NOAA Teacher at Sea Kiersten Newtoff Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces January 6 – January 29, 2025
Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast Date: January 10, 2025 Current Location: 37° 35.83 N, 73° 39.83 W (you can follow us at Windy in real time!) Weather from the Bridge: Waves are 3-5ft, 42°F, wind speed of 15.8kn, and we are traveling 9.9knph.
What is Zooplankton?
If you ask someone what their favorite marine animal is, I guarantee it’s either dolphins, whales, turtles, or sharks. And honestly, you can’t really blame them. The term charismatic megafauna exists for a reason. Fortunately, these animals have used their charisma to inspire us to protect them and their habitat. While they have been great stewards for conservation, they don’t tell the whole story of what’s happening in the ecosystem.
One example of zooplankton is small krill, as seen in this sample container.
While some of the research groups on the Pisces are focused on marine mammals and seabirds, The Bongonauts focus on zooplankton. Plankton just refers to any organism in the water that can’t swim against a current and ‘floats’ in the water column. You can then further split plankton into animal-like (zooplankton) or plant-like (phytoplankton). The marine food chain starts with phytoplankton, which get consumed by zooplankton, which might get directly eaten by a baleen whale, like humpbacks. Zooplankton may also get eaten by small fishes then larger fish that eventually are consumed by toothed whales. Identifying and quantifying the abundance of zooplankton helps us to understand the health of the food chain. There really aren’t any “Save the Zooplankton” movements happening because let’s be honest, it’s hard to get people to like microscopic organisms. But their downfall due to changes in ocean temperature, salinity, and currents will permeate to the top of the food chain of whales, dolphins, and other megafauna. If we wish to protect the ‘cute’ species, we need to protect their food too!
Let’s Get Ready to Bongo!
Here enters the bongo. If you’ve played Donkey Kong, then you already know what a bongo is. A bongo is a set of two drums that are connected in the middle. In the marine world, what we do is beat on this drum set on the side of the boat and collect all the zooplankton that jump out of the water into collection buckets.
………………………..
Just kidding! But that would be cool.
Although we don’t have the musical bongo, we do have a plankton bongo! It was so named because there are two frames connected in the middle supporting the two plankton nets, kind of like a bongo drum. The nets are made of a mesh with openings that are 1/3 mm. As the nets travel in the water, the water can move through the mesh but larger organisms like zooplankton can’t. Part of the bongo apparatus is the CTD, which uses a series of sensors to measure conductivity, temperature, and depth. These oceanographic variables can help to explain the zooplankton communities we see.
(Left) A bongo net is coming out of the water. The device you see on the rope is the CTD, (Right) The zooplankton team gets lots of support in deploying the bongo nets from the deck crew. Pictured (left to right): Amanda, Tanya, Tasha, and Kiersten.
Bongo time is during the evening and is deployed in the same general areas as the cetacean observations earlier in the day. This allows the scientists to make correlations between plankton communities and the cetaceans spotted earlier. We release the bongos in the evening as the speed needed for a successful deployment is around 3 knots, whereas the observation teams need to be at a minimum of 8 knots. Also, many zooplankton undergo a diel vertical migration (move upwards) in the evening, making it more likely to get a representative sample of zooplankton from the entire water column.
Bongos, a Haiku gliding through water collect plankton by bongo hopefully, cool things
Meet the Bongonauts
Amanda monitors the depth of the bongo so she can communicate with the boatswain when to start hauling it back to the boat.
On this cruise, Amanda and Lily make up the zooplankton team. Amanda is a Biological Science Technician and has been working with NOAA since 2018. During her undergraduate studies, she spent a semester abroad focused on marine science. As soon as she finished, she immediately began looking for marine jobs. Her first position was with NOAA focusing on commercial fisheries. A few years later in 2021, her contracting company had another position within NOAA that she switched to and started focusing on zooplankton. One of the coolest things she’s seen in a bongo net was a strawberry squid, but don’t worry, it was promptly returned to the seas. She enjoys working with other groups on the science team to see what they are finding, and every time the nets come up there is excitement over what they may contain.
Lily examines the plankton spoils. Some are preserved in ethanol and others in formalin.
Lily is currently a sophomore at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The professor in one of her classes shared with her the opportunity to sail with the Pisces to volunteer on the zooplankton team and she took it up! Her future career goal is to understand the environmental impacts of cruise ships in port. Further along the line, she would like to get a Master’s in Library Science and be a children’s librarian. She chose Mass Maritime for their marine science program; other schools with similar programs were out of state or prohibitively expensive, but she feels like she’s made the right choice. Of all the things she’s told me, Mass Maritime seems really cool and gives lots of hands-on experience to their students.
Advice for Students
Amanda and Lily shared some of their insights for students who may want to work for NOAA some day.
Look for jobs on Indeed and LinkedIn. If you are already working with a company, see if they have other positions that you might like.
If you’re interested in marine science, go to a school that specializes in it. Avoid institutions that have it as a small program or just a minor, as you likely won’t be getting nearly as much hands-on experience as a school dedicated to it.
Keep your opportunities open – you might think you like Marine Science now but that may change as you do field work.
Even if an opportunity comes up that is not related to marine science, do things to give you any sort of field experience.
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest Atlantic Ocean
Date: August 15, 2024
Weather Data fromthe Bridge Latitude: 42.26980º N Longitude: 66.08756º W Wind Speed: 11 mph due N Air Temperature: 15.4° Celsius (59.7° F) Sea Temperature: 18.2 Celsius (64.8° F)
Science and Technology Log
Behind the Scenes: Collecting Plankton Samples on Our Mission During this mission, we will be collecting plankton samples from over 120 stations in the Gulf of Maine and further south along the East Coast (see the figure below; Summer ECOMON Track Lines).
Summer EcoMon Track Lines
But why focus on plankton? Plankton are the foundation of all oceanic food webs, crucial for the survival of larger fish, marine mammals, and birds. Any changes in plankton biomass can have ripple effects throughout the entire ocean ecosystem, impacting a wide range of species.
By studying plankton, we gain insights into the health of our oceans. The data collected from these samples will be invaluable in estimating the populations of certain fish species and identifying key spawning areas. Moreover, we can observe how fish populations are shifting or altering their habitats in response to environmental changes and other stressors. (NOAA Fisheries)
Collecting plankton samples during this mission is a collaborative effort, requiring the expertise of the NOAA Corp, engineers, deckhands, survey technicians, and scientists. Together, we work to deploy, retrieve, and prepare the plankton samples for research.
We use two types of Bongo nets for sampling: Baby Bongos, set in a 20 cm frame, and Big Bongos, set in a 60 cm frame. Each net has a specific purpose: one is labeled “I” for Ichthyoplankton and the other “Z” for Zooplankton. These nets, made from 333 µm mesh, are equipped with flow meters to measure the volume of water filtered during each tow.
Once the Bongo nets are lowered into the water, the Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) sensors immediately start gathering conductivity, temperature, and depth data. The nets are then lowered to about 10 meters above the sea floor and gradually pulled back to the surface. Care is taken to ensure the nets don’t touch the ocean floor, avoiding the need for a recast. Today, for instance, we collected samples from around 230 meters deep!
When the Bongo nets are retrieved, we promptly rinse down the nets to flush the plankton into the codends at the bottom of the nets. The nets are then untied, and the plankton are flushed into a sieve pan.
Next, we carefully rinse the plankton from the sieve into a glass jar, preserving the sample by adding 5% Formalin. The jar is then topped off with seawater, labeled with the station/event, and inverted several times to ensure the sample is well-mixed. On average, we collect about 32 jars of plankton per day.
Finally, the plankton are ready to be shipped off to a lab to be sorted and counted.
Steps for collecting plankton:
1. Lowering the Bongo Nets into the water.2. Baby Bongo and Big Bongo coming out of the water.3. Record Flowmeter Reading.4. Spraying the Bongo Nets down to flush the plankton to the bottom.5. Plankton flushed into the Codend of the Bongo Net.6. Beautiful Gooey Plankton!7. Rinsing the plankton out of the sieve into the jar.8. Plankton preserved in 5% Formalin9. Ready to be shipped to the lab!
Personal Log
Life Aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow: A 24/7 Operation
The NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow never sleeps, which means someone is always awake and hard at work. This is no cruise ship—everyone aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow has a vital role to play. Most crew members work 12-hour shifts, ensuring the ship’s operations continue smoothly around the clock. In addition, all the department crew are responsible for safety drills, and are trained in firefighting and lifesaving equipment.
As part of the science crew, I work from 3 am to 3 pm, while my roommate takes over from 3 pm to 3 am. Our team of scientists are constantly collecting and uploading data to support our mission. Engineers, deckhands, and survey technicians work shifts from 12 am to 12 pm or 12 pm to 12 am.
Engineers keeping everything running efficiently and addressing any technical issues that may arise. They are responsible for the safe and proper operation of a ship’s machinery and equipment and other mechanical and electronic equipment onboard.
Survey technicians assist in the operations, monitoring, handling, and maintenance of various scientific gear. This includes annotating records and recording data; assist in the staging and set-up during preparations for, and at the completion of oceanographic or fishery research. They also perform oceanographic or fisheries observations, measurements, and calculations, assisting in the preparations, installation, deployment and recovery of oceanographic or fishery research equipment. (NOAA Survey Department)
The Deck Department operates the cranes and winches to deploy scientific equipment, and maintain the material condition of the ship. Electronics Technicians maintain the ship’s computer network and vital emergency communication and navigation equipment.
The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps(NOAA Corps) operate and navigate the ship, and monitor oceanographic and atmospheric conditions, ensuring our safety and guiding us through each phase of the mission.
And let’s not forget some of my favorite crew members—the stewards, who keep us well-fed with amazing meals and plenty of delicious snacks.
Given the non-stop nature of our work, it’s important to remember that someone is always sleeping. This means being mindful of your noise level: avoid slamming doors, walk quietly down the halls, and always use your “inside voice” when moving about the ship. When living and working in such close quarters, professionalism, civility, and respect are essential to maintaining a happy and welcoming work environment.
Did You Know? There are currently 42 species of dolphins and seven species of porpoises. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation). Check out these videos captured this week of both Bottlenose and Common Dolphins riding alongside the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow! Can you spot the difference between Bottlenose and Common Dolphins?
Mission: Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) Survey (Leg 3 of 5) Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean off the Northern California Coast working north back toward coastal waters off Oregon. Date: July 29, 2023
Weather Data from the Bridge
Sunrise 0616 | Sunset 2037 Current Time: 1500 (3pm Pacific Daylight Time) Lat 41 06.7 N, Lon 124 37.6 W Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles) Sky condition: A few clouds Wind Speed: 13 knots Wind Direction: 334° Barometer: 1019.7 mb Sea Wave height: 2-3 ft | Swell: 330°, 3-4 ft Sea temp: 14.1°C | Air Temp: 17.6°C
Science and Technology Log
Hake are not the only thing being studied during this mission. In the Chemistry Lab, there are a variety of ongoing tests. Every few transects, seawater is collected and tested for Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs). A vacuum pump sucks the sample through a 0.45um filter, which is then removed and placed into a test tube for microscopic study. The Southern California coast is currently dealing with a bloom toxic to animals. Scientists want to know if the bloom is drifting north. Blooms are a natural phenomenon, but human activity cannot be ruled out from having an impact.
HAB test in the Chem Lab
A seawater pump connects to a software program that allows you to see images of phytoplankton being photographed in real time as they are sucked past the camera. Phytoplankton forms the base of the aquatic food web. They provide food for huge whales, small fish, invertebrates, and zooplankton. Plankton makes up 95% of life in the ocean, they generate half of our oxygen and absorb carbon. A sudden removal of phytoplankton would result in a collapse of aquatic ecosystems, and would accelerate climate change further.
The phytoplankton images are taken using a robotic microscope automating identification. The name of the artificial intelligence is Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB). Flow cytometry uses lasers to create both scattered and fluorescent light signals. These signals are read by photosensitive diodes and tubes, and then those signals can be converted electronically to be read by a computer. The data gathered enables ecosystem modeling, and can act as an early warning to toxic blooms.
Image of phytoplankton captured by the IFCBThe Chem Lab’s seawater pump.
Career feature
Chief Scientist, Steve de Blois, on the bridge during a trawl.
Steve de Blois, Chief Scientist
Steve’s favorite thing about his job is getting out in nature, seeing, and photographing marine mammals. Even though the hours are long, the commute is short when you’re at sea! His educational background includes an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and a Master’s from Humboldt State University (now called Cal Poly Humboldt) in marine mammals. It was tough finding work after graduate school since working with marine mammals generally holds more appeal than fish, and thus more people are competing for a finite number of jobs. Once Steve secured a job at one of NOAA’s regional offices, he found out about other opportunities and ended up on a walleye pollock acoustic trawl survey in Alaska. This is where he had one of those National Geographic moments where the scenery is so stunning it touches you at your core. He has been with NOAA since 1990—the same year the Teacher at Sea Program began.
Steve’s advice for young people interested in ocean-related careers is to focus on getting your education. He states that getting a graduate degree (PhD and/or Master’s) will make you more competitive in the scientific community. However, he also advises, “get experience.” Nothing can compare to first-hand experience and there are many opportunities for volunteering in the field, in marine labs, and on ships.
During his leisure time, Steve prefers to fly his home-built plane (A Zenith CH 650), go scuba diving, and enjoy photography. When it comes to reading he prefers nonfiction. He has German heritage on his mother’s side and shared some personal history of family members surviving both World War One and World War Two. This part of his family tree has increased his interest in true tales about World War Two German fighter pilots. In his youth, he absorbed science fiction novels by Arthur C. Clarke and recalls enjoying Dune, by Frank Herbert. Recently, he read Rachel Carson’s classic The Sea Around Us and was impressed by its lyrical prose. Steve has patiently taught me about how to detect hake sign on an echogram. Acoustically speaking, hake have a unique characteristic. The visualized pings usually show hake near the slope of the continental shelf, and they appear as a diffuse cloud of colored pixels, or as a “hakey snakey” line gently curving up and down. A calculation called NASC, Nautical Area Scattering Coefficient, makes an estimate of individuals in that defined area drawn by scientists.
The acoustic echogram has a color key representing the strength of return on what the sound waves bounce off. The color scale looks something like you’d see in an art room class teaching color theory. The weakest return is signified by a pale grey to dark, then a light blue shade into dark, the blue turns teal as it morphs into greens, then when yellow appears the scientists start getting excited. After yellow is orange, pink, then many shades of red ending with a deep magenta. The ocean floor appears as deep magenta. On Leg 2 the Shimada saw several very dense balls of fish; these fish are likely herring or sardines, species smaller than hake. The acoustic return from these very dense balls of fish is extremely high—their color in the acoustic software is easily deep red, almost brown.
The thicker reddish brown line you see is the continental shelf/ocean floor. The greenish-yellow cloud represents an acoustic signature historically found to be hake. The thin red lines in the echograms on the right represent the head rope from imaging by the SBE (Sea-Bird Electronics) camera, aka “the turtle.”
Taxonomy of Sights
Day 5. Bycatch highlights: Intact squid, Chinook salmon (also known as King salmon), and excited albatross following a record haul.
Day 6. More salmon, two kinds of rockfish, a Thetys vagina salp (more on the awkward name here), and a marine hatchetfish so small my camera found it difficult to focus on. Ethan Beyer, Wet Lab Lead, shared a trick to determine the difference between a yellowtail rockfish and widow rockfish (they look similar). The difference? Widow rockfish have a “widdle” mouth. Meaning, the mouth is smaller than the yellowtail’s (ha, ha). The two types of rockfish we caught were the widow and the shortbelly (Ethan says they make great tacos!) Speaking of tacos, the widow rockfish are due to make an appearance on our mess deck menu soon.
Day 7. Not much…
You Might Be Wondering…
What is the furthest you’ve been from shore? To date (July 28th), an extension of transect 39 took us a total of 62 nautical miles from shore, which beat our extension record on Wednesday, July 26th. Leg 3 has extended more transects than Leg 2. The reason for extending a transect is to go where the fish sign is. The NOAA Fisheries protocol is to discover what the western extent is for schools of hake on that transect. So, they wait for at least one mile without seeing hake before ending the transect.
What is the deepest trawl you’ve made? So far on Leg 3 we’ve gone 400 meters (about a quarter of a mile) to reach a target depth. Simply put, target depth is where the fish are estimated to be.
Floating Facts
Vocabulary
Bycatch – Some dictionaries call them unwanted creatures caught in the pursuit of a different species. NOAA however, thinks it worthwhile to catalog the biomass of these tag-alongs.
Biomass – The total weight (sometimes quantity) of a species in a given area or given volume.
One of these things is not like the others Tow, Haul, and Trawl are used interchangeably in reference to fishing. “Catch” is what we’ve caught in the net.
Survey Permits
You know how you ask permission at school and at home to do a thing? The hake survey requires a number of permits to conduct its research. A permit is an official document saying you have asked for and been granted permission.
NOAA’s Western Region office issues “Authorizations and Permits for Protected Species.” The protected species are salmon and eulachon, a thin silvery thing about the size of a herring. The permit dictates what you can (measure and weigh it) and can’t do (eat it) with protected species.
A state’s jurisdiction over ocean waters only extends three nautical miles from shore. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to know the number of all species caught off its coast. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife issues a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) along with a permit. The MOU calls out particular species they are interested in: longfin smelt, coho and chinook salmon.
I should be frowning – we don’t intend to be pulling salmon out of the water. However, their appearance does contribute to data about the health of their populations.
While fishing rarely ever happens in Alaskan waters during the hake survey, the Department of Fish and Game issues a permit that is shared with Canadian colleagues who may pursue hake further north. Waters defined by NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries have their own monitoring system and permit issuance. The hake survey passes through three sanctuaries in California waters and one in Washington (the Olympic Coast). Finally, the West Coast Region of NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) issues a permit and requires a record of all species caught in U.S. waters, so a grand total of sorts for all states involved.
Personal Log
Thursday was a huge improvement over the icky Wednesday ride. We made two successful trawls, and two trawls on Friday. Wet Lab Lead, Ethan Beyer, commented during fish processing on Friday, “I feel like I’m the world’s foremost expert on the visual maturity of hake. I look at a lot of hake gonads.” This was memorable.
Saturday dawned with too much fishing line in the water to do anything so we waited until we moved past it before dipping the net in. We did squeeze in a catch before lunch, but it produced exactly one hake among the usual lanternfish and pyrosomes. Disappointing for the science crew.
Note: In an earlier post I referred to lanternfish as “lampfish,” which is incorrect. I’ve also been calling Dramamine “dopamine” for some reason. I’ll blame it on the mild disorientation that is caused by floating around on the ocean.
My Daily Routine
I wake around 0600 and sometimes make it up to the flying bridge to see the sunrise, but usually go up regardless before breakfast to view the morning light. I stop in at the acoustics lab to sit at my workstation, blog a bit, and see what hake sign there is on the echogram (software visualization of what lies beneath us). Breakfast is served at 0700, then I return to acoustics to stay up to date on when we’re going fishing.
When you hear, “Fishing, fishing, fishing,” on the radio you know it’s almost time for the marine mammal watch. Marine mammal watch happens on the bridge, and I continue watching for a while even after the watch ends. I’ll stay up there for most of the trawl until I hear, ”Doors at the surface.” (More on the stages of a trawl next time.)
Next, I’ll go to the “ready room” in the wet lab where boots and fishy rubber overalls are stored. Blog post three walked you through what we do in the Wet Lab once the catch has been dumped in the crate. Processing species takes us into lunch hour at 1100.
A second trawl after lunch, and assuming the catch is decent, processing will take us to dinner. I have down time after dinner, watch the evening light if the weather is amenable, then return to acoustics for more blog time. I’m in bed somewhere between 2030 and 2230.
While there is a general routine, no day is exactly alike. On Saturday I assisted Ethan with collecting sea water from a vertical net dipped by a crane to 100 meters. Scientists will look at the plankton, krill, and other small species to determine stratification and measure abundance.
Deck and Survey Crews work with Ethan to collect samples from the vertical net.Wet Lab Lead, Ethan Beyer, removing a weight on the vert net.Plankton floating at the top of a sample.
Librarian at Sea
“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.”― Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
The cover of Rachel Carson’s book, The Sea Around Us, appears on the wall of the dining room at Sylvia Beach Hotel where I stayed prior to the departure of leg three. Her poetic approach to scientific insight continues to inspire readers. The book I brought with me on the ship does something similar. In How Far the Light Reaches, author Sabrina Imbler blends personal memoir with profiles of ten sea creatures. Imbler attempts to keep metaphors and personal (human) parallels at a distance from the scientific integrity of species. Both titles are recommended reading.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
The Sea Around Us by Rachel L. Carson
Hook, Line, and Thinker
When I was a kid, my Dad sometimes sang Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘Ode to Big Blue’ as a lullaby before bed. It’s one of the only songs I know all the lyrics to, although sometimes I scramble the verses up. I think it was my first exposure to the tension between commerce and the sustainability of natural resources. The sixth verse says,
Now the gray whale is run and the sperm is almost done The finbacks and the Greenland rights have all passed and gone They’ve been taken by the men for the money they could spend And the killing never ends it just goes on
Herein lies another ethical debate on balancing preservation, economics, and the needs and wants of Homo sapiens. The song celebrates the natural wonder of whales alongside the biting reality of human enterprise.
In April 2023 NOAA released a 2022 Status of Stocks report. Data displayed overfishing status of 490+ stocks managed by NOAA.
NOAA Fisheries assistant administrator, Janet Coit, said in the Status of Stocks news release, “Managing fisheries sustainably is an adaptive process, relying on sound science and innovation to conserve species and habitat, and meet the challenge of increasing our nation’s seafood supply in the face of climate change.” NOAA Fisheries priorities for fiscal year 2023 are full of words like: sustainability, resilience, mitigate, adapt, diversify, ensure equity, safeguard, propel recovery, conservation, protect, and restore. NOAA continuously strives to balance the scales between conservation and consumption.
What are the ethical concerns that should guide economics? Is it possible to view the ocean other than as a natural resource? Is that view in fact imperative to the sustainability of life on Earth?
A Bobbing Bibliography
If you keep your eye out for books, you will find them. Tucked away on the bridge is a shelf containing…
Life aboard this research vessel is fast-paced and absorbing. I feel like I am a child in a toy shop, eager to learn and blog about so many of the happenings around me! I spend much of my time high above in the flying bridge (above the bridge) with a panoramic 360 degree view of the horizon, documenting seabirds and mammals with colleagues—more on this later. We suspend our surveying when the ship reaches a sampling station. We have about 150 random sampling stations out in the ocean, ranging from close to coast (depth about 15 m) to right at the edge of the continental shelf (up to 500 m so far). Cruising about 9 knots (about 10 mph), the ship zigzags along a predetermined track, stopping anywhere between 15-30 minutes at each sampling station.
A map of our sampling stations. The black circles indicate plankton sampling sites; Dots show oceanographic stations where conductivity and temperature measurements are taken along with water samples for carbonate chemistry and nutrient analyses
At
each station, an array of measurements are taken or specimens sampled.
In my previous blog, I described a state-of-the-art device called the Imaging FlowCytoBot (IFCB). But plankton are also sampled using more traditional methods. We deploy Bongo Nets for plankton sampling. Can you guess why they are called Bongos? See the photo below.
Bongo nets being pulled out after sampling. The chief bosun and student volunteers are on watch.
Note that there is a pair of bigger bongos and a pair of “baby” bongos. These nets are lowered by a j-frame (arm that can be extended off the side of the ship) and winch, at various depths into the water and towed for particular distances through the water. The time spent inside the water (5 minutes minimum) and the depth traversed (up to 200 meters) varies with station depth, but there is a Flowmeter at the mouth of each net that counts volume of water sampled. So all measurements are standardized by volume. The mesh size is 333 microns (1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter; 1 meter = 3.3 feet), meaning anything over 333 microns will be trapped. (To put that in perspective, most cells in your body are about 100 microns).
A flowmeter at the mouth of a bongo net–-note the spinning fins that activate the water volume counting device
When they are pulled out, research personnel swing into action. Most of them are undergraduate volunteers from various universities eager to get their hands wet (literally and figuratively) doing marine science. The bigger bongo nets are hosed to flush all organisms to the bottom. Then the bottom is opened and contents flushed into a sieve. These samples are then preserved in formalin for future examination in labs on the mainland.
Jessica, an undergraduate volunteer, spraying the bigger bongo nets to flush plankton to the bottom
David (another undergraduate volunteer) sprays the smaller bongos
I lend a helping hand spraying the nets
Jessica opens the bottom of the net and empties contents into a sieve
Much of the contents are Salps: jelly-like planktonic tunicates
Closer look at Salps with a larval hake fish (probably a Red Hake) near the center. More on hakes below.
The abundant salps are a vital component of the ecosystem. Source: archives.nereusprogram.org
We even caught this beautiful planktonic crustacean (amphipod or isopod). It’s related to our rolly-pollies.
We also get some tiny arrow worms in our plankton samples. These torpedo-shaped worms belong to a phylum of predatory marine worms called Chaetognatha (“bristle jaws”). Photo courtesy Zatelmar
Plankton from the bigger bongos are preserved in 5% formalin for future analyses in mainland labs.
What happens to the contents of the pair of smaller bongos? Our Chief Scientist Harvey Walsh freezes the sample from one of them into small ziplock bags for a Florida lab which will conduct Stable Isotope Analyses. The other one’s contents are preserved in ethanol for genetic testing (Ethanol is far easier on DNA than formalin) to determine such aspects as taxonomy and phylogenetic (evolutionary) relationships and use in larval fish age and growth studies.
Chief Scientist Harvey Walsh bags a sample for freezing
All specimens are carefully labeled and catalogued
So
what are Stable Isotope Analyses? If you are a beginning college student, you
may be unaware of this sophisticated and widely-used technique. (My ecology students should be well aware of
this!). Basically, the ratio of isotopes
of a chemical element in a given sample is used to yield insights into aspects
such as food preferences of the organism or to reconstruct its past
environmental conditions. It can also be
used to determine where the plankton originated and thus get insights into
ocean circulation. The analyses are done
with a device called mass spectrometer.
Career Corner
I
spoke with our Chief Scientist Harvey
Walsh about his career, research, and his advice for students.
Q. Harvey, tell us how a man from land-locked Minnesota ended up as a top marine biologist.
A. When I graduated from college I looked for a job with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, but they were very competitive. So I applied for several NOAA positions from North Carolina down to the gulf coast. I got a job offer in NC. This was after my B.S. in Aquatic Biology from St. Cloud State University.
Q. You did an M.S. while working with NOAA?
A. Yes, I went back to school part-time and got my Masters. I then went to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute [WHOI]
Q.
From WHOI you came back to NOAA?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Has ocean acidity changed since NOAA started EcoMon?
A.
It is hard to say because of seasonal variability. We need more long-term data.
Q.
Is ocean acidity world-wide increasing?
A.
That’s what I see in the scientific literature.
Q.
How about temperature?
A. Yes, the Northeast has seen an increase in water temperatures, especially in the Gulf of Maine, where it has increased about 0.9°C in about 4 decades.
Q.
Has EcoMon helped document declines in sharks or whales?
A.
Again, we need long-term data for that.
Q. Can you name one recommendation from EcoMon that has benefited sea life?
A.
We get larval fish data. Recently we
started calculating Atlantic Mackerel Egg Index in collaboration with Division
of Fisheries and Ocean Canada and the data indicated that there is a decline in
the adult population. This aided in the
determination to lower catch limits for that species.
Q.
Has the politics of climate change influenced your work?
A. No. I have not had anyone try to change my research or findings in any way. We have within NOAA good scientific integrity rules. We feel we have the ability to publish sound science research without any interference.
Q.
You are highly published. One of your
papers on larval fish otoliths was with my former student Michael Berumen. How are larval otoliths helpful in research?
A. One of the projects we have is trying to use larval hakes to examine stock structure (fish stock is a group of fish of the same species that live in the same geographic area and mix enough to breed with each other when mature) and estimate spawning stock biomass (the amount of mature fish). We have interns in the lab who remove otoliths and get daily growth increments. That allows us to estimate age of the larva and spawning seasonality.
Q.
Can you tell based on this where they hatched?
A.
That’s where we are headed. Once we get
information on when they were born and where they were collected, we hope to
use oceanographic conditions to see if we can back-calculate where they may
have come from and thus plot spawning locations to aid in stock structure
analysis.
Q.
One of the findings of past warming episodes is shrinking of foraminiferans and
other small shelled organisms. Is NOAA
monitoring size of plankton?
A. We are. That’s one of the projects we have just started: estimating size of Calanusfinmarchicus, or Cal fin [see photo below]. This is a copepod crustacean and an important food for the endangered Right Whales. We have a 40-yr time series and have seen evidence of declining size of late-stage and adult Cal fin. We are trying to see if this has resulted in a decline in their energetic value. They are a lipid-rich zooplankton. If their size is related to their lipid storage they may be less nutritious for their predators.
Q.
One of your papers indicated that about a third of fish and plankton species
assessed in the northeast are vulnerable to climate change. Is that trend continuing?
A. Yes, as we monitor we continue to see shifts
in fisheries, plankton, seabirds, and mammals.
Q. What is your advice to early college
undergraduates interested in marine science?
A.
Be flexible. When I first started I
thought I’d stay in Minnesota and work on adult fish stocks. I ended up working
on larval fish and zooplankton. Not
focusing on one skill set and being able to adapt and look at various aspects
will help you in the long run.
At the end of the interview, Harvey gave me this card and encouraged students to contact him for volunteer opportunities with NOAA.
Information Card from NOAA’s Oceans and Climate Branch
Harvey also kindly shared this slide explaining the locations of Calfin, Baleen Whales, and even you, in the food web. The highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale feeds on plankton like calfins by filtering them through a sieve (baleen) in their mouths (slide: courtesy Harvey Walsh)
Personal Log
One of the best aspects of this voyage is the daily spectacular views of sunrises and sunsets. I spend a lot of time high up on the fly bridge assisting in sea bird, sea mammal, and sea turtle surveys. It’s also a treat to look around 360 degrees and see nothing but the horizon, nothing man-made except this big old ship gently bobbing up and down in the center, leaving a wide frothy wake behind. Yet, in the vastness of the ocean, we are but a mere speck. It really is humbling to experience this vista.
The ship crew are very serious about safety. We have periodic Fire and Emergency, Abandon Ship, and Man Overboard drills. A billet posted on my door advises where to report in each of these scenarios. We have “muster” points, meaning, where to meet, for each. I was trained to get into my Anti Exposure Suit in less than two minutes. That was easier said than done!
Here I am in my Anti Exposure Suit. I felt like an astronaut in it
The food continues to be sumptuous and delicious, cooked by two expert stewards Margaret and Bronley. Never did I dream I will enjoy eggplant curry and coconut jasmine rice on a NOAA Ship far out into the sea.
Dinner menu posted in the mess
Margaret and Bronley are the two great cooks on board. Margaret makes her own Garam Masala, putting her unique fingerprint into her curry dishes (and delighting my Indian-American tongue)!
I even get my daily work out in the ship’s small but well-appointed gym
Did You Know?
Hakes (see photo above) are lean whitefish belonging to the Cod family. They are known as Gadoids (Order Gadiformes) and are grouped with cods, haddocks, whiting, and pollocks. They are much sought-after for their delicate texture and mild flavor. We get some hake larvae in our plankton tows. Hake larvae are used by scientists for all kinds of studies. For example, their otoliths (tiny ear bones) can enable identification of species and even help determine where they were hatched (by Stable Isotope Analysis—see above). This information, combined with data on ocean currents and circulation, can help determine hotspots for hake reproduction to enable conservation and sustainable fisheries.
Interesting animals seen
lately
Fish:
Hammerhead Shark
Whale Shark
Tuna
sp.
Mammals:
Pilot
Whales
Minke
Whales
Common
Dolphins
Bottle-nosed Dolphins
Spotted Dolphins (riding the bow!)
SeaBirds:
Great
Shearwater
Manx
Shearwater
Cory’s Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Audubon’s
Shearwater
Wilson’s
Storm-petrel
Band-rumped Storm-petrel
Leach’s Storm-petrel
Black-capped Petrel
Red-necked
Phalarope
Northern
Gannet
In addition, several land birds on their south-bound autumn migration rested briefly on the ship. I was not expecting to see Prairie Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Brown-headed Cowbirds on a pelagic (=ocean) cruise!
Latitude: 57° 01.32 N Longitude: 155 ° 01.21 W Wind Speed: 14.56 knots Wind Direction: 334° Air Temperature: 15.5°C Sea Temperature: 15°C Barometric Pressure: 1017 mbar
Science and Technology Log
Today marks our sixth day at sea. We are headed north into the Shelikof Strait between the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island. We are continuing along our survey stations with bongo nets and midwater trawls. A bongo net consists of two plankton nets mounted next to each other. These plankton nets are ring nets with a small mesh width and a long funnel shape. Both nets are enclosed by a cod-end that is used for collecting plankton. The bongo net is pulled horizontally through the water column by a research vessel.
Bongo Net Diagram. Image credit: Flanders Marine Institute
Bongo nets on deck
We are using a combination of four total bongo nets simultaneously to sample plankton. Two of our nets are 60 cm in diameter and the other two are 20 cm in diameter respectively. Depending on the depth at each station, the nets are lowered until they reach a depth of ten meters above the sea floor. Scientists and NOAA crew on the scientific deck must constantly communicate with the bridge via radio during this survey to maintain consistent wire angles. Ideally, the goal is to maintain the winch wire angle at 45° so that the water flow into the nets is parallel to the ocean floor.
Me measuring the bongo net wire angle. Photo by Matt Wilson.
Plankton are plants and animals that float along in the oceans’ tides and currents. Their name comes from the Greek meaning “drifter” or “wanderer.” There are two types of plankton: tiny plants called phytoplankton, and weak-swimming animals called zooplankton. Oceanic plankton constitute the largest reservoir of biomass in the world’s oceans. They play a significant role in the transfer of energy within the oceanic ecosystems. Ongoing plankton monitoring data is essential for evaluating ecosystem health and for detecting changes in these ecosystems.
One of the plankton ID cards we use when identifying samples under the microscope
Once the nets are brought back onto the deck, we immediately rinse the nets so that all of the plankton collects in the cod-end (the plastic tube attachment at the bottom). We carefully remove the cod-end tubes and bring them into the wet lab for processing. Using sieve pans, we filter the cod-end sample (plankton) into glass jars. We add formaldehyde and sodium borate to each jar to preserve the plankton for future analysis and study. NOAA Chief Scientist Matt Wilson informed me that all of the sample jars we collect on this expedition will actually be sent to the Plankton Sorting and Identification Center in Szczecin, Poland. Check out their website for more info: https://mir.gdynia.pl/o-instytucie/zaklad-sortowania-i-oznaczania-planktonu/?lang=en .
Plankton sample
Plankton sample
At even numbered stations, NOAA scientists on board will conduct a RZA (rapid zooplankton assessment) of samples collected using a microscope. This rapid assessment of plankton yields current data that allows scientists to quickly evaluate present-day ecosystem health and changes while they await more in-depth sample results and analysis from Poland.
Personal Log
Everything is still going great on day six at sea. Seas are remaining relatively calm, which I am very thankful for. I am actually sleeping more than I do at home. I am averaging about nine to ten hours sleep at night which is amazing! Most mornings, I get up and head down to the gym to run on the treadmill for some much needed exercise. As I said in my second blog, our meals have been delicious. Chief Steward Judy leaves us out some late night treats to help us get through our long shifts. I thoroughly enjoyed some late night ice cream to help me power through the last trawl of the night. I really like lunch and dinner time on the ship because it brings everyone together for a few minutes to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. Most of the scientists and NOAA crew and officers have traveled all over the world on scientific vessels. It is fascinating to hear about all of their stories and adventures. I have already decided to add the ‘PolarTREC’ (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating in Antarctica and/or the Artic) Program to my bucket list for a few years down the road. My most favorite organism that we have caught in the trawl so far was this Smooth Lumpsucker.
Smooth lumpsucker
Mr. Lumpsucker
Me and my buddy Mister Lumpsucker – Photos by Lauren Rogers
Did You Know?
The answers to day three blog’s temperature readings were 62.6°F for air temperature and 59°F for sea temperature.
All jellyfish are such weak swimmers that they too are considered plankton. There is also some scientific debate as to whether or not the Ocean Sun Fish (aka Mola mola) is considered a type of plankton. The sun fish is a passive planktonic creature which can only move vertically in the water column since it lacks a back fin. They have a long dorsal and anal fin that help them maneuver clumsily up and down in the water column.
