pyrosome – Page 2 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 21, 2017

Christine Webb: August 18, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Christine Webb

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

August 11 – 26, 2017

Mission: Summer Hake Survey Leg IV

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean from Newport, OR to Port Angeles, WA

Date: 8/18/2017

Latitude: 48.19 N

Longitude: 125.29 W

Wind Speed: 7.9 knots

Barometric Pressure: 1021.70 mBars

Air Temperature: 55.4 F

Weather Observations: Foggy

Science and Technology Log:

I am learning an unbelievable amount about marine biology! Today I will focus on hake because that is the main type of fish we are surveying on this voyage. Pacific hake are found in great abundance out here off the west coast of North America and Canada. Let me tell you a little bit about what we do.

The first thing we have to do before trawling for hake is find a good aggregation of them based on our acoustics. There is always a scientist in the acoustics lab watching the monitor outputs. The monitors show the acoustics from different frequencies: 18, 38, and 120 KHz. They can “see” when there are things between us and the ocean floor (see picture below). Based on the response of the acoustics to the objects in the water, the scientists make an educated guess about when we are over a hake aggregation. I’ve been learning a lot about how to read these monitors and how to see if we’re over rockfish, phytoplankton, or hake. I think it would be pretty cool to see something giant like a whale go underneath us, but that hasn’t happened. That’s probably for the best – I can’t imagine it’s super safe to have a whale under your ship.

IMG_20170816_090024430_BURST000_COVER_TOP — Acoustic data from the acoustics lab.

Once the acoustic scientists decide we’re over hake, they radio up to the bridge to tell them it’s time to go fishing. The fishermen start getting the nets ready, and the scientists (that’s me!) go up for marine mammal watch. We have to make sure there aren’t any whales or dolphins nearby that might get caught in our nets. I really like marine mammal watch. I get super excited to see whales and dolphins, even though I guess that’s kind of bad because we might have to postpone our trawl. Seeing mammals when we’re not fishing is the most exciting. Today we saw two orcas by the side of our boat – now THAT is cool!

IMG_20170817_103950017_HDR — Me on marine mammal watch

Once the net is fully deployed and well below the surface, the marine mammal watch ends. Then they fish through the sign they saw on the acoustics and bring the net up when they believe they caught an adequate sample. Then it’s time to process the trawl! What we want to see is a majority of hake, but that doesn’t always happen. We’ve had trawls with hundreds of hake, and we’ve had trawls with only seventeen. We sometimes catch a bunch of other stuff too, and we do different things with those creatures (I’ll save that for a different post).

Processing the trawl is pretty intensive. First we have to weigh all of them to get the mass of the entire trawl. Then we sex them to sort into male and female baskets. It’s tricky to tell the difference between males and females. We have to dissect them and find the gonads to be able to tell. Near as I can tell, the male gonads look like ramen noodles and the females look like peach jello. I think of it as, “I wonder what my husband is eating while I’m gone? Probably ramen noodles. Okay, ramen noodles means male.”

IMG_20170818_153044071 — Getting ready to sort hake!

Once we have them all sorted, we take length measurements and start extracting the parts we need. The scientists are collecting and preserving the otoliths, gonads, stomachs, livers, and fin clips. We have a LOT of tubes of fish guts in our lab. I’m not entirely sure what scientists will be doing with all of this data, but perhaps I’ll interview our chief scientist about this and put it in a future post.

Personal Log:

Everyone I’ve met on this ship has been so friendly! One of my favorite things about it is that these people seem so passionate about whatever they’re doing. You should have seen my friend Hilarie’s face today when we pulled up a trawl full of pyrosomes (that’s what she studies). Tracie showed me some of the phytoplankton she’s studying, and it was like she was a little kid at Christmas. Personally I’ve never been super interested in phytoplankton, but now I am. She makes it sound like it’s the most exciting subject on earth, and looking at her slides makes me believe her.

IMG_20170817_081818382 — Tracie studying phytoplankton

It’s not only the scientists who are passionate about their work. The chief steward, Larry, was so excited about his cauliflower soup today that he seemed personally offended when I didn’t take any. “Take some soup!” he said. “Seriously – it’s really good soup. You’re going to like it.” I took some just to be nice, but after one bite I said, “Larry, will this be out at dinner? Can this please be out at dinner? I LOVE IT.” It was seriously good. I need to learn how to make that.

Our chief scientist takes her job as chief very seriously too. She’s like the momma duck who takes care of all of us (thanks, Julia!). Also, she plans fun and goofy games every day where we can win prizes out of her “bag of goodies.” I haven’t won yet, but I hope I will before this is over. Today Hilarie won some awesome coral reef socks. I’m not sure how I’ve gotten this far in life without owning marine biology socks! It’s great to have Julia around because she makes time for all of us even though her own research is very absorbing and important. She’s a rock star.

IMG_20170818_181046070_HDR — Hilarie choosing her prize

Stay tuned for more info from Leg 4 – bye for now!

July 29, 2017

Brad Rhew: Getting Fishy With It, July 29, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Brad Rhew

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23 – August 7, 2017

Mission: Hake Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest coast

Date: July 28, 2017

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude 4359.5N
Longitude 12412.6 W
Temperatue: 54 degrees
Sunny
No precipitation
Winds at 23.5 knots
Waves at 2-4 feet

Science and Technology Log

We are officially off! It has already been an amazing experience over the last couple of days.

One of the goals of this project is to collect data that will be used to inform the Pacific hake stock assessment. This falls in line with the Pacific Whiting Treaty that the US-Canadian governments enacted to jointly manage the hake stock. NOAA and Department of Fisheries and Oceans-Canada (DFO) jointly survey and provide the hake biomass to the stock assessment scientists. (Refer to the link in my last blog about additional information on this treaty.) Major goals of the survey are to determine the biomass, distribution, and biological composition of Pacific hake using data from an integrated acoustic and trawl survey. Additionally, we are collecting a suite of ecological and physical oceanographic data in order to better understand the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME).

There is a very detailed process the scientists go through to collect samples and data on the hake caught and selected for sampling. They want to learn as much as possible about these fish to help with the ongoing research projects.

Here is a quick guide and understanding of how sampling works and what data is collected:

Determine the length and sex of the fish.
1. To determine the length, the fish is placed on a magnetic sensor measuring board. The magnet is placed at the fork of the tail fin; the length is recorded into the data table. (See figure A.)
  Figure A. Determining the length of the fish.
2. To determine the sex, the fish is sliced open on the side. Scientist look to see if ovaries (for females) or testes (for males) are present. They also can determine the maturity of the fish by looking at the development of the reproductive organs. (See figure B.)
  Figure B. Determining the sex of the fish.
Determine the mass.
1. The Hake are placed on a digital scale and then massed. The data also gets entered into the database. (See figure C.)
  Figure C. Massing the fish on a digital scale.
Removing of the otoliths (ear bones).
1. Hake have two otoliths. How this is done is the scientist first cuts a slight incision on top of the fish’s head. (See figure D.)
  Figure D. Making an incision on the fish’s head to remove otoliths.
2. The head is then carefully cracked open to expose the bones. (See figure E.)
3. The bones are removed with forceps and then placed in a vial. The vial is then barcode scanned into the database. The otoliths will then be sent to the lab for testing. Scientists can run test on the otoliths to determine the age of the selected fish. (See figures F and G.)
  
  Figure E. Cracking head open to reveal otolith
  
  Figure F. Removing otolith with forceps
  
  Figure G. Storing otolith in vial
Removing a fin clip.
1. Fin clips are removed from the Hake for DNA sampling to be completed back on shore in the lab. This gives researchers even more information about the selected fish.
2. The fin clip is removed using scissors and forceps. (see figure H.)
  Figure H. Removing a fin clip.
3. The clip is then placed on a numbered sheet. (see figure I.)
  Figure I. Placing the fin clip on a numbered sheet.
4. The number is also entered into the database with all the other information collected on that particular fish.
All the information is collected in one database so it can be assessed by scientists for future research. (see figure J.)
Figure J. All information is stored in a database.

Personal Log

Even though this survey is just beginning this has been such an amazing experience already. I have learned a great deal about oceanography and marine research. I cannot wait to use my experiences back in my classroom to expose my students to careers and opportunities they could be a part of in their future.

Another great aspect of being a Teacher at Sea is the relationships I’m building with other scientists and the crew. It is amazing to hear how everyone became a part of this cruise and how passionate they are about their profession and the world around them.

Did You Know?

This is Leg 3 of 5 of this Summer Hake Survey. Two more legs will be completed this year to collect even more data on the fish population.

Fascinating Catch of the Day!

When we fish for Hake it is very common to collect some other organisms as well. Today’s fun catch was Pyrosomes or Sea Tongues!

These free-floating colonial tunicates are found in the upper part of the open ocean. Pyrosomes rely on the currents to move them around the ocean. They are typically cone shaped and are actually made up of hundreds of organisms known as zooids. The Zooids form a gelatinous tunic that links them together creating the cone shape. They are also bioluminescent and give off a glow in the ocean.

TAS Rhew Blog 2 photo collage — Fun with pyrosomes!

Check it Out!

If you want to learn more about what is happening on the Bell M. Shimada, check out The Main Deck blog for the ship:

https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/blogs/display_blogentry.cfm?blogid=7

June 30, 2017June 30, 2017

Dawn White: Finally Fishing! June 27, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Dawn White

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

June 19 – July 1, 2017

Mission: West Coast Sardine Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast

Date: June 27, 2017

Weather Data from the Bridge

Date: June 27, 2017                                                         Wind Speed: 28.9 kts with gusts
Time: 9:15 p.m.                                                                 Latitude: 4828.20N
Temperature: 13.4^oC                                                      Longitude: 12634.66W

Science and Technology Log

White_Lasker route 6-27 — The red line indicates the route of NOAA Ship *Reuben Lasker* transiting along the coast of Vancouver Island

We finally reached the tip of Vancouver Island on Sunday evening, June 25. It would be our first night of fishing. The red line indicates the route taken by the Reuben Lasker as we transited along the coast to the northernmost tip of the island. The blue lines indicate the path to be taken for regular interval acoustic monitoring for schools of fish. Based on the acoustics results, a decision would be made as to where the fishing would occur at night.

White_deploying net — Crew deploying the fishing net

The photo at left shows the crew completing the deployment of the fishing net. You can see the large winch that will release and retrieve the main body of the net. The net will be set out for about 45 minutes. During this time there are many variables that will be monitored. Sensors attached to the net will collect data on time spent at each depth. Other factors being monitored include temperature, wind speed, swell size, and lat/long of trawl. In addition, there are four water-activated “pingers” attached to the net that emit sounds at frequencies known to disturb larger mammals in an effort to reduce accidental captures.

Once the net has been retrieved, the scientists collect the catch in large baskets and begin the process of weighing and sorting. The first night’s catch was primarily made up of a very unique colonial type of organism called a pyrosome. The side nets and codend (mesh covered end of the main net where most of the catch is collected) were packed with these the first couple of trawls.

White_many pyrosomes — Many pyrosomes were mixed in with the catch.

You can see many pyrosomes mixed in with the rest of the catch here. They are the pink colored cylindrical organisms. They have been increasing in population over the past couple of years as well as appearing further north than ever observed before. A nice overview of the pyrosome influx and volumes observed was recently reported in an article published by Environment entitled “Jellied sea creatures confound scientists, fishermen on U.S. Pacific Coast”. You can review the article here.

The trawl net being used was part of the research project, as it possessed modifications aimed at capturing and quantifying organisms that made it through an apparatus called the extruder door. The purpose for this opening is to allow for larger mammals and non-target organisms to pass through the net relatively unharmed should they get caught. Two additional pocket nets had been added to the main net for the specific purpose of monitoring what made it through the mesh.

This far north, the researchers were expecting to find mostly juvenile herring and salmon. On our second night of fishing we actually had several species of fish and other marine animalia to i.d. The amount and type of data collected depended on the species of organism. In some cases, we collected just the mass of the group of organisms as a whole. For other species, we collected mass, lengths, presence/absence of an adipose fin, DNA samples from a fin clip, and more. Certain species were tagged, bagged, and frozen for further study in a land-based lab. It’s so interesting to see the variety we pull out of the net each trawl!

Some of the species collected can be seen below:

Extension question for my students reading this:

What traits could you use to differentiate between the juvenile salmon and Pacific herring?

Personal Log:

White_scientists collecting data — Here are some of the scientists making sure the correct data is collected and recorded from one of our catches.

White_here i am in yellow — Here I am (in yellow) with some of the scientists (L to R: Emily, Amy, and Angela) getting ready to receive the evening’s catch.

First trawl starts as close to sunset as possible, which for this latitude has been somewhere between 9:30-10:00 p.m. There is always this air of anticipation as we wait for the net to be emptied. It has been enlightening to work with the science staff as they evaluate each sample. The number of reference sheets and data recording forms is incredible. It seems like you would need to take a course in data management just to ensure you were familiar enough with the requirements to not overlook some detail of importance.

The photo of the group above was taken about 11:00 p.m. I was worried initially that I would not be able to flip my sleep schedule to match the work schedule, but it has been much more doable than I thought it would be. Our staterooms are dark and quiet, so going to bed in the morning really doesn’t feel any different that at night. Thanks to the extensive movie collection and my ability to keep downloading books to read on Kindle, I have had plenty of filler for downtime and that “reading before bed” I always do.

Time to go to work…..

Did You Know?

There are 36 species of dolphin worldwide, including 4 species of river dolphins. Quite a few of the Common Bottlenose Dolphin followed the ship out of the harbor in San Diego, riding along on the wake produced by the ship. On the way up the coast of California I saw a couple of Dall’s Porpoises (not in the dolphin family, but quite similar in appearance). Then as we traveled south along Victoria Island there were a couple of Pacific White-Sided dolphins enjoying games along-side the ship. It is so exciting to see these animals out in their native habitat!

Every night before the ship drops the fishing net, a member of the science team is sent to the bridge to perform a 30-minute mammal watch. The surrounding waters are observed closely for any signs of these and other larger species. The investigators do their best to ensure that only the small fish species intended for capture are what enters the net. Should there be a sighting, the ship moves on another 5 miles in an effort to avoid any accidental captures. The scientists and crew work very hard to minimize the impact of their studies on the surrounding ecosystems.

June 12, 2017

David Amidon: Back to Work, June 10, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

David Amidon

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

June 2 – 13, 2017

Mission: Pelagic Juvenile Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean off the California Coast

Date: June 10, 2017

Weather Data:

Latitude: 33 degrees, 43 min North; Longitude: 119 degrees, 32 min West

Air Temp: 16.7 C Water Temp: 16.9 C Wind Speed: 27 knots

Science Log

After our quick stop into port, we were back to the sorting last night.

I will take you though a step-by-step account of the sort.

A science crew member reports to the Bridge for the 30 min Marine Mammal Watch. The fishermen ready the net.
We arrive at the Station. Science crew goes on deck for the Outdoor Marine Mammal Watch. The fishermen put the net in the ocean and begin trawling.
After a 15 minute trawl, the net is hauled in and the Marine Mammal Watch ends.
The crew brings the sample collected in a bucket into the Science Lab.
Based on the size of the catch and the organisms present, the crew determines an appropriate sample size. This time we went with a 250 ml sample as there were a TON of small pyrosomes.

Determining the volume of the total catch

Selecting a mixed subsample

Our 250ml sample
We sort based on visual identification.

Separating the first subset

We found pyrosomes, some anchovy & market squid, as well as flat fish and salps.
People sorting will call out their counts of each species and record the numbers collected.
Isolate a sample of krill to be specifically analyzed. They determine the species in the sample and number of each.

Collecting the krill sample

A krill under the microscope
Determine a second sample size to analyze. At each subsequent sample, we will stop counting specific organisms, such as tonight when we stopped counting the pyrosomes because we had enough data to extrapolate a value for the number collected. Then we stopped counting anchovies, etc. until we are just looking for outliers, or creatures in such low abundance an estimate would not be acceptable.

Selection from larger subsample

Organized sort

Repeat the steps until we have gone through the entire catch.
Afterwards, information is logged into the database and representative samples are measured and recorded.
Sorting the catch
The last step is to prepare samples for onshore analysis. Many labs have a standing request if samples are available, such as 5 Hake or a sample of anchovies. Specifically, the juvenile rockfish will undergo DNA analysis as well as having otoliths removed for further analysis. Basically, fish grow these little ear bones with rings like a tree. The more rings, the longer a fish has been alive. Therefore, the researchers can determine the age and growth rates of the fish based on these features.

Removing otoliths from a rockfish

A rockfish otolithe under the microscope

An Argonaut – basically an octopus with a shell

A Pyrosome under the microscope. This is really a COLONIAL organism, not truly multicellular.

Personal Log

Thursday, June 8th

We arrived in port today, so nothing on the science end to report. As we conducted the trawls the night before, I was still on the night schedule and missed out on a chance to explore San Diego. However, we did go to dinner with the other science personnel that work the daytime shifts, which was nice.

Friday, June 9th

The repairs went well and we returned to the ocean. We arrived at a station just after midnight and worked on 3 trawls. Waves started picking up during the shift. It is supposed to be windy again, which means the waves action will increase too.

Saturday, June 10th

Did I mention the winds were going to pick up? Wow. They were right – and tomorrow won’t be any better. I put the patch back on, which is unfortunate because my major side effect is that it really makes me tired. Or it could be that I have a tendency to visit the Flying Bridge to watch the sun come up.

Tonight we caught adult anchovies – and a lot of them. We ended saving a lot of the catch for other labs and for bait.

The night’s 1st catch 6/10

Starting the sort – check out those adult anchovies!

Adult anchovies vs YOY or Young of the Year

DID YOU KNOW?

At night, the officers piloting the ship keep all the lights off on the bridge. All displays are illuminated with red lights. In this way, the people on the bridge will keep their eyes adjusted to the dark and they will be better prepared to spot potential problems on the water.

At night, bridge displays are illuminated with only red light, which keeps officers’ eyes better adjusted to the dark.

April 13, 2017April 14, 2017

Mark Wolfgang: First Impressions, April 12, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Mark Wolfgang

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

April 11 – April 22, 2017

Mission: Spring Coastal Pelagic Species (Anchovy/Sardine) Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean

Date: April 12, 2017

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Lat: 35^o 21.1’ N Long: 121^o 26.9’ W
Overcast, rainy with quite a bit of fog
Temperature: 14^oC (56^oF)
Wind speed: 9.26 knots
Barometer: 1015.17 mbar
Visibility: Very limited

TAS Mark Wolfgang 4-13-17 Mark on deck — TAS Mark Wolfgang on board NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker, passing under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge

Scientific and Technology Log:

Last night/this morning, we did our first two trawls. These two trawls were kind of “blind” because they had not started doing acoustic trawls. I think I am starting to get the hang of how things happen during a trawl, which I know will be put to the test tonight.

TAS Mark Wolfgang 4-13-17 pulling in net v2 — The deck crew reels in the trawl net

As the net is pulled in, a team goes out and removes the camera from the net. The camera is used to monitor the net during the trawl, as well as monitoring the MMED (Marine Mammal Excluder Device) which records animals and their condition as they encounter the metal bars and are excluded through the opening in the top portion of the net. The deck crew continues to pull in the net. The organisms collected in the end of the net are put into buckets and brought into the wet lab. The first trawl had a small sunfish in the catch, but I missed it because I was putting my foul-weather gear on.

TAS Mark Wolfgang 4-13-17 market squid — Contents of the trawl (mostly pyrosomes and market squid) on the sorting table

The organisms are dumped onto a table and sorted. After sorting, the organisms are put on the scale and the mass is recorded. The number and type of fish were recorded. Both trawls had mostly pyrosomes (a colonial tunicate) and market squid. I have taught about tunicates in my zoology class, but never knew they were so common in the Pacific Ocean. Other than the pyrosomes and squid, the two trawls contained some lantern fish, several red pelagic crabs, and some other very small fish as well as a moon jelly.

Since we had no sardines or anchovies to process, we focused our time on the market squid. A random sample of 50 squid are taken. For each squid, we measure the length of the mantle, place the squid on a balance and record the mass. If the squid were larger than 75 mm, the squid was given a tag and placed in a bag. The squid smaller than 75 mm are all placed together in a bag.

Measuring squid

Weighing squid

It was impressive how all team members got right to work and functioned like a well-oiled machine. I am also impressed with how all individuals think of safety first. Starting at sunrise, they began doing acoustic trawls, so we may have better luck catching sardines and anchovies tonight.

Personal Log:

I have enjoyed my first days on the Reuben Lasker. The crew and science team have been very accommodating and welcoming. I am trying to be helpful and not get in the way. My roommate is a UAS drone pilot, but the weather has not been good enough to fly today – it is quite foggy and rainy and the seas are choppy. I hope I get a chance to see it fly sometime soon. I am trying to get used to the sleeping schedule and since I couldn’t sleep this morning, I took a little tour today and went to the bridge and spoke to some of the crew on the bridge as well as the Commanding Officer (CO). They showed me around a little and described some of the different navigational equipment. The chief electrician showed me around the computers in the acoustic lab. It is crazy to see all of the technology and to hear about how they handle all of this data with limited internet access on the boat. I am so pleased that everyone was been so friendly. The food has been great (we had an incredible crème brulee last night) and I have not been sea sick so far.

Did you know?

Pyrosomes are colonies of hundreds of individuals known as zooids. These zooids are joined by a gelatinous tunic and work in unison to propel the colony through the water.