Yesterday you were introduced to the MOCNESS, today we will go into a bit more "depth"as to what the scientists are sampling, and why they are sampling. We all know about food chains and food webs, but I had no idea as to the breadth of life found in the oceans that is so tiny you need microscopes to see most of your sample. The plankton we are collecting is itty bitty, and I will give this my best shot, but as a forester by first trade, this is all new to me.
As the MOCNESS enters the water you have a good glimpse of how it actually fishes.
The MOCNESS is a multiple opening and closing fishing machine. It kicks booty and is super efficient. In one tow you can collect up to nine samples from nine different depths along a specific line as identified by the scientists.
Once the net is released the scientists are able to document the depth and placement of the net using electronic equipment that they can actually read while on the vessel.
It is important to keep track of the depth while deploying the MOCNESS.
This group of scientists is specifically looking for ichthyoplankton, you know those larval baby fish. Right now they are mostly getting copepods, a type of zooplankton that the ichthyoplankton eats. Alas we have not had many fish in our nets and one theory is that we are not in the fish zones yet. As the vessel is still on the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf we are hoping to see greater populations of fish as we approach the edge of the shelf itself.
Preparing to remove the cod ends.
A nice neat row of ichthyoplankton samples.
Once the net is released the scientists are able to document the depth and placement of the net using electronic equipment that they can actually read while on the vessel.
As you can tell from this tow, five nets were opened thus there are five samples of zooplankton.
As you can see we have five freshly caught samples, all preserved ready to go back to the lab in Juneau for data collection. This has been fascinating and I look forward to talking with the scientists in a few months and seeing how they are progressing in analyzing their data.
Check in tomorrow as I have my fist...."People of the day!" Tomorrow is Coast Guard day where I will have two of the ships personnel who have graciously answered my questions about what they do and why they love their jobs!
Here is today's photo challenge, what is this item, and where do you think it came from?
Quote of the Day: Coming, going the waterfowl leaves not a trace, nor does it need a guide. -Zen Haiku
FOR MY STUDENTS: Why is it important so have so many of these smaller life forms in the ocean?