"Don't stop believin'" -Journey
Aaron Toh looks at embryos through a microscope as Graham Lobert takes notes in the Crary Lab at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Aaron and Graham are both graduate students in marine biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where they work alongside Dr. Amy Moran. They were both invited to Antarctica to conduct research with Amy.
Aaron and Graham are the people I often go to to learn more about sea spiders, nudibranchs, and what I can do next to be helpful. They can usually be found down in the lab near the aquarium where they show me what they are working on and teach me how to support some of the experiments they are doing. The other day I walked in and Aaron set me up with my own workstation and gave me the info I need to identify the different stages of nudibranch embryos so I can better help the team with their research.
Graham and Aaron also spend their Sunday afternoons showing people who live and work in McMurdo the different animals and the research being conducted in the Aquarium.
MEET AARON MING WEI TOH
Aaron Toh preparing to dive at the Jetty dive hut, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Role on team: 1st year PhD student working alongside Dr. Amy Moran and Graham to conduct research. He's also a diver.
Favorite food in Hawaii: spicy or shoyu Ahi Poke from Ono seafood
Favorite invertebrate: besides sea spiders the spiny lobster. There is a big spiny lobster fishery in SE Asia. The tricky bit is that spiny lobsters stay in their planktonic form for nine months, which is a ridiculously long time for a fishery. So, instead of raising them from plankton the fishermen have to catch the juveniles.
Born and raised in Singapore, Aaron was a curious explorer from a young age. He was always looking under rocks and loved to watch the fish in his dad's fishtank. Growing up, he used to bring his encyclopedia of fish to school with him each day. One side had marine fish and the other side had freshwater fish. The other kids at his school called him weird for reading the fish book all of the time. Little did they know that his love of fish would lead him to researching in Antarctica.
Aaron Toh explaining to people at McMurdo the different embryonic stages of sea spiders. Crary Lab, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Aaron's love for fish and life underwater led him to seek out marine biology programs. He found the University of Hawaii at Manoa which, in addition to being in an amazing place, seemed like a great fit because the ocean and culture are similar to his home and that made him feel comfortable. Aaron initially thought he wanted to study tuna but when he took Dr. Amy Moran's invertebrate class he thought...Oooooo, I like this! and shifted his focus to the invertebrates of the sea. After undergrad he was so fascinated by invertebrates he decided to pursue his PhD at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Aaron Toh looking through a microscope at sea apider embryos. Crary Lab, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Aaron Toh recording information about trays of nudibranch and sea spider embryos. Crary Lab, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Not only is Aaron conducting research behind the microscope, he is also on the team of divers. Aaron started diving in 2016 and got into science diving in 2017. To be able to dive in Antarctica he needed his dry suit certification, which he did in California, and he needed to train for cold water diving. This required 50 lifetime dives. In Hawaii, he and Amy spent a lot of time dry suit diving on the north shore of Oahu at Haleiwa Trench. Normally thought of as a surfers' mecca, the north shore of Oahu has some diving spots that are great places for seeing sea turtles and logging dive. Dry suits, unlike wet suits, are made to keep the person wearing it dry while they are underwater so the suit is made of rubber and nylon. Aaron says one tricky bit about doing dry suit dives in Hawaii, you can't tell if your suit is leaking because you are sweating so much!
Aaron Toh putting on his dry suit gloves preparing to dive at The Jetty dive hut near McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Here in Antarctica, Aaron's dive training prepared him to be comfortable in the water and calmly react to any challenges that arise. While diving in Antarctica Aaron is hoping to see an octopus, some really big fish, or a big or rare sea spider!
I asked Aaron about his work with sea spiders. "They are very sweet creatures and there's no reason to be scared of them." Aaron feels the way a sea spider lives its life should be a lesson for all of us. "Sea spiders just live life and don't seem to care about much. They don't care that they don't have gills or lungs. They don't care that they give birth from their knees." They just accept themselves for what they are, move slowly, and seemingly have no worries, and that's a great way to live life.
MEET GRAHAM LOBERT
Graham Lobert being interviewed in the dive hut, Turtle Rock, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
Role on Team: Graduate student. Role to conduct science and work alongside Amy and Aaron on experiments. Also, dive tender and kuma stove chef.
Food you wish was in the Galley: "It's not really a food but I miss Sweet Iced Tea"
Favorite thing to eat that you cook on a kuma stove: burritos with black bean, refried beans, rice, steak, queso, salsa verde, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
Favorite ocean animal: Sea spiders of course then ctenophores, also known as comb jellies. Why ctenophores? "They are beautiful and their flashy tines knock their light around. So little is known about them there is mystery and beauty behind them."
Graham Lobert's interest in biology began growing up in the great lakes state of Michigan. When he started his studies at Central Michigan University he was planning to be a teacher and then shifted to pre-med. One of his biology labs at Central involved marine sciences and he was hooked. He wound up at Friday Harbor Laboratories, a marine biology field station in Washington State and really fell in love with the fauna of the marine world.
Graham Lobert taking sea spider embryos out of the furnace.
Graham began studying sea spiders his sophomore year with Dr. Andrew Mahon and became fascinated with the sea spider research Dr. Amy Moran was doing in Hawaii. He was excited for the opportunity to study marine science in Hawaii and to join Amy's research in Antarctica. "Sea spiders are fun organisms" says Graham. "We really don't know much about them and that's cool. So many people have never seen a or heard of a sea spider before and when I show one to them their eyes light up!"
Graham Lobert shows a sea spider from the Crary Lab Aquarium to people who came to the Crary Lab Open House. Crary Lab, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
While on the icy continent, Graham hopes to learn as much as he can and take advantage of this opportunity to learn about sea spiders in their environment. Until this point he had only seen sea spiders jars and is now truly amazed to see them in their actual habitat. Dive tender is another important role Graham plays on the team. He helps the divers when they come out of water, heats up their food on the kuma stove, and makes sure they are safe. He also measures oxygen percentages and salinity while the divers are diving. He's been helping me out with vertical plankton tows too! While dive tending, Graham likes looking down the dive hole, something that reminds him of ice fishing when he was a child. He's hoping to be able to dive down there soon!
Graham Lobert uses a net to clear the ice out of a dive hole. Jetty, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
When asked what he would tell young people Graham said, "Don't be afraid to take a leap of faith and try something new. Also, don't be afraid to talk to people about your interests and then listen. If you have open ears and an open mind you can learn anything!"
TRIVIA ANSWERS
Thanks for playing and congratulations to everyone who answered. Addie, Evie, Rowan, Dan, Casey, and Teddy. Let me know your addresses and I'll send you a postcard from Antarctica!
1. What type of tracked vehicle did I learn to drive yesterday that helps research teams get to their research areas on the sea ice?
A. a tank B. a race car C. a pisten bully D. a monorail
2. Which of these animals are marine ectotherms?
A. snakes and lizards B. sea spiders and nudibranchs C. seals and sea lions D. puppies and kitties
Ectotherm means an animal that is dependent on external sources of body heat and marine means from the ocean.
3. What makes sea ice different from land ice?
A. it freezes at a lower temperature B. it turns red when it freezes C. it freezes the whole ocean D. penguins only like sea ice
4. How do Weddell seal pups stay warm when they are born?
A. they have lanugo fur to keep them warm B. they are wrapped in blankets C. their mom's snuggle them D. they have a layer of fat called brown fat
5. What questions do you have about Antarctica?
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