NOAA Teacher at Sea – Page 62 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 1, 2019July 2, 2019

Karah Nazor: Myctophids, Rockfish, eDNA, and Interview with NOAA Lab Operation Officer Keith Hanson, June 1, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Karah Nazor

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

May 29 – June 7, 2019

Mission: Rockfish Recruitment & Ecosystem Assessment

Geographic Area: Central California Coast

Date: June 1, 2019

Game Plan and Trawling Line: Four trawls on the San Miguel Line in the Channel Islands.

Time Recap: 5:00 PM: Wake up and then Squat Challenge. 5:30 PM: Dinner. 8:30 PM: Report to fish lab. Learn how to count to ten in French. Kristin sang France’s National Anthem (she learned in 7th grade). 10 PM: First Haul. 3AM: Kaila used her face flip app to turn us into the opposite sex and it was the most hilarious thing ever. 4AM: Latte made by Kaila. A lot of laughing. 6:20 AM: Finish fish lab clean up. 6:21 AM: Still heavily caffeinated so Team Red Hats headed up to the flying dock to watch the sunrise. The sea was very smooth and glassy as we approached Conception Point. We saw several dolphins and a humpback whale. 7:00 AM: To the Galley for a breakfast of blueberry pancakes. 7:45 AM: Lights out.

Part 1: How to distinguish between myctophid species in our catches

In this survey, we are conducting trawls at 30 meters, which is technically the epipelagic zone, so why do we catch deep sea creatures? Many deep sea creatures, such as myctophids, participate in a daily vertical migration where they swim up into the upper layer of the ocean at night, likely following the migration of zooplankton on which they feed. Myctophids are also known as lantern fish or lampfish and they feature photophore organs which bioluminesce. Around 250 species of mcytophids have been described. Graduate student Ily Iglesias is saving a lot of the myctophidae we catch on this cruise for her dissertation work.

Tonight most of the catches were small in volume (filling about 10% of a blue bucket), but had good species density. The catches consisted mostly of salps, anchovies and several species of myctophids. It is important to learn how to properly distinguish between the various myctophids in our catches. This is a daunting task for the novice fish sorter, such as myself, since these fish are small (1 to 2 inches long) and appear very similar to each other. It is worth noting that most of the myctophids lose their skin (scales) during the trawling operation. This exposes the underlying pink muscle tissue, however, their photophores remain intact. Fish collected in a bongo net deployment typically have better preserved scales.

Northern lampfish, Stenobrachius leucopsarus, have 3 photophores in a slanted line under the lateral line while the similar looking Mexican lampfish, Triphoturus mexicanus, have more streamlined bodies and have 3 photophores on the lateral line. Many of the Northern lumpfish had a heart parasite which is evident in the photo below. California lanternfish, Symbiophorus californiensis, are typically larger fish and have a distinguished lateral line. California headlight fish, Diaphus theta, have two photophores “headlights” on the front on their face. Blue lanternfish, Tartetonbeania crenularis, are easy to distinguish from the others because they have wider bodies and blue/silver scales.

Northern lampfish photophores — Northern lampfish, Stenobrachius leucopsarus, have three photophores in a row (circled).

Mexican lampfish, *Triphoturus mexicanus*, are more narrow than Northern lampfish and have three photophores right on the lateral line.

California lanternfish, *Symbiophorus californiensis*, have a distinguished lateral line.

California headlight fish, *Diaphus theta*, are easy to distinguish because of the two large photophores on the face.

Blue lanternfish, *Tartetonbeania crenularis*, collected in a bongo net with intact scales. Photo courtesy of Lauren Valentino.

Blue lanternfish Photoorgans — Photoorgans lining ventral surface of Blue lanternfish, *Tartetonbeania crenularis*.

Part 2: Rockfish: why are we catching so few?

Last night there were 4 rockfish in the last haul, and the fish sorting team got excited because we have not seen very many. The title of this survey is officially “Juvenile Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey,” however, sampling for pelagic juvenile rockfish is only one of the project’s objectives. Other objectives include sampling for other epi-pelagic micronekton species, studying prevailing ocean conditions and examining prominent hydrographic features, mapping the distribution and abundance of krill (Euphausiacea), and observing seabird and marine mammal distribution and abundance.

Rockfish, perch, or redfish are common names for the Sebastes genus of fish (with more than 100 species) which are abundant off of the California coast, and are a very important genus for the commercial fishing industry. Rockfish are benthic fish that live among rocks, and can be found in kelp forests or in the bathypelagic zone. One of the goals of this survey is to inform the fishing industry on the status of the population of rockfish so that reasonable catch limits can be set.

This year is proving to be a poor year for the rockfish pre-recruitment index, lower than the previous several years, says Chief Scientist, Keith Sakuma. He explains that one year of a weak young of year (YOY) rockfish class is not enough to have an impact on the fishing industry, but if the index was low for say, 10 years in a row, then this could potentially affect the exploitable population. He explains that since rockfish can live to be 100 years old or greater, they have many seasons to reproduce. Rockfish prefer cold water habitats. Keith’s research has demonstrated that most poor pre-recruitment index years are correlated to El Nino events which cause an increase in water temperatures and a reduction in cold water upwelling. This year’s slump in terms of rockfish numbers is not correlated to a strong El Nino event.

Two young Cabazon Rockfish, *Scorpaenichthys marmoratus*.

Part 3: Environmental DNA (eDNA) Sampling on the Reuben Lasker

Last night Flora Cordoleani and I helped Dr. Kelly Goodwin collect water from the Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) bottles for the purpose of collecting environmental DNA (eDNA). Kelly’s assistant, Lauren Valentino, is primarily on the day shift (see photo of Lauren with the CTD apparatus below). Isolation of eDNA from seawater is a newer technique used to determine which species swam through a particular location based on the DNA they left behind, through shedding of cells. This technique does not require that the organism be harvested to know that it had been present, and could be of value in detection of the presence of endangered species, for example.

For this CTD deployment, three bottles are filled at depths of 5 and 100 meters, and at the chlorophyll max somewhere between 5 – 20 meters. The water from each depth is run through a filter (pore size of 2 microns) in the eDNA lab on the ship (see photo below). The vacuum filtration procedure is a time-consuming process, as samples must be processed in triplicate, and in which aseptic technique is paramount so that human DNA does not contaminate the water. Once the DNA is trapped on the filters, they are stored at -20C. The DNA will be purified from the filters back in the San Diego NOAA lab using a Qiagen kit. Species-specific regions of DNA known as bar-code regions will be amplified by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using 3 primers sets for analysis of DNA from bacteria, plankton, and fish. Illumina techology will be used to obtain DNA sequences, which are compared to DNA libraries for species determination.

The results from the eDNA study will give us a list of species that were present at each trawling station up to 48 hours prior to CTD deployment and fishing using the Cobb Trawl. We will be able to compare this list with the list of species that were physically caught in nets. Nighttime CTDs are deployed at the same station as bongo nets. Daytime CTD trawls occur at the same stations as night fishing.

Lauren with CTD — Lauren Valentino with the Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) Rosette on the *Reuben Lasker*.

Kelly Goodwin in the eDNA lab — Kelly Goodwin filtering water in the eDNA lab on the *Reuben Lasker*.

Part 4: Career Spotlight: NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, Scientist Interview: Keith Hanson, NOAA Lab Operation Officer B.S. Marine Biology, University of Miami (UM) Hometown: Rye, New York

Keith H. and anchovies — NOAA Lab Operation Officer Keith Hanson with a large catch of anchovies.

Keith H sorting the catch — NOAA Lab Operation Officer Keith Hanson sorting the catch.

Keith Hanson joins this survey to assist with research and is a knowledgeable and experienced member of the science team. Keith has taught me a lot about the fish we are collecting and was the first to show me around the ship.

Keith earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of Miami (UM) where he was vice president of the scuba club. His favorite part of being a student at UM was being located so close to ocean and the many trips he took to Biscayne Beach and The Everglades. While at UM, Keith worked as a Naturalist at the Biscayne Nature Center and with the Marine Operations Department at The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), where he managed boats and vehicles.

After graduating from UM, Keith started the NOAA Corps Basic Officer Training Class (BOTC) at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. His first assignment as a Junior Officer was on the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster in Charleston, SC which has a multi-mission platform with fish habitat and population studies, seafloor mapping surveys, oceanographic studies, and maritime heritage survey. Keith enjoys the traveling opportunities afforded in this line of work. On the Nancy Foster, he got to travel to Cuba, the Caribbean, and Mexico. After 2.5 years of service, Keith advanced to OP Officer.

Keith is currently on his land assignment in Santa Cruz NOAA working as the Vessel Operations Coordinator and he manages a fleet of small boats from kayaks to a 28 foot barge. Most vessels are used for river salmon work and groundfish research. His favorite vessel is the Egret offshore fishing boat which is used for rockfish hook and line sampling.

When asked what advice he has for undergraduate students wanting to purse degrees and careers in marine biology, he suggests getting involved in a research lab early on to gain a competitive edge.

July 1, 2019July 2, 2019

Betsy Petrick: Core Sampling in the Lab, June 30, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Betsy Petrick

Aboard R/V Point Sur

June 24 – July 3, 2019

Mission: Microbial Stowaways: Exploring Shipwreck Microbiomes in the deep Gulf of Mexico

Geographic Area: Gulf of Mexico

Date: June 30, 2019

Science Log

When the ROV returns to the ship, the scientists jump into action. The sediment cores are brought into the lab for sampling.

Core samples are loaded on the ROV in crates and with luck they all come back the same way.

Dr. Justyna Hampel, an aquatic biogeochemist and postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi, is researching how microorganisms colonize on and around deep sea shipwrecks. She is taking sediment samples for DNA testing, and identifying nutrients in sediment pore water, the water trapped inside the sediment. Her study will help us learn about the relationship between microbes and shipwreck biomes. It took many hands to process the core sediments for her research.

As assistant to graduate student Rachel Mugge, I felt a bit like a nurse in an operating room. Every sample was taken carefully to ensure it was not contaminated.

Here’s how it went: Carefully remove the plug from the bottom of the core sample tube. Slide the core onto the extruder quickly so as not to lose any sediment. (An extruder is a wheel on a threaded bolt. It is precisely calibrated to measure 2 cm increments as you turn the wheel 4 2/3 times. )

Remove the lid and use a siphon hose to remove the sea water on the surface. Rachel does this by placing one end of the hose in the core tube and the other end in her mouth and sucking gently to get the flow of water going. Once it is moving she lets the water drain into a basin. Try this at home! You can get water to flow up and over an obstacle with this technique.

Next Rachel turns the extruder wheel until the mud is exposed at the top of the tube. She describes the mud to lab manager Anirban Ray, who writes it down next to the sample number. (“S 54, brown, unconsolidated, black streaks, tube worm burrows.”) I snap the paper wrapping off a wooden tongue depressor and hand it to her. She uses it to dig a sample out of the center of a sediment core. I hand her an open vial and she fills it. I cap it. Next she puts some sediment into a petri dish and Anirban seals and labels it. Then I hand her an open sterile whirl-pak for a final blob of sediment. I whirl this little baggy and twist tie it closed. Vials and whirl-paks go in the deep freezer. We do these three steps 40 times for 120 samples. The challenge I find in this kind of repetitive task is how quick and efficient can I be while still being careful and precise? Let me tell you. Pretty fast and efficient.

Putting a sediment sample into a vial. The core is on the extruder, which pushes the sediment upward when you turn the wheel.

At the same time this was going on, Justyna was extracting pore water (water that comes from inside the sediment) to analyze it for nutrients.

Personal Log

While we worked, I had a porthole at my station to keep an eye on the ocean as we cruised out to our third and final shipwreck. Dolphins raced with our ship this evening. Silvery flying fish skittered over the water reminding me of hummingbirds, the way their fins were a blur of movement. The color of the ocean now can best be described in terms of watercolors. Ultramarine. That says it all.

Calm sea — Clouds are reflected in a calm sea.

June 30, 2019July 2, 2019

Betsy Petrick: Shipwreck! June 29, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Betsy Petrick

Aboard R/V Point Sur

June 24 – July 3, 2019

Mission: Microbial Stowaways: Exploring Shipwreck Microbiomes in the deep Gulf of Mexico

Geographic Area: Gulf of Mexico

Date: June 29 , 2019

Science Log

I sat with the marine archaeologists and chief scientist and the operators of the ROV in a control room bolted to the back deck of the Point Sur. Inside were at least 12 video monitors showing views from the ROV in color and infra-red, a sonar scanner, various mapping tools to track the location of the ROV and the ship, and controls for all the equipment on the ROV including cameras, lights, the sampling tray and robotic arms. For a while we stared at the silty sea floor seeing nothing more than a few shrimp and rockfish and sea cucumbers. Every once in a while the ROV would kick up a cloud of silt and we would watch it swirl across the screen looking much like images of the cosmos.

sonar of shipwreck — A sonar image shows the shape of the shipwreck on the seafloor. The sonar helps guide the ROV over the ship at a safe operating distance.

Suddenly a ghostly vertical shape appeared ahead, covered in part by a white lacey growth. The closer we moved the more clear it became – this was the bow of the shipwreck we were looking for! It stood out on the seafloor like a lone bedraggled sentinel in a watery desert. The ROV hovered around it. We could see white branching coral called Lophilia, anemones, a long-legged Arrow crab and other species of marine life. The ROV moved along what we thought was the length of the shipwreck. An anchor lay on its side with one hooked arm lifted and around it we began to see other things: white ceramic plates, a ceramic whiskey jug, some metal rods with a loop on one end that most likely came from the rigging.

Bow of the Ship — This is the bow of the ship. All that is left is a large beam sticking up off the seafloor. It is covered in life.

The ROV passed over and around the artifacts, trying to see them closely, but at the same time we could not pick up or even move the silt away to see what else lay buried there. With each new pass over the wreck more things were seen: a copper bell, some ceramic cups with blue decoration. We were not treasure seekers out to plunder. A good archaeologist doesn’t take artifacts out of context without good reason and permission. Melanie Damour, the marine archaeologist for the expedition likens a shipwreck to a crime scene. Each clue tells the investigator a part of the story of what happened. If a clue is taken away, it becomes harder to piece the story together. Our expedition is to map and photograph the wreck, so we won’t disturb anything we see.

Fish in and around artifacts — Fish make their home around the anchor of the shipwreck and other artifacts

Finally, the controlled mapping of the shipwreck began. This is called photogrammetry. The plan was to do three passes lengthwise ten meters apart, and then repeated transects across the whole ship. From these combined overlapping images, the archaeologists will make a 3-D map of the wreck. Hours later, mapping complete, the ROV returned to the ship.

Personal Log

By evening, a squall had found us, rain fell for a short while, the wind whipped the waves up, the ship pitched and rolled in an uncomfortable way, and to say the least, I lost my newfound sea legs and my cookies. You don’t want to know the rest.

Every day there are amazing things to see. Here a waterspout has formed between a storm cloud and the sea.

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019

Meg Stewart: Getting Ready for an Adventure in Alaska

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Meg Stewart

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

July 8 – 19, 2019

Mission: Cape Newenham Hydrographic Survey
Geographic Area of Cruise: Bering Sea, Alaska
Date: June 25, 2019

Introduction

I am so excited about my upcoming experience as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. I will be on the NOAA Ship Fairweather from July 8 to 19 and will be participating on a hydrographic research cruise, one that is mapping the sea-floor in detail; more about that soon. We will embark from and return to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, which is part of the Aleutian Islands. If you are my current or former student, or you are a friend or colleague of mine, or you are an admirer of the Teacher at Sea program, I hope you will follow along on this ocean adventure as I post about my experiences while at sea.

Meg on catamaran — This is me on a catamaran off the coast of Barbados.

A little about me

I am originally from California. I went to the beach often to body surf and splash around, maybe sunbathe (I don’t do THAT anymore). It was in California where I got interested in geology. I was pretty young when I experienced the 1971 San Fernando 6.5M earthquake and after that, earthquakes were a regular occurrence for me. When I moved to Hayward, California, in early 1989 to complete my bachelor’s degree in geology at California State University East Bay, I was living off-campus and had the “pleasure” of rocking and rolling through one of the longest earthquakes I every felt when the 6.9M Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I moved on from there to the desert of Las Vegas, Nevada, to earn my Master’s in Structural Geology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I didn’t feel any earthquakes in Nevada, but I did do my research on an active fault in southwestern Utah. I like to think of myself as a “boots-on-the-ground” kind of scientist-educator.

Meg teaching — Teaching graduate students about digital mapping.

My work and life experiences are such that for five years after grad school, I was a staff geologist at a large environmental consulting company. I loved that job and it took me all around the U.S. One of the assignments I had was to manage a mapping project involving data from New York and New Jersey harbor area. From that experience I became interested in digital mapping (known as Geographic Information Systems or GIS) and switched careers. I went to work at a small liberal arts college as the GIS support person within the instructional technology group. In addition to helping teach professors and college students how to work with the GIS software, I helped teach about use of social media in teaching, use a mobile devices for data collection, integrating alternative assessments like using of audio and video, and I maintained two computer labs. While I was involved in those two different careers, I gained some adjunct teaching experiences at several different colleges and grad schools, teaching geology, environmental science and GIS.

Meg at University of the West Indies — At the University of the West Indies, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies

Another professional experience that I’ve had that I am most proud of is I was a Fulbright Scholar in 2009-2010 to Barbados. My family and I lived in Barbados for a year while I was worked with the University of the West Indies, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) I taught GIS to graduate students, I worked with some of the students on research projects, I traveled to Belize as a field assistant on a field studies trip with faculty members and CERMES students, and I had the privilege of working on a marine-based, community-driven mapping research project with a then PhD student (who has since earned her degree). My part of the project was to take the spatial data, organize it and create a user-friendly Google Earth KML file. She and I got to travel around St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, teaching community members about the work, the available data, and how to access the Google Earth project file.

New York state fossil — Behind the scenes at the American Museum of Natural History, checking out the official state fossil of New York, *Eurypterus Remipes*.

In 2015, I re-tooled yet again and was accepted into a challenging yet rewarding education program at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In 15 months, I learned how to teach with artifacts, took graduate courses in all manner or earth and space subjects, of course, had classes in pedagogical approaches, had two in-residence teaching experiences at area schools, all the while in the amazing AMNH, home of Night at the Museum.

Meg and students at AMNH — These are two of my ninth graders checking out a piece of kimberlite with a diamond sticking out. We’re at AMNH in the Hall of Planet Earth.

Now as a public high school educator, teaching Earth Science to 9-12 graders in the Bronx, I have a strong foundation in the solid earth topics like plate tectonics, rocks and minerals, and geologic time. But Regents Earth Science class in New York also involves oceanography, meteorology, climate science and astronomy.

Meg snorkeling — Yes, this is me, actually in the sea at Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau Island in the Grenadines.

What compelled me to apply for the NOAA Teacher at Sea program is what motivates me throughout my other life decisions: I wanted to push against my boundaries and my limitations. I have always had a healthy respect for the sea, which was mixed in with a little fear. I saw the movie Jaws when I was young and impressionable, so I never really wanted to venture too far into the water beyond the waves. I didn’t even want to swim in lakes for fear of what might be traversing through the murky unknown. As I’ve aged, I’ve certainly grown less fearful of the water. I’ve traveled on sailboats and catamarans, I’ve snorkeled in the Caribbean, I’ve jumped into waters with nurse sharks and stingrays! But as a teacher who feels like she’s missing some key knowledge of her curriculum – oceanography – I want to challenge myself to learn-while-doing as I have the privilege of being selected to be a Teacher at Sea. I cannot wait!

June 27, 2019

Karah Nazor: The Glowing Dolphins of the Channel Islands and Interview with UCSC Graduate Student Ilysa “Ily” Iglesias, May 31, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Karah Nazor

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

May 29 – June 7, 2019

Mission: Rockfish Recruitment & Ecosystem Assessment

Geographic Area: Central California Coast

Date: May 31, 2019

Game Plan and Trawling Line: Channel Islands San Nicolas Line

I am up on the flying bridge and I just saw two humpback whales spouting, an albatross soaring and a large Mola Mola on the sea surface. In this blog I will write about an amazing once in a lifetime experience that from last night- May 31, 2019. The first haul was called off due to an abundance of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, (as reported by the inside marine mammal watch prior to net deployment), so we motored on ahead to the second station, but dolphins chased the ship all the way there, too. One strategy to encourage marine mammals to leave is for the ship to stop moving with the hope that the dolphins become disinterested and vacate the area. This pod was intent on having a party at the ship so Keith Sakuma encouraged everyone to just go outside to observe and enjoy the dolphins!

Fishing on this survey takes place at nighttime (so the fish do not see the net) and Scripps graduate student Kaila Pearson and I stepped outside on the side deck into the darkest of dark nights. Kaila and I carefully placed one foot in front of the other because we couldn’t see our feet and where to step next. I was afraid I would trip. When I asked Keith Hanson if we should use a flashlight to safely make our way up to the top deck, he suggested that we stay in place for a few minutes to allow our eyes to adjust. Within 5 minutes or so objects around us started to present themselves to us within the black void. We could eventually see our feet, each others faces, the dolphins, and even the finer features of the sea surface.

Within a few minutes Ily Iglesias reported seeing bioluminescence, a type of chemiluminescence that occurs in living things, such as the familiar green glow of lightening bugs in the Summer in the South. This glow results from oxidation of the protein luciferin (present in photophore cells/organs) by the enzyme luciferase. It its excited state, lucifern emits light. This reaction is known to occur in some marine bacteria, dinoflagellates (single celled photosynthetic organisms), squid, deep sea fish, pyrosomes and jellyfish, and I am fortunate to have observed many of these creatures already on this research cruise (see photos below). Some animals have photophore organs and generate their own luciferin, while others are hosts to bioluminescent bacteria.

The large photo organ is a large green circle under the eye of the deepsea longfin dragonfish, *Tactostoma macropus*.

California lanternfish, *Symbolophorus californiensis*, with photophores under the lateral line and the ventral surface.

*Cranchia scabra* “baseball squid” with large photophores lining the eyes.

Chiroteuthis veranii squid — *Chiroteuthis veranii* squid

When dinoflagellates floating on the sea surface are agitated, they glow. At first when I was trying really hard to see this, I noticed a couple of tiny flashes of green light, sort of like lightening bugs, but it wasn’t anything super obvious. In time, I noticed clouds of faint light, sort of like a glowing mist floating the water’s surface, that moved up and down with the swell. I hypothesized that dinoflagellates on the sea surface were being agitated by the passage of waves through them and Ily suggested that it was caused by schools of anchovies.

Since the dolphins were intent on staying, we decided to head to the next station. I knew that as the ship began to move that the bow would be breaking through surface water that had previously been undisturbed, and I predicted the bioluminescence would be much more intense.

As we took off, the dolphins began to bow surf and, as I predicted, the dinoflagellates were activated and this time their glow was a bright white. As the dolphins surfaced to breath, their skin became coated with the glowing algal cells, creating an effect as if they were swimming in an X-ray machine. The dolphins were literally glowing white swimming in a black sea! We were so entranced and excited by the beauty, we screamed in delight. I am sure the dolphins heard us cheering for them. They too, seemed excited and could see each other glowing as well.

Next we saw the faint cloud of dinoflagellates caused by Northern anchovies (Ily was right) up ahead of us. As the ship encountered the school of small (~ 3-6 inch) fish, they also started to glow really bright and it was easy to see all of the individual fish in the school. The dolphins could also see the glowing fish and split off in different directions to hunt them. There were hundreds of fish that dispersed as they were being chased creating a pattern of short white glowing lines somewhat like the yellow lane markers on the highway.

The display was unlike anything I have ever witnessed. It was like the Aurora Borealis of the sea. Despite our best efforts, our cell phone cameras were unable to pick up the bioluminescent signal, however, we do not need photos because the patterns of light will be forever embedded in our minds. The dolphins eventually tired from the surf and chase and departed. Ily said the experience was “an explosion of light that overwhelmed the senses” while Flora said it was “better than fireworks.”

With no marine mammal sightings at the third station, we completed a five minute haul in the deep channel and collected a huge white bin of anchovies (see photo of Keith Hanson with this catch below). In this catch we found a few Mexican lampfish, 3 king of the salmon, a lot of of large smooth tongues, a lot of salps, a few pyrosomes and one purple striped jellyfish. The purple-striped jelly (Chrysaora colorata) is is primarily preyed upon by Leatherback turtles. Haul 2 was conducted over shallower water near San Nicolas Island and we only found salps and four small rockfish in the catch. After these two hauls, we called it a night and wrapped up at 4:15 a.m.

Scientist Spotlight: Ilysa Iglesias, NMFS SWFSC FED/ University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

Ilysa “Ily” is a doctoral student who works in John Field’s Lab at UCSC. She is studying the fish we are collecting on this cruise as part of her research. She is very knowledgeable about all of the survey research objectives. She is also one of the most positive and gregarious people I have every met. Ily grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, and enjoys surfing, hiking, gardening and raising chickens. Ily is a fan of early marine explorer Jacques Cousteau, who often wore a red beanie/toboggan and a blue shirt. Ily came prepared and brought six red hats (that she knit herself) for each of the members of the sorting team. Ily’s favorite fish is the hatchetfish. She was thrilled when we found on in the catch!

Ilysa with hatchetfish — Ilysa Iglesias with deepsea marine hatchetfish

A deepsea marine hatchetfish caught in the bongo which was deployed to depth of 265 meters.

Ily obtained a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in integrated biology and a Masters Degree from the University of Hawaii in Zoology with a specialization in marine biology. Her thesis was on the function of intertidal pools as a nursery habitat for near-shore reef fish. She compared otoliths (fish bone ears) of fish reared inside and outside of tide pools and compared their growth rates. Otoliths can be used to the age of the fish much like counting rings on a tree and stable isotope analysis reveals information about where the fish were reared.

Ily, Flora and Kristin have all used otoliths in their research and taught me how to locate and collect the sagittal otolith from anchovies and myctophids. It is a tiny ear bone (one of three) that is positioned near the hindbrain of fish. See photos below of the otoliths we collected. This is a technique that I will definitely take back to my classroom and teach my McCallie students.

Photomicrograph of otoliths we collected from blue lanternfish (top) and Northern Anchovy (bottom) and observed under the dissecting microscope.

After obtaining her masters degree, Ily was Conservation Fellow for the Nature Conservancy in HI and worked in octopus fisheries before returning home to join NOAA’s salmon team and then the rockfish team as a Research Associate. Ily has just completed the first year of her doctoral work in the Field Lab and expects to complete the program within 5 years.

On this cruise, Ily is collecting small fish called Myctophids for her research. These are small bioluminescent fish that live at depths of 300 and 1,500 m in the bathypelagic zone. In this survey, we encounter these deep sea dwellers during their nightly vertical migration up to the edge of the photic zone at depths we are targeting. They are likely chasing their prey (krill) on this upward journey. It is amazing to me they are able to withstand the pressure change. Mcytophids are also known as lanternfishes and have bioluminescent photophores dispersed on their bodies. The fish sorting team analyzes the position of these organs to help distinguish between the different species. There are 243 known species of myctophids, making these little fishes one of the most diverse vertebrates on Earth. They are so abundant in the sea that they make up 65% of the ocean’s biomass, but most people have never heard of them!

In 2014- 2015 there was an anonymously high sea surface temperatures off of the Pacific Coast known as The Blob. Marine scientists are still elucidating the effect of the hot water had on fish populations and ecosystems. Ily explains that “atmospheric forcing caused changes in oxygen and temperature resulting in variability in the California current.” The water was less nutrient dense and caused a reduction in phytoplankton. This disruption of primary production propagated up the trophic cascade resulting in die offs of zooplankton, fish, marine mammals and birds.

Ily is using the catch records and acoustics data from the rockfish survey to study changes in distribution and abundance of myctophids from before, during and after The Blob (2013-2019). She aims to understand if and how their trophic position of myctophids was affected by the unusually high sea surface temperatures. Using elemental analysis isotope ratio mass spectrometry to analyze the Carbon and Nitrogen atoms incorporated into fish muscle, Ily can determine what the myctophids were eating each year.