In the Weeds
Though it may take longer to sort through a sample inundated with sargassum, we’ve been seeing some really unique organisms. Pictured below is a sargassum fish, an ambush predator, that has the perfect camouflage.
We’ve also been collecting filefish, crustaceans, and jellyfish that are taken out of the samples by Carlos Ruiz and Veronica Quesnell.
Right after they help pull up the nets they search each sample for organisms to take back with them to the Texas A&M Galveston Shark Biology and Fisheries Lab run by David Wells, PhD.
Carlos came back to his alma mater of TAMU after finishing a M.S. from Auburn University. A research technician, he has an integral part in the lab and assisting graduate students on their projects. The position allows him to take part in a wide variety of research and to be out in the field frequently, which he enjoys. It would be a great opportunity after graduation for any student with an affinity for research .
Veronica usually isn’t out on the field, and instead gets samples for her research on swordfish from NOAA and commercial fisheries. Along with other courses she’ll be teaching fisheries techniques in a field ichthyology course. In addition to being a researcher, student, and teacher, Veronica is the mother to a beautiful girl named Abby.
i like the tiny fish. i want one