All nine of us have a specific task once the boat stops at a station. Travis and Jeff collect water samples to bring back to TAMUG; the water samples are filtered in order to characterize the food web in the Gulf. We also gather environmental data, such as salinity and temperature at each station.
Travis and Jeff collecting water samples
The bongo net and neuston net sampling methods are very similar. They only differ in mesh sizes—this allows us to catch different species along with fish of different sizes. Once the nets are brought on board, we thoroughly rinse all the fish to the bottom of the codends. Then the codends are emptied into a bucket, filtered through a net, placed in their station’s designated jar and preserved. The fish are identified back in Dr. Rooker’s lab at TAMUG.
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| Retrieving the bongo nets | Rinsing the net |
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| Emptying the codend | Jarring the sample |
If the fish is in good condition, it is brought to the dry lab and Kim takes a picture of it. Like this ribbonfish...
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