Ever wonder how a research museum acquires new specimens, what researchers do on an oceanography cruise, or what personal challenges cruises create? This post is the first in a series that will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how researchers prepare for a cruise, working life on the boat, and how specimens are recovered and introduced into the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)’s research collections.
Next week, Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) research zoologist Karen Osborn will depart from the central coast of California for an 8-day research cruise aboard the R/V Western Flyer, which is owned and operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). This particular expedition was planned by MBARI senior scientist Bruce Robison, whom Karen has collaborated with since completing a graduate research assistantship with him as part of her doctoral studies.
The logistics of preparing for a research cruise
Research cruises require extensive preparation and planning. Several months in advance of this particular expedition, Bruce submitted his team’s cruise plan to MBARI's Marine Operations. A cruise plan details the what, where, and when of the expedition, which is important for the vessel’s crew and support team to know ahead of time for planning purposes. For example, the R/V Western Flyer supports the remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts, which can be configured for a variety of different types of science. For a midwater cruise, the oceanographers request specialized equipment for collecting delicate animals at great depth and bringing them to the surface unharmed. To ensure that the right equipment is aboard the vessel when the team departs, these specifications, among others, must be identified in the cruise plan.
The main purpose of this cruise is to perform a set of quantitative transects in the midwater, which is the water column below the surface and above the seafloor. The team has been quantifying the diversity and abundance of animals at a particular site for nearly 20 years now to build up a more complete understanding of the dynamics of the communities in that location. The team will also use the ROV to search for and collect new specimens, such as polychaetes, hyperiid amphipods, and isopods that are the focus of Karen’s research. In particular, Karen will search for several species of amphipods with bizarre adaptations to their eyes, so that she can continue studying how these strange evolutionary modifications are used in the animals' natural habitat. Additionally, Robison's team will collect new data using the midwater respiration chamber that they designed and built. This apparatus will be operated from the ROV, then left at depth overnight to measure the respiration rates of animals in their native environments, instead of on the ship, which can induce stress.
With all of these different research goals, the team must carefully determine what types of equipment to bring, in addition to lab supplies for specimen handling. Fortunately, for this cruise, Karen only needs to bring her imaging system and personal lab gear, although transporting the imaging setup, which weighs a total of 69.9 lbs once packed in its heavy duty shipping container, is no small task. Karen’s MBARI colleagues will help by loading her required lab supplies, such as particular specimen storage containers and solutions for preservation, onto the ship, which significantly reduces the complexity (and shipping cost!) of preparing for such an expedition.
Challenges and innovation at sea
Without doubt, all working moms and dads know how difficult it can be to leave home for several weeks, especially when young children are involved. But for researchers preparing to spend time at sea (or other remote locations), communication with family is a much greater challenge. Thankfully, the R/V Western Flyer is equipped with satellite internet, which will allow Karen to stay in e-mail contact with her husband and two small children throughout the cruise. Unfortunately, video chatting capabilities are not possible, Although Karen says this is probably for the best - last time she traveled and caught up with her family via video, her young son burst into tears as soon as he saw her on the screen. "To be honest, I don't really enjoy traveling now when the kids are small, not to mention the logistical and financial burden it creates for my family," says Karen, adding with an optimistic tone, "In a few years that should get better."
Even so, Karen underscores that time on the boat flies, due to the grueling night and day research schedule that the team must adhere to. This cruise, Karen has an exciting new collection management technique that she is eager to try in the field.
Specifically, Karen has pre-printed a set of museum catalogue numbers on small labels. In addition to her own field numbers, Karen will include one of these museum catalogue number labels with each specimen that she collects and processes in the vessel’s wet lab. Then, Karen will use a stand-mounted iPad to photograph each specimen and its identification numbers. Typically, museum catalogue numbers are not added to the specimen record until back at NMNH, in a process that requires visiting each specimen twice. Following this new method, to catalogue new specimens in NMNH’s Electronic Museum (EMu) database, the cataloguer will upload the image of the live specimen with its catalogue number and the specific collection data. "We are hoping this new process will save us all time, both in the field and back at IZ and will provide better specimen documentation for users of EMu," says Karen.
What’s to come
Make sure you tune in next week for a special report from sea, where Karen will submit an update on the progress of the research cruise and how the new specimen cataloguing technique is working, as well as some photos from underway. Then, in the third part of this series, we will see the first steps that researchers must follow to bring new specimens into the IZ collections. This third report will also mark the official beginning of an exciting new series on collections management at NMNH, which cares for the largest natural history collection in the world.
Take a virtual tour of the R/V Western Flyer here! You can also view the wet lab and galley where Karen and the other researchers will be working.
Check out the daily cruise logs from MBARI here.
by Liz Boatman
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