Wanted to post a few quick images of the work going on in the labs.  Folks are busy!  Here is how it all starts...  The nets are opened at specific depths and there are multiple nets on the Mocness - so you can trawl different depths with the same trawl.  The work in the lab starts once a batch of deep sea life is brought in from a net.  The first job is sorting the catch by taxonomic group and then getting each group of organism to each specialist.

Fish identification

Crustacean identification.  After an ID is provided, further data/materials may be collected - such as a DNA or stable isotope sample.

DNA samples being collected from specimens.

Data is also collected for the physical conditions in which each trawl is made.

April keep everything organized and manages the master database.  Everything goes through April and is recorded.  

Sometimes a specimen is sent to the photographic lab for further documentation.

The photographic lab is located on the front deck of the ship.

This is the inside of the photolab.

The specimen is documented photographically and then returned to the main lab for preservation.

We have had some questions come in about the MOCNESS that we are using to collect our deep-sea animals. “MOCNESS” is an acronym for a Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sampling System and it comes in a variety of sizes. The one we are using is called a 10-meter MOCNESS because it samples an area of about 10 square meters. It has a rigid frame and six different nets with codends attached that can be opened and closed at different depths through the touch of a button on the MOC10 operator’s computer. We know the exact depth of the net due to the conducting cable that attaches the MOC10 frame to the ship. This allows information to be sent back to the ship from the many sensors mounted to the frame. In addition to depth, the MOC10 sensors include temperature and conductivity (salinity). The multiple codends allow us to sample within particular depth zones so that we can learn where the organisms live. For example, whalefishes, like the one pictured here, live only below 1000 meters and the lanternfish is only found above 1000 meters.

                                  Whalefish                                                                                    Lanternfish

The nets only fish one at a time and are attached to the frame in such a way that as one net closes it opens the next net. The MOC10 is sent down to its max depth of 1500 meters with the first net open which is called an oblique trawl since it samples from the surface to depth. At 1500 meters, a signal is sent through the conducting cable to tell the MOC10 frame to open the next net, which closes the first one. Our sampling plan is to target the following depth layers: 1500-1200 m, 1200-1000 m, 1000-600 m, 600-200 m, and 200 m-surface. Keep an eye out for a later post on the layers of the ocean to find out why!

The long drive from San Antonio, Texas, to Gulfport, Mississippi, gave me plenty of opportunity to think about the various deep sea creatures I hoped to see on this trip.  You could cut the excitement with a knife by the time I crossed the border from Louisiana to Mississippi.  Loading gear onto the Point Sur brought all of the anticipation to reality, and then we were off.  The seas have been calm and we made it to our first trawling station without incident.  Then we started to fish as the trawling nets disappeared into the depths.  A few hours later and the biologists on board, including me, were giddy – a net full of deep sea species was hauled on deck.  It always seems like Christmas morning when a net is hauled up; you really never know what you are going to get…and these first few trawls have not disappointed.  Cup after cup of great wildlife were handed to me.  One of my jobs is to photographically document our encounters, which included a beautiful Johnson’s Abyssal Seadevil, Melanocetus johnsonii.  These small predators have enormous teeth for snaring other small animals.  Anglerfishes are also known for the glowing lure that they use to hunt. The technical term for the lure on an anglerfish is an “esca,” the fishing pole that connects it to the anglerfish’s forehead is an “illicium.”  Anglerfishes are among my favorite fishes…hopefully more of these!

Another of my favorite groups of fishes, the dragonfishes, has made several appearances so far.  This Scaleless Blackdragon, Echiostoma barbatum, is a deep-water predator.  In contrast to anglerfishes, dragonfishes have a “fishing rod” hanging off of their chin with a lure attached.  The entire structure is known as a barbel. 

The DEEPEND cruise on the R/V Point Sur is underway and currently at their first station!  We are out in the northern Gulf of Mexico until May 8th where we will be hoping to hit 8 stations during our journey.  This is the first time out for the ship's crew, first time using this MOCNESS net system on this ship, and first time to try out all of the science protocols that we have set up for our cruises. The first cruise of a survey is usually called the "shake down" cruise, designed to work out glitches that may come up during the trip with quick troubleshooting and lots of problem solving by the DEEPEND Team which is extremely important to set the stage for efficient future cruises.  We have quickly discovered, for example, that the internet is currently not reliable and Dante (on board) has sent me pictures to put into this blog so you can share our experience with us!  I am not on board but can relay questions to the DEEPEND Team if you've got any!  Post them and we can answer!

The R/V Point Sur at the dock in Gulfport, MS

The team is at the first station working through the deployment of the MOCNESS net (Multiple Opening/Closing Net Environmental Sensing System) which is a multi-net system that drops into the water at the same time with each net settling at different depths from the surface down to 1500m..  We are going to collect all organisms from each of the 5 nets and take tissues samples, identify the crustaceans, fishes, and cephalopods, and freeze some animals for lab studies back on land.  We will detail our projects as the days progress. Stay tuned!

  One of the MOCNESS nets being checked before assembled on the deck

   Team checking the spool of wire that will deploy the net system....  SO much cable!

So, post any questions you have about our journey!  Anything about life on a research ship, the science we're doing, what the crew does to run the ship, you ask it, we will try to answer the best we can!  There will be great pictures of the other equipment and of course, the animals once these nets come up!