For DEEPEND, I am one of the taxonomists that identify the cephalopods (squid and octopus) that are collected from the MOCNESS nets.  I am also collecting two other mollusc groups, pteropods (Sea Butterflies) and heteropods (Sea Elephants).  Once animals are identified, tissue could go to one or more of the following places for further DEEPEND study:  Stable isotope analysis (examples food web interactions among fauna), PAH (studying possible contaminants), or genetic barcoding for species identification verification and genetic diversity analysis. 

In the DEEPEND, we apply many techniques to learn about the animals that live in the depths of the twilight zone. One of the types of equipment we use is called an echosounder. While this may sound like a strange instrument, its actually quite common and in fact is on most fishing boats, and often called the ‘fish finder’ or the ‘bottom machine’. We use a similar type of fish finder that is powerful enough to send and receive sound to the depths of the ocean and use the data we collect to study the patterns of the animals in the deep scattering layers (DSLs). In the figure, the daily migration event can be seen with many of the animals within the DSL moving from the depths into the surface at night. Interestingly, not all animals move up at night and some remain at depth and the use of the acoustic devices helps us to better understand how the DSLs change in space and time. 

Hi!  My name is Natalie Slayden, and I am a Master’s student at Nova Southeastern University working as a Research Assistant in Dr. Tracey Sutton’s Oceanic Ecology Lab. This DEEPEND cruise is my first research cruise!

On DEEPEND cruises we spend most of our time doing science-related activities that you may have read about in previous blogs.  Believe it or not, we do occasionally have down time and we have to figure out how to fill it.  There is a TV in the galley that is quite popular to hang around and watch during meal times and late at night.  My favorite DEEPEND pastime however, is fishing!