times so that they have the best chance of only encountering eggs and sperm that they are compatible with.

To study this phenomenon, I went with a group of about 8 researchers, both professors and graduate students. We hopped on boats just before sunset and headed out to our field site at in island about a mile off of the coast of Panama. The spawning occurs at night so special preparations were necessary for us to dive in the dark and see them.  All of the divers had flashlights but these only help you see a short distance. Before dark we got in the water and set up a line of glowsticks underwater so that we would be able to orient ourselves in the dark. From the boat it looked like an underwater rave!

When the time drew near, we all donned our scuba gear and each went to a section of the reef where we watched for the spawning. For the first 20 minutes or so, we just waited…..and waited….and waited….

Soon, I started to notice some of the coral polyps getting swollen on top and some of the bundles showing through the mouth of the coral. This is called the setting phase. Within 5-10 minutes of setting, the colonies released all of their eggs at the same time in a big sheet. The little yellow bundles floated slowly to the surface where they would pop open to release the eggs and sperm in a big gamete soup! At the same time that the corals started to release the bundles, other activities started on the reef. Worms, seastars, fishes and other organisms appeared and took advantage of an easy, slowly floating meal. I even felt little nibbles on my hands (nothing painful or that broke the skin) from so many hungry predators in the water. The presence of all these predators could be another reason for synchronous spawning: if you put thousands of bundles in the water at the same time, there are just too many for predators to eat.

It was a really exciting opportunity for me to accompany these researchers and I learned so much about coral spawning myself. I was able to make really positive connections with the professors and other graduate students that I will most likely see again as I continue my career as a coral researcher. Stay tuned over the next few months for updates on my own work.

by Amanda Kahn, Invertebrate Zoology and Molecular Ecology Lab

A major part of science is collaboration, because some projects require more effort, resources, or people than one lab can handle.  Collaborating allows us to tackle bigger projects and tasks than what would otherwise be possible.  The folks at Deep Sea News organized a collaboration with many other marine science blogs to sponsor support of K-12 marine science education.  Deep Sea News, the Drop-In, Southern Fried Science, Blogfish, Oyster’s Garter, Echinoblog, Cephalopodcast, The New Blue, The Right Blue, Natural Patriot, and Malaria, Bedbugs, Sealice, and Sunsets have all banded together to support Donors Choose, a website that allows teachers to ask donors to fund special projects for their classes.  We worked together and chose some of the marine science projects most in need, and now we’d like to collaborate with you to get those projects funded!  Check out the list of projects here: Ocean Bloggers Oceans in the Classroom Initiative.

Ichthyology student Katie Schmidt is currently aboard the Research Vessel Point Sur, helping a team of scientists study deep sea animals of Monterey Bay.  The team includes Dr. Jeff Drazen from the University of Hawaii, and Michelle Kay, a school teacher who is keeping a ship-board blog about life on a research cruise.   Check out her blog for great pictures of trawls full of deep-sea fish and invertebrates, as well as some cool underwater camera shots!

by Shelby Boyer, Invertebrate Zoology Lab

Believe it or not, heading off to an exotic, remote field site is not uncommon for scientists. For me, this site is the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute located on the Pacific Ocean side of Panama. I came all the way here to study corals and their interactions with endosymbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that live inside of coral tissues. This relationship only occurs in warm, clear tropical waters near the equator.

Zooxanthellae, like all other algae, make energy from sunlight and pass some of that energy to the coral they live inside of. In return the zooxanthellae are provided with a place to live and some nutrients from the coral. When there is a positive benefit for both organisms, scientists call it a mutualism. I am just getting started on my research here and will be updating the blog as it gets going!

By Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab

If you’re not a good morning person, think carefully before considering any type of marine field work.  Whether it’s to catch a good low tide to sample an otherwise submerged tidepool, or to squeeze in as much fishing time on the water before the afternoon wind, it’s not unusual to start a summer morning of field work at 4 a.m.  I definitely gain a new respect for weather and tides when operating on nature’s schedule – and maybe lose a bit in the beauty sleep department.
There are other consequences: I start thinking about lunch around 9:30 a.m., and bed starts sounding awfully good at 8 p.m.   Although I often wish I had a crowbar to pry open my eyelids that early in the morning, the pre-dawn start can have its benefits too.  Such as watching the sunrise light up the ocean.   Suddenly, the field work I was cursing not two hours before becomes the luckiest job the world – and I remember just why I wanted to do marine science in the first place.