Giving in Action u w f o u n d at i o n
Fishing for Answers SNAILFISH AREN’T EXACTLY THE DARLING OF THE DEEP OCEAN. Long and pink, with a gelatinous coat that makes them more squishy than scaly, the females have a curious habit: they unceremoniously inject their eggs into the body cavity of Golden King crabs. UW junior Jennifer Gardner suspects it’s a small quirk of nature that could have a large impact on Alaska’s crab fishing industry. For a month last summer, Jennifer trawled the waters off the Aleutian Islands studying snailfish aboard a research cruise with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Her job was to figure out which species of snailfish were leaving their unsolicited calling card.
“Whether the relationship between snailfish and crab is parasitic is still up for debate,” says Jennifer, an Aquatic and Fishery Sciences major. “These fish are grossly under-studied, but my research determined the Careproctus genus of snailfish were the main culprits. What they are doing may impact Pacific fisheries.” Thinking about the bigger picture is what inspired two fellow fish enthusiasts—Georgiana Stanley and Robert William “Bill” Peterson, ‘77—to support Jennifer’s passion. Like her, Bill was an out-of-state undergraduate. He excelled in UW business classes and quickly earned a job in the oil and gas industry. In his free time, Bill delighted in catch and release expeditions. And he developed an
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Read two more Giving in Action stories on our website, giving.uw.edu: MORE ON THE WEB • Private gift sparks a UW professor’s research in Smart Grid technology • A graduate student’s study on climate refugees kickstarted with faculty support
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Scholarship support helps UW junior reel in research from the deep