Hey everyone! 

I am back on the R/V Point Sur with the DEEPEND crew! After sailing with everyone last fall on the first Deep-Sea Benefits cruise I am so grateful to be back out here again exploring the wild creatures of the deep on the 10th DEEEPEND|RESTORE cruise. While on the last cruise I was a master's student in Dr. Milligan's Seascape Ecology lab I have since then completed my degree and I know work full time in Dr. Sutton's Oceanic Ecology lab. My role for this cruise was more focused on helping things run smoothly in lab, training new students (Bianca and Emma) on the at sea database, and then I have also been practicing my taxonomic identification with Dr. Sutton on the family Sternoptychidae (Hatchetfishes). 

As Owl City once said, “You would not believe your eyes if ten thousand fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep.” Well… would you believe it if, instead of fireflies, it were shrimps lighting up the ocean? In the deep sea, many animals glow through a process called bioluminescence. It’s a chemical reaction that helps animals survive in the dark- used for everything from hiding, hunting, or saying “stay away!” You can find bioluminescence in all sorts of creatures, including shrimps, fishes, and squids!

Hi everyone!

My name is Ian Areford, and I’m a PhD student in Kevin Boswell’s Marine Ecology and Acoustics Lab at FIU. This is my first research cruise and after working with deep-sea organisms for the last 4 years it’s been amazing to not only see all the weird and wacky deep-sea creatures that come on board but also to experience being on a research vessel collecting all this data in real time. 

Hi, fellow ocean lovers! My name is Emma Schindler, and I am a second-year master's student in Dr. Sutton's Oceanic Ecology Lab at Nova Southeastern University. This is my first time sailing with the DEEPEND team, and it has been such a blast.