It has been one full week since we successfully spawned the deep-sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus fragilis, and they are looking great! We have been checking on them multiple times a day and watching them develop while taking pictures at each stage. They started as eggs which are tiny boring circles under the microscope and have grown to beautiful larvae that are rocket ship shaped with cute pink spots all over them. We have been able to document each of the major stages in their development, giving insight on the unknown embryology of this species. As a lab, we have been discussing what experiments we can conduct with this culture of larvae. Since we are not sure if we will be able to get another larvae culture, we are trying to get as much done with what we have. We plan to test the temperature and pressure tolerances of the larvae to see if they develop better at different pressures or temperatures. For studying temperature tolerances, we will have vials of larvae placed into an aluminum block that flows warm water on one side and cold water on the other. This creates a steady gradient of temperatures between the two sides and we can see how the larvae develop at each temperature level on that gradient. For studying pressure tolerances, we will place different vials of larvae in aluminum pressure vessels that are pressurized by a hydraulic pump. Each vessel will be subjected to different amounts of pressure and taken out and analyzed at the same time to see how they develop. The only issue we have come across is that the equipment has not been used in years. So, we have spent a lot of time this week tinkering and getting creative, to make sure all of our equipment is working properly. Our second week has been filled with much more than just parenting our urchin babies and tinkering with old toys. We started our week with an excursion on OIMB’s research vessel, the Pluteus, to dredge for different invertebrates on the ocean floor. And just like any good boat trip, some problems arose, but that is what makes them fun! Many got seasick, the dredging net got caught and the cable had to be cut, and the boom of the boat holding the cable snapped. All were unfortunate but have already been fixed since the trip. On the bright side, the few of us that were not sick did get to see some sea lions! Everyone took the rest of the day to recover from the trip, but the next day, we got right back to exploring. Almost every day, we have explored a new part of the rugged coast. Whether it has been wading through rivers or watching the sunset from a cave in the mountain, I have not been bored since I arrived.
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AuthorMy name is Matthew Mullins and I am from Birmingham, AL. I am currently a rising junior studying marine biology at the University of the Virgin Islands. I am working in Dr. Young’s lab and I’m looking forward to exploring the Oregon coast and getting some interesting research experience! Archives
August 2019
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