ICY INVERTEBRATES
Antarctica is a remote and challenging place to study, but the cold
Ship-based research is intense. The ship operates 24 hours a day
waters surrounding the southern-most continent are home to rich
with two teams that each work 12 hours a day. When the opportunity
and diverse communities of marine animals. In fall 2020, a team of
arose to step away from the microscope, the team got to experience
researchers, led by Dr. Kevin Kocot in the Department of Biological
what are arguably some of the most beautiful sights in the world
Sciences,traveled to the bottom of the Earth on the Research Vessel /
including breathtaking sunrises that start at 2 AM, huge icebergs, and
Ice Breaker Nathaniel B. Palmer to sample marine invertebrates living
lots of mountains Thanks to support from the US Antarctic Program,
in waters off Antarctica. The overarching goal of this research, funded
the ship’s crew, and the National Science Foundation, the expedition
by the National Science Foundation, is to help improve understanding
was a success and the Kocot lab will be working on the samples they
of the biodiversity and evolutionary history of marine invertebrates
collected until their next expedition to the Eastern Antarctic, which is
living in Antarctic waters.
scheduled for March 2022.
Dr. Kocot’s team focused on a poorly understood group of marine molluscs called Aplacophora. These unusual animals look more like
To learn more about the project, visit its website at www.icyinverts.com. ■
worms than other molluscs such as snails, clams, or squids. Despite their strange appearance, many species are ecologically important members of deep-sea and polar animal communities, but there are only a handful of researchers worldwide who study them. Dr. Kocot’s team sampled animals using trawls and corers and spent most of their time in the lab sorting and imaging specimens under the microscope and preserving specimens for both morphological and genetic studies. Conducting field work in remote places like Antarctica always presents challenges, but the COVID-19 pandemic made this field work especially complex. The team left home on September 20th and quarantined in a hotel in San Francisco. After a negative COVID test, they boarded the RVIB Nathanial B. Palmer, for a two-week quarantine onboard the ship. After the two weeks had passed and everyone tested negative for COVID-19, the ship steamed south. Transit from California to Punta Arenas, Chile took 25 days. After that time, supplies were loaded onto the ship and the team continued to Antarctica.
7
