In the Classroom
How do fish in the Southern Ocean keep from freezing?

In the Classroom

Ask a Scientist

Beginning Monday, May 24, elementary and high school students following the ICEFISH Cruise may ask a question via email to the scientists on board the Nathaniel B. Palmer research vessel. Each participating class may ask one question per day, which will be answered & posted on the web site for everyone to read.

Submit a Question (For participating schools only)

Questions and Answers

54. I�m very interested in this type of work and in future am hopeful that I would be able to do something familiar to what your crew and researchers are doing. I was fortunate enough to go out on a field trip with some Rhodes students up an estuary and I helped with some sampling. What I would like to do is do a cruise like this and go sampling out to sea. My question is did your future turn out how you expected in school or is the career you have chosen clearly different from that of your past plans?
From: Shelley
School: VGHS, Grahamstown, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Cherry
Grade: 11

Dear Shelley,
I would say that my career is decidedly different than the one I planned in college or graduate school. My Ph.D. is in biophysical chemistry; certainly no opportunity for field research in that discipline. However, I've always been interested in comparative biology. "Comparative" used to be a naughty word in biochemistry and molecular biology; that is until the human genome and others were sequenced. Now everyone wants to do comparative work!
The defining event for me occurred when I was a postdoctoral fellow (after receiving the Ph.D. but before becoming a professor). I received an unexpected invitation to join the Antarctic research team of Dr. Audrey Haschemeyer, then at Hunter College in New York City. She was working on biochemical adaptation in the Antarctic fishes at McMurdo Station. I spent January and February of 1981 working with her at McMurdo. Here I was surrounded by all sorts of biological systems that had never been examined! I knew at that moment that I'd work on thermal adaptation of Antarctic organisms, and I've been thrilled ever since that I can combine field work in the Antarctic with experimental work in my laboratory at Northeastern University.
My very best,
Billl Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH Cruise
RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer
P.S. We're now at Tristan da Cunha, where we're looking for the warmest living relative of the Antarctic notothenioid fishes. It's 15 deg C outside, so much warmer that what we experienced at Bouvetoya and the other Sub-Antarctic islands!

53. Have you began missing your homes and how do you deal with this?
From: Shelley
School: VGHS, Grahamstown, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Cherry
Grade: 11

Dear Shelley,
Yes, we all miss our families and homes. We are fortunate today that we can keep in touch by email and even the Iridium satellite phone system, so we're not so isolated. In 1981 when I began Antarctic field work at McMurdo Station, communications with the rest of the world were extremely difficult. We could use the regular mail (do you call it "snailmail" like we do in the US?), which came in infrequently via plane at McMurdo. Other than that, we could not stay in touch with our loved ones.
I will be happy to return home to my wife, Susan!
Cheers!
Bill

52. En France on constate que les fili�res scientifiques sont d�laiss�es par les �tudiants. Qu'en est-il dans les pays de tes coll�gues ? Font-ils le m�me constat ? Y a-t-il une m�me volont� au niveau de l'�cole primaire de d�velopper les sciences ?
---In France scientific studies are not popular anymore and the number of students in sciences decreases. What about the other countries, those of your colleagues? Do they record the same decrease? Is there some will to develop science in the primary school?

Name: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet
Grade: 10

La situation d�pend des pays, et les raisons du d�clin peuvent �tre �galement diff�rentes. La Nouvelle Z�lande enregistre un d�clin, peut-�tre en partie du au fait que les �tudiants doivent rembourser apr�s leurs �tudes sup�rieures le co�t de celles-ci. Il existe des initiatives pour r�introduire la science exp�rimentale � l'�cole, mais locales. Il y a un d�clin en Allemagne, beaucoup plus marqu� en Physique et en Chimie qu'en Biologie, et pas d'initiatives particuli�res au niveau de l'�cole primaire. Il existe un d�clin en Italie, mais beaucoup moins prononc�, et qui ne concerne pas la biologie. La situation italienne est difficile � �valuer en raison de la restructuration r�cente des �tudes sup�rieures. Il n'y a pas d'initiative particuli�re � l'�cole primaire. Au Royaune Uni, il existe une d�croissance relative du nombre d'�tudiants en sciences, mais pas de d�croissance absolue car le nombre global d'�tudiants augmente fortement. Il n'y a pas d'initiative particuli�re � l'�cole primaire. Aux Etats-Unis, la pratique de l'exp�rimentation scientifique � l'�cole primaire est courante et d'initiative locale, dans le sens o� elle ne r�sulte pas d'une autorit� centrale. Le nombre d'�tudiants en Biologie s'accro�t, tandis qu'il ne d�cro�t pas r�ellement dans les autres sciences en raison du flux permanent d'�tudiants �trangers. De plus, comme la fronti�re entre le cursus universitaire pour une carri�re acad�mique et les carri�res dans l'industrie est perm�able, les �tudiants peuvent choisir de faire des sciences avec un meilleur espoir de d�bouch� que ne le peuvent les europ�ens. Car en Europe, les cursus pour les carri�res acad�miques et ceux qui conduisent � l'industrie sont beaucoup plus distants. Le paradoxe est que l'Europe d�tient les pays aux meilleurs syst�mes d'�ducation au monde. Plusieurs �tudes comparatives ont montr� que les populations europ�ennes �taient globallement parmi les mieux �duqu�es, � tous les �ges. Durant les derni�res d�cennies, le nombre de candidats � une carri�re scientifique n'a cess� d'augmenter tandis que le nombre de poste disponibles d�croissait. Les sacrifices demand�s, les bas salaires, le degr� de s�lection et le fait que les europ�ens ne quittent pas si facilements leur pays expliquent en partie pourquoi les carri�res scientifiques sont r�cemment apparues moins attractives.

The situation depends on the country, and reasons for decrease seem to be different. Such a decrease is recorded in New Zealand, maybe partly because students have to reimburse the cost of their studies. Programs for introducing experimental science in the primary school exist, but locally. There is a decrease in Germany, mainly in physics and chemistry, and no specific new program for experimental science at the primary school. There is a decrease in Italy, but not so strong, and not in biology. The situation in Italy is difficult to evaluate because of recent restructurations in cursus at the university. No special initiative in primary schools. In the United Kingdom, there is a relative decrease of student in science, but not an absolute decrease because the amount of students is globally increasing. No specific programs at the primary school. In the United States, experimental science at the primary school is usual and local, i.e. is not programmed by a central authority. The number of students in Biology increases. In other sciences, there is no real decrease because there is a permanent flow of foreign students coming to study. Moreover, as the boundary between academic scientific cursus and industry is interchangeable, students can choose science with higher hopes to get a job than europeans can in Europe. In Europe, academic scientific careers and industry are more distant to each other. The paradox is that Europe has among the best education systems in the world. A number of comparative studies established that the global level of the whole population is among the highest, whatever the age. During the last decades, the number of applicants for a scientific academic career continuously increased while the number of available positions decreased. The sacrifices required, low salaries, the level of selection and the fact that europeans do not so easily leave their countries partly explain why scientific careers recently appeared less attractive.

51. How do you get chosen to go on a trip such as this one? Or do you volunteer? Would you recommend doing something like this to other people? What kind of subjects did you take while you were still at school?
Name: Samantha
School: Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Ms Cherry
Grade: 10

Dear Samantha,
Good to hear from you again. I'll answer your last question first because it will help explain how I came to work in the Antarctic.
At university (Case Western Reserve University, 1970-1974), I started out in an engineering curriculum, which basically meant I spent my first two years taking science courses: calculus and differential equations, lots of chemistry, physics through Maxwell's equations, etc. Although I did well in all these subjects, I actually got tired of a constant diet of the "natural" sciences. So I changed my major to Psychology, and I studied the physiological basis of learning with a Psych. Professor, Dr. Thomas Hyde. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree program gave me the opportunity to take more liberal arts courses (philosophy, Shakespeare's tragedies, histories, and comedies, etc.). Only in my senior (fourth and last) year did I take Introductory Biology. And wouldn't you know it, I fell in love with the genetic code and how genes were expressed, which was at a much more primitive stage of development than today.
I had applied to graduate school in Psychology, but one of my Biology professors, Dr. Valerie Flechtner, had taken her Ph.D. degree at Yale University and knew the Director of Graduate Studies in the Dept. of Biology, Dr. Ian Sussex. He and the department reviewed the application that I had submitted to Yale's Psychology Department, and they decided to take a risk and admit me to the Biology program. And, as they say, the rest is history. I actually chose protein biophysics as the area for my Ph.D., so all my coursework in the natural sciences and math turned out to be time well spent, after all.
In my study of Biology, I have always been fascinated by comparisons of the physiological and biochemical properties of organisms from diverse environments. So, while studying sea urchin as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I recognized that the urchin proteins had thermal behavior that was optimal for the temperature range at which they lived (15-20 deg C) and were in fact quite different from the mammalian proteins I had studied as a graduate student. (Most mammals have body temperatures around 37 deg C.) So, I was primed to study thermal biology when I was offered a position in Dr. Audrey Haschemeyer's Antarctic research group, which was studying protein synthesis in Antarctic fishes. After travelling to McMurdo Station for two months in 1981 (January and February, constant daylight), I knew that I had found an area where I could make a substantial contribution in comparative biochemistry and molecular biology.
All this is a long-winded way of saying two things: 1) while it may be good to have a firm idea of what you want to do in high school or university, an inquisitive, well prepared mind can take you most anywhere in your studies; and 2) I was a volunteer who knew someone who needed a biochemist for Antarctic research.
I believe it was Louis Pasteur who said, "Chance favors the prepared mind."
When I staff my Antarctic research group that works at Palmer Station, I solicit individuals whom I know and who have an interest in working on my research program. I also take my graduate students to "the ice" so that they can work on their research projects. So one strategy for getting involved in Antarctic or Sub-Antarctic research would be to prepare yourself in biology at university, then choose to be a graduate student in marine biology at SAIAB, where you'll find Dr. Eric Anderson, Ofer Gon, and Lukhanyiso Vumazone working on Antarctic-related fishes. Of course, you might also want to study abroad (wink, wink, Eric!).
I would strongly recommend doing something like the ICEFISH cruise or research in the High Antarctic. You'll need to work hard to get there, but it's definitely worth it.
My best to you and your classmates,
Bill

50. Chistopher Held tells a class in Germany about fishing on the Icefish Cruise.
To: Klasse 4a
School: Frauenlobschule, Bochum, Germany

Dear class 4a,
Last time I wrote about the many crustaceans that we caught. We are very interested in these, but more about that later. The nets that we use to tow up things from the seafloor have no way of knowing what we are interested in. They are just full of everything that happens to occur down there. We spend many hours sorting the catch and dividing it up amongst ourselves.
Florian and myself are interested in crustaceans, Suzie sortiert Suzie is sorting out sea urchins that she works with and many people here on board the ship work with fish. All this sorting takes a lot of time but it has to be done. After all, nobody knows what you are interested in like you do and more importantly, sometimes you stumble across something unexpected.
Sometimes things are a little easier, especially when the animals help us sorting. Sounds strange? Much of what comes on board Cirolanidae Fallen (and much of what you see in the first picture) are sessile animals, animals that grow on something. Apart from a very short period in their lives when they are larvae, these animals are firmly attached to some holdfast and cannot move. Examples of this are sponges, but also bryozoans and corals occur in large numbers here. There are often more of these sessile animals here than what you would probably recognize as normal, free living animals.
We do not always work with nets, but also with traps. Traps mit Paralomis They attract species that intend to eat the fish bait that we put in the white flasks inside the traps. But of course, only the free-living animals can actually swim or crawl inside the traps. That's why a trap catch is totally different from a catch in a net, and it requires far less sorting. There are no sponges or corals in there, but many carnivorous animals, like big crabs, but also many small isopods and amphipods. These can eat a dead fish within hours so that just the skeleton remains. After such a meal they can survive without food for months.
The big red crabs are callled king crabs and are an important fishery. They taste delicious and are sold to restaurants and on fish markets. But also the "other" animals are important for us even though we don't eat them. They are important for fish. The big sponges are important for some fish species that lay their eggs inside them. Bryozoans and corals provide shelter for young fish when they are most vulnerable. The small crustaceans eat the dead fish and are in turn food for other fish.
Many animals and plants depend upon each other and could not exist without one another. That's why in many places people inside the fishery industry are not only concerned with fish but also try to find out what the fish need. Only if all parts of the ecosystem are doing well they can you catch fish for a long time. On the Falkland Islands almost everything depends on the fishery industry and nobody here hopes that the small crustaceans disappear which I wrote you about in my last email. Nobody needs or wants to eat them. But the fish do and that's reason enough to wish them well and learn about them.
Christoph Held
Nathaniel B. Palmer

49. Que sont les ct�naires ? Que sont les crino�des ? - What are ctenarians? What are crinoids?
From: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet
Grade: 10
Les ct�naires sont des animaux �tranges, transparents et se d�pla�ant � l'aide de battements de cils. Ils ressemblent � des m�duses mais n'en sont pas vraiment. Les crino�des sont des animaux proches des �toiles de mer et des oursins. Tous, on les appelle des �chinodermes. Certaines crino�des sont fix�es sur un p�doncule et filtrent l'eau de mer, d'autres, comme celles que nous avons vues (Promachocrinus kerguelensis), sont libres.
Ctenarians are strange transparent animals swimming by moving their cilia. They look like jellyfish but are not. Crinoids are related to seastars and sea-urchins; we call them echinoderms. Some crinoids stay on a peduncle and feed by filtering seawater, others are free, like those we have seen (Promachocrinus kerguelensis).

48. A mi-parcours, avez-vous h�te que le voyage se termine ? -At midpoint, are you hoping that all this finishes soon?
From: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet
Grade: 10
Cela d�pend des moments. Dans les moments de manque, nous savons que nous sommes enferm�s et que cela ne durera qu'un temps. �a aide � patienter. Quelqu'un a �crit un compte � rebours des jours sur un tableau.
It depends on the period. If we miss our friends and families, we know that we are confined to the ship for a limited period of time. It helps to be patient. Someone has written a count down of days to Cape Town on a board.

47. Le bruit du bateau cassant la glace ne vous emp�che-t-il pas de dormir ? -Is the noise of the ship breaking the ice a problem for sleeping?
From: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet
Grade: 10
Non. Les cabines ne sont (heureusement !) pas contre la coque, mais situ�es plus haut. Les bruits sont lointains. Le roulis est plus emb�tant pour dormir lorsqu'il est fort.
No. Hopefully rooms are not located against the hull, but higher. That noise seems far away. Rolling is more problematic for sleeping when it's strong.

46. Est-il parfois possible de s'isoler ? -Can you have some isolated rest sometimes?
From: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet
Grade: 10
Les chambres sont partag�es � deux personnes. On n'est jamais isol�, m�me pas dans sa chambre. Cependant, les lits ont des petits rideaux. Si on les ferme, on est comme dans une bo�te. C'est comme si on �tait isol�s.
Rooms are shared by two people. We are not lonely, never. However, beds have small curtains. When they are closed, you can feel like in a box and isolated.

45. Avez-vous vu des manchots ? -Have you seen penguins?
From: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet
Grade: 10
Oui, un Pygoscelis papua (� vous de trouver son nom en fran�ais) et un manchot royal (Aptenodytes patagonicus) ont �t� vus en G�orgie du Sud. Des manchots ad�lie (pygoscelis adeliae) ont �t� aper�us lorsque nous quittions les �les Sandwich du Sud et que nous cassions la glace.
Yes, we have seen in South Georgia an isolated Gentoo penguin and a King penguin. Adelie Penguins have been seen on the transit to Bouvet Island while leaving South Sandwich Islands and breaking the ice.

44.
Dear Nadia: The fish we caught at 5300 metres, a cusk-eel, is not a true eel, just like the South American electric eel is not a true eel either. The cusk-eel family includes one of SA's favorite food fishes, the kingklip. Anyway, all deep-sea fishes are specially adapted to the seemingly harsh (to us) conditions in having evolved special enzyme systems to metabolize nutrients, blood chemistries, behaviours under low light levels and mating strategies to name a few. One question I get a lot is 'how do deep-sea animals stand the pressure'? Well, if you're born into a condition of any pressure, are you not adapted right away to it since the pressure inside you is the same as outside? High pressures do affect enzyme systems' efficiencies, so that is why these have evolved at the molecular level. The deep-sea cusk-eel is a bony fish but with a lot of cartilage. This is because some cartilage would have (in shallow-living relatives), but did not ossifiy (turn into bone during development), a retention of a juvenile character (another kind of adaptation) that aids in buoyancy since cartilage is less dense than bone. Buoyancy aids reduce energy expenditure in food-poor environments like the deep-sea floor. Lastly, no notothenioids have bioluminescent organs. They are mainly stalking or ambush predators, probably spawn through visual cues (fishy flirting) and, at least for adults, predation is mainly from seals and penguins on smaller fish which usually stay well hidden.
> Dr. Eric Anderson
SAIAB, Grahamstown
R/V 'Nathaniel B. Palmer'
west of Bouvet Island

43. Dans quelle partie de l'Antarctique les poissons antigel sont les plus nombreux ?
In what part of Antarctica are antifreeze fishes the most mumerous ?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Ils sont les plus nombreux sur le talus continental, c'est-�-dire sur les fonds les moins profonds du pourtour du continent. Ils sont dons les plus nombreux au plus pr�s du continent.
They are most distributed in the continental shelf, i.e. on the shallowest bottoms around the continent. We find them mostly near the Antarctic continent.

42. Quand avez-vous trouv� le 1 er sp�cimen?
When did you find the first specimen?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Le premier specimen de la mission a �t� pris le 19 mai. Les premiers poissons antigel ont �t� d�crits d�s 1801, mais ce n'est que plus tard qu'on a d�couvert qu'ils avaient des prot�ines antigel dans le sang.
The first specimen of the cruise was caught May, 19. The first fish with antifreeze was described in 1801, however at that time antifreeze proteins were unknown yet.

41. Ou stoquent-ils l'eau ?
Where do they store water?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Nous ne stockons presque pas d'eau puisque nous la fabriquons en permanance � partir de l'eau de mer.
We store very limited amounts of water since it is produced directly from sea water.

40. Comment recevez-vous l'electricite dans le bateau ?
How do you receive electricity on board?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Nous ne recevons pas l'�lectricit�. Nous la produisons � l'aide d'un g�n�rateur �lectrique qui fonctionne au gas-oil.
We do not receive any electricity. We produce it with an electrical generator from gas oil.

39. En combien de temps les organes des poissons anti-gels se sont-ils modifies ?
What time did it take for antifreeze fish's organs to modify?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Cela d�pend de quel organe on parle. Pour les poissons au sang blanc, l'augmentation de la taille du coeur et des vaisseaux sanguins s'est produite il y a 5 millions d'ann�es. Les prot�ines antigel sont apparues il y a 38 millions d'ann�es. La perte de la vessie natatoire (une sorte de ballon qui sert de flotteur) s'est produite il y a 50 millions d'ann�es. Plus g�n�ralement, et pour vous donner une �chelle de temps, l'ensemble des animaux qu'on appelle des "poissons aux nageoires rayonn�es" se d�veloppe depuis 420 millions d'ann�es. La colonne vert�brale et le cr�ne sont apparus il y a 500 millions d'ann�es.
It depends on the organ. For white blooded fishes, the increase of the size of the heart and blood vessels appeared 5 millions years ago. Antifreeze proteins appeared 38 millions years ago. The loss of the swimbladder (a kind of balloon inside the fish providing buoyancy) occurred 50 millions years ago. More generally, and to provide you with a time scale, ray-finned fishes have been developed for 420 millions years ago. The vertebral column and the skull appeared 500 millions years ago.

38. Quels sont les riques pour la coque du bateau ?
What are the risks for the hull of the ship?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

En principe il n'y en a pas, puisque ce bateau est construit pour casser la glace de mer. Cependant, il est �vident que ce bateau ne doit pas heurter un iceberg. L'iceberg sera des milliers de fois plus lourd que lui. Les radars perfectionn�s d�tectent la pr�sence d'icebergs � des kilom�tres.
In principle, there is no risk since this ship is designed to break sea-ice. However, this ship must not, obviously, hit an iceberg. The iceberg will be thousands heavier than the ship. Sophisticated radars detect icebergs kilometers around.

37. Que se passerait-il si on plongeait un poisson normal dans une eau oxyg�n�e ?
What would happen if we would immerse a normal fish in such oxygenated water?
School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Rien de tr�s grave. Les poissons ont une tol�rance � l'oxyg�ne, et de toute fa�on le poisson normal ne prendrait de cette eau que la quantit� d'oxyg�ne dont il a besoin. S'il y en a trop, ils ventilera moins ses branchies. Le probl�me pour le poisson normal est que pour garder beaucoup d'oxyg�ne dans l'eau, il faut que celle-ci soit tr�s froide. Et c'est la temp�rature qui tuerait certainement le poisson normal.
Nothing special. Fishes do have a tolerance towards oxygen. Anyway, the normal fish would take from such water only the amount of oxygen that it needs. If too much, it would simply decrease ventilation of gills. The problem for the normal fish is that to keep such amount of oxygen, water must be very cold. It is the cold, actually, that would kill the normal fish, most probably.

36. Si la temp�rature de l'eau augmente les poissons anti-gels se mettront-ils a fabriquer de l'h�moglobine?
If water temperature would increase, would antifreeze icefishes produce haemoglobin?

School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Non, pour plusieurs raisons. La premi�re raison, c'est que l'h�moglobine est d�finitivement perdue. La machine g�n�tique qui permettait de la fabriquer a �t� cass�e au cours de l'�volution. La seconde raison, c'est qu'au cours de l'�volution, on ne r�cup�re pas ce qui a �t� perdu. Du moins pas de la m�me mani�re. Si la temp�rature augmentait, les poissons au sang blanc mourraient (ils ne suportent pas plus de +6�C). La question semble faire une �galit� entre poisson anti-gel et poisson au sang blanc. Attention, parmi les poissons anti-gel, il y a ceux au sang rouge (par exemple les nototh�niid�s) et ceux au sang blanc (seulement les channichthyid�s).
No, for several reasons. First, haemoglobins are definitively lost. The genetic machinery which produced it was broken during the course of evolution. Second, what was lost during the course of evolution is never recovered in the same way. If temperature would increase, white-blooded fishes would die (they cannot survive above +6�Celsius). The question seems to equate antifreeze fishes with white blooded fishes. Be careful : among antifreeze fishes, some are red blooded (for example the nototheniids) and some are white blooded (channichthyids only).

35. Depuis quand les poissons "anti-gel" se sont-ils adapt�s au froid ? - For how long icefishes have been adapted to the cold?
School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Pour �tre pr�cis, les prot�ines anti-gel dans le sang des poissons antarctiques dont apparues il y a 38 millions d'ann�es. A cette �poque, les dinosaures avaient d�j� disparu et les mammif�res prosp�raient d�j� sur terre.
To be precise, the antifreeze proteins in antarctic fish blood appeared 38 millions years ago. At that time dinosaurs had already disappear and mammals flourished on land.

34. Comment faites-vous pour vous procurer l'eau potable, sur le navire et � terre ? - How can you get potable water on board and ashore?
School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

L'eau potable est produite � partir de l'eau de mer par une machine dite � "osmose inverse". A terre, les stations scientifiques ont aussi des machines pour produire de l'eau potable, soit � partir de l'eau de mer, soit � partir de l'eau douce (des rivi�res).
Potable water is produced from sea water by a reverse osmosis machine. On land, scientific stations also have machines to produce potable water either from sea water or from fresh water from rivers.

33. Y-a-t-il des hommes malades ? et que faites-vous dans ce cas ? - Do you have sick persons? How do you deal with them?
School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Personne n'est malade. Quelques personnes ont des patches chimiques ou des pillules pour �viter d'avoir le mal de mer. Nous avons � bord un hopital et un m�decin, qui peut intervenir en cas de probl�me. Avant de quitter nos pays respectifs, nous avons eu � passer un examen m�dical certifiant qu'il n'y avait pas de risques d'�tre sur un bateau durant deux mois.
Nobody's sick. Some people have their chemicals or pills with them to avoid seasickness. We have an hospital and medical person on board who can deal with sick persons. Before we left our respective countries, we had to pass a medical exam that certified that there is no risk to be on a ship for two months.

32.Quels sont les risques d'�tre pris par la banquise ? La coque peut-elle r�sister ? - What are the risks to be caught by the pack? Does the ship resist to being caught in sea-ice?
School: College D. Casanova, Vitry Sur Seine, France
Teacher: Jean Lynonnet, G�rard Girodon, Jean Th�ry
Grade: 11

Dans la zone sub-antarctique o� nous naviguons actuellement, il y a des icebergs mais pas de banquise. La mer n'est pas gel�e. Si elle �tait gel�e, le bateau est un brise-glace sp�cialement con�u pour cassert la banquise.
In the subantarctic area where we are sailing now, there are some icebergs but no sea-ice. The sea is not frozen. If there would be sea-ice, this ship is an icebreaker, designed to break sea-ice.

31. Dear Icefish cruise members,
Thank you for the beautiful T-shirts. We are 8 years old pupils in Pallu school, in Le V�sinet near Paris � France. We correspond by e-mails with Guillaume Lecointre.
Photo of French school children We are very interested in Antarctic wildlife.
Here, in France, it�s the end of spring. The weather is nice and there are flowers and baby animals everywhere.
We wish you a nice trip and nice sea conditions.
Best regards
XXXX
Children and teachers

30. Il y a 4 � 5 millions d'ann�es, les anc�tres des poissons des glaces avaient-ils le sang rouge ?
About 4 to 5 millions years ago, did icefish ancestors have red blood ?

Photo of French school children Name: classe de CM2 de Mme Poujol
School: Pierre Brossolette, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn Bonnet

Oui, les poissons des glaces trouvent leur origine chez les poissons au sang rouge (d'ailleurs, on dit plut�t "t�l�ost�ens"). Le d�veloppement de la vie sur terre est une tr�s longue cha�ne branchue d'anc�tres qui se succ�dent jusqu'� maintenant. Les poissons des glaces trouvent leur origine chez les t�l�ost�ens au sang rouge ; cependant il y a cinq millions d'ann�es des anc�tres plus r�cents ont perdu le pigment rouge qui transporte l'oxyg�ne dans le sang. Le sang blanc a ensuite �t� transmis de g�n�ration en g�n�ration, jusqu'aux 15 esp�ces de poissons des glaces d'aujourd'hui.
Ici, nous avons � bord plusieurs personnes qui, ensemble, ont trouv� que le sang rouge n'a pas �t� perdu une seule fois, mais plusieurs fois chez plusieurs anc�tres de la famille : au moins trois fois ! Cela a �t� trouv� par des �tudes de g�n�tique mol�culaire et de phylog�nie (reconstitution des liens de parent� entre membres de la famille des poissons des glaces).

Yes, icefishes have their origin in red-blooded fishes (by the way, the term "teteosteans" is more appropriate). The development of life on earth is a very long tree-like chain of ancestors, until now. Icefishes have their ancestors in red blooded fishes, however five millions years ago more recent ancestors lost the red pigment that carries oxygen in blood. The white blood was then transmitted from generation to generation, until the extant 15 species of icefishes.
Here on board we have several persons who, together, found that red blood was not lost once, but was lost several times in different ancestors within the family: at least three times! It was found using molecular genetics and phylogeny (reconstructing the family tree of icefishes).

29. Where and how do you store the heart & retinal tissues that you take as samples? How long do you expect it will take to come to some conclusions about the tissue samples on your return to Maine and what do you expect to find?
Name: Hannah, Kim, Amy
School: Stanley Infant Junior School, Falkland Islands
Teacher: Mrs Judd
Grade: 6

Dear Hannah, Kim and Amy,
We have various means of storing the heart and retinal tissues that are being collected. Each different method of storage permits us to do different types of subsequent analyses of the tissues. Some tissues are frozen in liquid nitrogen and then stored in an ultracold freezer at -80 degrees C. These can be thawed and used for measurements of enzyme activities and for molecular genetics experiments. Others are stored in special preservative solutions and refrigerated. This type of storage will permit us to examine the tissues with the electron microscope to look at their detailed fine structure. Finally, Dr. Joe Eastman and I are working together on a project where we fill all of the blood vessels in the fish with a bright yellow rubber compound that permits us to examine the pattern of blood vessels throughout the animal. These fishes are then preserved in a different solution and returned to our laboratories in the United States for further analyses.
We will know some findings from this work even before returning to Maine because of some of the experiments that we will be conducting on board the ship. Various other parts of the work will be carried out over the next two years or so. If I've done a good job in preparing samples during this trip, they will keep us busy for quite some time to come.
I hope that this helps answer your questions and I thank you again for inviting me to talk with the students at your school.
-Bruce Sidell

28. What allows icefish to survive at such low temperatures?
Name: Matteo e Andrea C.
School: L.Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Cari Matteo e Andrea,
intanto dobbiamo dire che anche gli icefish possono sopravvivere fino a una temperatura dell�acqua che si aggira intorno ai -2 �C. Con temperature pi� basse anche l�acqua marina, soprattutto quella poco salata delle acque antartiche, ghiaccerebbe. Gli icefish hanno �inventato�, ma si dovrebbe dire hanno evoluto, delle molecole (dette glicoproteine) che impediscono all�acqua contenuta nelle loro cellule di ghiacciare. E� un po� come mettere l�anticongelante nell�acqua di raffreddamento del radiatore dell�automobile, per impedire che d�inverno congeli. Inoltre gli icefish mancano di emoglobina e di globuli rossi (dovresti vederli, hanno il �sangue� trasparente) perch� cos� il sangue � meno denso e viene richiesta poca energia per pomparlo nel corpo. Hanno anche altri adattamenti: ad esempio branchie grosse e scaglie dell�epidermide molto sottili, per permettere all�ossigeno di arrivare in tutti i tessuti. Per� c�� da dire che nonostante tutto alcune parti del loro corpo si ghiacciano lo stesso: le branchie e la parte terminale dell�intestino.

Dear Matteo and Andrea,
First of all we must say that icefish can cope a temperature as low as � 2 �C, approximately. Lower temperatures will cause the icing of marine waters, despite their salt content, allowing no animal form to live in. To survive to such a low temperatures icefish �invented�, but we�d better say evolved, anti-freeze molecules (glycoproteins), that are substances that impede the freezing of water contained in body fluids. It is something like pouring anti-freeze liquid into your car radiator to avoid freezing. Besides, icefish lack haemoglobin and red cells (you should see them, they have transparent �blood�), so that the circulating liquid is less dense and it needs less energy to be pumped by the heart. They show other adaptations, such as large gills and thin scales, to allow oxygen to enter easily in all tissues. Nevertheless, we must say that, despite all adaptations, parts of their body freeze: gills, for instance, and the terminal part of the intestine.

27. Could you observe any whales by now?
Name: Gualtiero
School: Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: luigi
Grade: VC

Caro Gualtiero,
non abbiamo ancora potuto osservare balene, che in realt� non sono molto comuni in questa stagione. Le pi� comuni in inverno sono le orche e i capodogli, cio� i cetacei con i �veri� denti. Per� intorno alla nave �giocano� in continuazione dei gruppi di otarie e stamattina un gruppo di pinguini reali ci seguivano, oltre ai delfini di cui vi parlavo nell�altro messaggio. In realt� noi tendiamo a far diventare umano ogni comportamento animale. Pi� semplicemente questi animali erano attratti dalla possibilit� di trovare cibo, ad esempio pesci o altri animali persi dalle reti.

Dear Gualtiero,
Not yet. We have not spotted whales, which are not very common in this season. The whales that are most commonly seen in winter are sperm whales and killer whales, that is the �toothed� ones. There are groups of fur seals �playing� with the ship, and this morning a bunch of king penguins were following us, besides the Commerson dolphins I was telling you about in my last message. To be honest we tend to �humanize� animal behaviours. Maybe they are simply attracted by the possibility to find some food, for instance fishes or other animals, lost by our nets.

26. Is it more difficult to work on a ship,as opposed to working in a normal lab?
Name: Chaital
School: Victoria Girls� High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Cherry
Grade: 10

Hi again Chaital:
Of course in rough seas it's very much more difficult to do lab work on ships than in my office at SAIAB. The major problem is concentration. In my office when I'm working on fish specimens I think about what things mean and try to formulate ideas for research papers I'll write. At sea, however, focused concentration like that is usually taken over by thinking about things like where and how steady the nearest hand hold is or where your feet need to go on the next roll of the ship. Even whether or not you can do the next thing you wanted to do can require a quick decision about what will happen in the next few seconds, and musing about one's work under these conditions is all but impossible. Even on calm days certain tasks can be difficult, like today when we had to shift preserved specimens around in buckets. This required pouring alcohol from large containers into small ones and even during gentle rolls it's hard to prevent spilling sometimes. Microscope work is also difficult on ships. Two days ago we caught a rare fish from a trawl in 2700 metres and I had problems identifying it because it was hard to keep my eyes over the lenses and stay balanced in my chair! Distractions also make concentrating harder on a ship, but since we're not in the analysis part of our research, distractions actually make voyages pleasant, like other scientists' work, or watching dolphins play in the ship's bow wave, identifying seabirds we don't see off SA, admiring passing icebergs, or watching fishing boats way down here with us.

Dr. Eric Anderson
SAIAB, aboard 'Nathaniel B. Palmer'
Off South Georgia

25. How do you spend your days?
Name: Alessandro
School: L. Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Caro Alessandro,
I giorni in nave passano veloci. Al mattino c�� da lavorare in laboratorio sui campioni di pesce prelevati o ci sono nuovi pesci ai quali prelevare organi e tessuti. In nave si lavora 24 ore su 24 e tutti abbiamo un turno di sei ore. Il mio va dalle 12 alle 18. Si tratta di stare sul ponte e aiutare quando vengono recuperate le reti, le nasse o gli altri strumenti, smistare il materiale campionato (pesci, stelle di mare, ricci, crostacei, molluschi) e aiutare a riporre le cime, che sono lunghe centinaia di metri. Considera che questo lavoro si deve fare anche di notte. Il resto del tempo si lavora al computer. Poi rimane qualche ritaglio di tempo per leggere, spedire e ricevere posta e vedere dei DVD la sera. Poi ci sono le attivit� di pulizia della cabina, di bucato (s�, anche questo).Io riesco anche ad andare in palestra. Insomma non ci si annoia!

Dear Alessandro,
On board the days pass very quickly. In the morning we work in the laboratory on samples previously collected from fishes, or we sample tissues and organs from new specimens collected. Besides, the activity on the ship continues throughout the whole day (24 h), and we all contribute with a shift of 6 hours. Mine is from noon to six PM. We stay on the stern (fantail) and help in retrieving nets or pots or other instruments, sorting the collected material (fishes, sea stars, sea urchins, crustaceans, molluscs etc.). You have to consider that this job must be done also at night, when the temperature drops. The rest of the time we work on PCs, and there remains a bit of time for reading, sending and receiving mails and, also, to watch DVD movies in the evening. Then there are the laundry and cleaning activities (oh yes). Sometime I�m also able to go to the gym for a while. That is, we are not boring ourselves!

24. Which animals did you observe?
Name: Andrea F.
School: L.Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Caro Andrea,
ovviamente moltissimi animali marini. Tra di loro crostacei (granchi giganteschi, gamberi, isopodi e anfipodi), stelle di mare di ogni dimensione e colore, ricci di mare, cetrioli di mare, spugne, coralli, gorgonie e, ovviamente, pesci, tra i quali alcuni �icefish� dai quali la nostra crociera prende nome. Abbiamo pescato un enorme �tooth fish� di pi� di un metro che pesava 15 kg e una grossa razza di 75 cm.
Essendo in navigazione non abbiamo ancora potuto osservare pinguini, foche o otarie, che sono pi� legati alla terra. Giorni fa c�erano un gruppo di focene che hanno accompagnato la nave per un po�. Tra gli uccelli abbiamo potuto osservare gli uccelli delle tempeste e gli albatros, tra i quali anche l�albatros gigante, un uccello di circa 1,20 metri con un�apertura alare di 3 o 4 metri. Questi uccelli non toccano mai terra, se non per la riproduzione. Veleggiano tutto il giorno e si riposano solo di tanto in tanto, sulla superficie del mare. Nonostante questo anche loro devono fare i conti con il vento: una decina di giorni orsono alcuni individui di diving petrel sono atterrati sul ponte della nave, forse esausti per il fortissimo vento. Abbiamo provato a ridare loro il volo e ci siamo riusciti solo dopo vari tentativi.

Dear Andrea,
Obviously many marine animals. Among them crustaceans (very big crabs, shrimps, isopods etc.), sea stars of every colour and dimension, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, gorgonians, sponges and, of course fishes, including several icefishes from which our cruise takes its name. We collected a big tooth fish of more than a meter length and weighing 15 kg. Since we are sailing most of time, we have not yet observed penguins, seals, and fur seals that are most easily observed on the ground or close to the land. Days ago we spotted a group of Commerson dolphins that were �playing� with the ship. Among birds we could spot albatrosses and petrels, also the wandering albatross that has a wing span of 3,5-4 meters. These seabirds never touch the earth except for reproduction. They glide almost all of the time and rest on the sea surface only for short periods. Nevertheless they have to experience the harsh climate of Antarctica: a few days ago several Magellanic diving-petrels landed on the bridge, maybe exhausted from the strong wind. We finally managed to give them liberty again.

23. Why is solar radiation higher than it is near the Equator?
Name: Giulia
School: Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Cara Giulia,
i raggi solari arrivano al Polo Sud pi� obliqui a causa della posizione della terra nel suo moto di rivoluzione intorno al sole. In inverno (quello australe) la posizione della Terra � tale che i raggi del sole non raggiungono il Polo Sud. Inoltre c�� il fattore neve, che riflette praticamente quasi tutti i raggi solari e impedisce l�aumento di temperatura. Se per radiazione solare pi� alta intendi riferirti allo strato di ozono, � vero, questo si � assottigliato ed � addirittura scomparso in qualche punto ai poli. Alcuni scienziati predicono che questo potrebbe causare un parziale scioglimento dei ghiacci.

Dear Giulia,
The rays of the sun reach Antartica obliquely because of the Earth�s position with respect to the sun. In winter (I mean Southern hemisphere winter) the Earth�s position is such that the rays do not even reach Antarctica. Besides, there is the �snow� factor; snow reflects almost all the solar radiation and this impedes the increase in temperature, even in the summer. If you meant to refer to the amount of sun radiation that is able to go through the ozone layer yes, you are right. The ozone layer is very thin at the poles and in some area it has also vanished. It is what we call the hole in the ozone layer. Many scientists predict this could cause a partial melting of Antarctica ice.

22. What does the Tierra del Fuego look? How do its inhabitants look like?
Name: Giulia
School: L. Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Cara Giulia,
la Terra del Fuoco � una regione costantemente battuta dal vento, con temperature che in inverno (quello australe) possono essere molto rigide. Il paesaggio � costituito quindi prevalentemente di arbusti bassi, tutti piegati nel senso dei venti dominanti. Inoltre � una terra di alte montagne e di ghiacciai imponenti, che spesso arrivano fino al mare. Gli abitanti odierni sono il risultato di una serie di ondate migratorie di popoli diversi, che hanno portato tedeschi, inglesi, irlandesi, croati, ma anche italiani, a colonizzare nei secoli scorsi queste zone. In una pasticceria di Punta Arenas ho conosciuto una signora che aveva bisnonni paterni italiani. In seguito i discendenti avevano sposato persone di origine svizzera e spagnola e lei stessa era sposata a un uomo di origine croata. I caratteri somatici sono dunque molto variabili. I nativi della Terra del Fuoco (molti gruppi, tra i quali i Patagoni, i Fuegini)sono invece praticamente scomparsi o sono ridotti a piccoli nuclei e costituiscono una piccolissima parte della popolazione. I loro caratteri somatici erano diversificati: ad es. i Patagoni erano alti e con piedi grandi (da cui il nome) e la testa molto squadrata, gli altri erano pi� tipicamente andini (statura bassa, carnagione scura, occhi a �fessura�).

Dear Giulia,
Tierra del Fuego is a region continuously scourged by winds, with temperatures that in winter can be very low. This is why shrubs and bushes predominate in the landscape, bent according to the direction of the prevailing winds. It is also a land of mountains and impressive glaciers, which often reach the sea. The present inhabitants are the result of a series of migrations from different countries: Germany, England, Ireland, Croatia, Spain and also Italy. In a bakery in Punta Arenas I met a woman whose grand-grand parents were from Italy. The descendants had married Swiss and Spanish people and she had married a Croatian. Hence, somatic characters are quite variable. The native people (many ethnic groups, among them the Patagons and the Fuegins) have almost disappeared or are reduced to small groups and constitute a negligible portion of the population. They were very diversified: for instance the Patagons were tall, big footed people (hence the name) with a big squared face, while the others were most typically andians (short height, dark complexion, �almond� eyes).

21. What's the climate like (temperature, snowfall etc.)?
Name: Gualtiero
School: L. Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Caro Gualtiero,
se per clima intendi la temperatura, in questo momento � quasi �caldo�. Abbiamo una temperatura di 2,7 �C. Per� c�� il fattore vento. Il vento abbassa molto la temperatura, o meglio il modo in cui noi la percepiamo. Il fattore vento (gli americani lo chiamano �wind chill�) � adesso � 9,2 �C. Significa che la temperatura �avvertita� � di circa � 6,5 �C. Spesso piove ed il cielo � sempre coperto, ma non nevica. In compenso alle Falklands, dove siamo sbarcati la scorsa settimana, siamo stati colpiti da bufere di neve e da temperature molto basse.
Se per clima intendi pi� in generale l�insieme dei fattori climatici dell�Antartide in questa stagione si raggiungono le temperature pi� basse, che possono arrivare a 70 sotto lo zero. La temperatura pi� bassa registrata sulla terra � stata proprio registrata in Antartide: - 89,3 �C. Inoltre l�Antartide � il continente pi� ventoso e pi� asciutto: in pratica nevica pochissimo.

Dear Gualtiero,
If you mean the temperature, right now is quite �hot�. We have a 2.7 �C temperature. But we need to consider the �wind chill�. Wind can lower the temperature, or, at least, the way we perceive it. Today the wind chill is � 9.2 �C, such that the temperature one feels is � 6.5 �C. During the first two weeks it has often rained and the sky is always cloudy but it never snows. However, at the Falklands Islands, where we stopped last week, we almost experienced a snow storm.
If by climate you meant the whole climatic factors that can affect an area, Antarctica reaches in this season the lowest temperatures, which are 60/70 �C below zero. The lowest temperature ever was registered in Antarctica: - 89.3 �C. Besides, Antarctica is the windiest and driest continent: it rarely snows.

Question: 20. Are you having a comfortable sail?
Name: Glenda
School: L. Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Cara Glenda,
al momento siamo assistiti dalla fortuna; il mare � stato brutto solo un paio di giorni e solo pochi ne hanno sofferto. Credo che ormai abbiamo fatto un po� tutti l�abitudine all�ondeggiamento della nave e stiamo diventando dei veri �marinai�. Per� � sempre bello mettere i piedi su qualcosa di stabile, a terra. In nave bisogna assicurare bene le cose, specialmente in laboratorio, e imparare a lavorare con sportelli che ondeggiano, cassetti che si aprono e strumenti che scivolano. Nel complesso, per�, si lavora bene.

Dear Glenda,
Up to now we have been lucky. The sea was rough only for a couple of days, and very few suffered sea-sickness. I think we all are now accustomed to the ship rolling, and we are becoming true �seamen�. But it is always a pleasure to put one�s foot on something solid, not rocking. Aboard you have to secure everything, above all in the lab and you must learn to work with opening doors against the roll of the ship and with instruments sliding along laboratory benches. As a whole, however, it works.

19. Did you see an iceberg?
Name: Beatrice
School: L. Franchetti, Italy
Teacher: Luigi
Grade: VC

Cara Beatrice,
Non ancora. Stiamo ancora navigando a latitudini �alti�. Nel momento in cui ti scrivo siamo a 52� di latitudine Sud e 46� di longitudine Ovest. Fatti mostrare dal maestro Luigi pi� o meno la posizione. Vedremo gli iceberg o almeno i ghiacciai quando saremo in South Georgia. L� � prevista una stazione di campionamento quasi a 60� di latitudine Sud, cio� il limite dei ghiacci antartici in questa stagione.

Dear Beatrice,
Not yet. We are navigating �high� latitudes. While I�m writing, we are at 52� of latitude South and 46� of longitude West. Let teacher Luigi show you on the map where we are right now, more or less. We will see icebergs, or at least glaciers, farther South, in the South Sandwiches islands (again, ask Luigi where South Sandwiches are, on the map). We should be sampling there: a sampling site is scheduled at almost 60� of latitude South, which is very close to the Antarctic ice limit in this season.

18. How do you find good places to fish?
From: Linda, Klasse 4a
School: Frauenlobschule, Bochum, Germany Teacher: Frau Kimmeskamp

Liebe Klasse 4a, liebe Linda, liebe Frau Kimmeskamp,
es ist gar nicht so einfach die Zeit zu finden, ein email zu schreiben, obwohl ich weiss, dass ihr schon lange darauf wartet. Wie geht es euch? Hier ist es ungewoehnlich warm, nicht ganz so warm wie bei euch, aber immerhin, 5 Grad haben wir meistens, es schneit und hagelt nur selten, und was noch viel besser ist - wir haben immer noch ruhiges Wetter. Eigentlich halten wir uns in der Zone der Erde auf, in der es die schlimmsten Stuerme gibt, vor allem im Winter, also genau jetzt. Die Sonne kann ja nicht ueberall gleichzeitig sein, im Moment ist sie auf der Nordhalbkugel, deswegen habt ihr es jetzt einen schoenen Sommer und wir auf der Suedhalbkugel eben Winter. Das Lustige ist, dass wir jetzt genauso weit vom Suedpol entfernt sind wie ihr in Bochum vom Nordpol, und damit meine ich nicht die Kegelbahn.
Photo of Echosounder Jedenfalls gibt es um jede Landflaeche eine mehr oder weniger grosse Region, in der das Wasser nicht so tief ist, so um die 150 Meter, vielleicht ein bisschen mehr. Dies nennt man Kontinentalsockel. In diesem flachen Wasser kommen viel mehr Tiere und Pflanzen vor, weil dort das Sonnenlicht bis zum Boden vordringen kann und dort haben wir dann angefangen zu fischen. Flach heisst ja nicht, dass man dort stehen kann, aber nur ein ganz bisschen weiter und das Wasser ist schon ueber zwei Kilometer tief. Da unten ist es ganz dunkel und es gibt viel weniger Leben. Wir haben uns genau die Kante ausgesucht, also dort, wo flaches und tiefes Wasser direkt aneinander grenzen.
Da man auch in 150 Meter nicht einfach hinuntertauchen kann, holen wir Proben mit grossen Netzen an Bord, um sie dann genauer zu untersuchen. Das Netz wird zunaechst gerade an Deck ausgelegt, um zu sehen ob es auch in Ordnung ist, und dann wird erst einmal lange nach einem geeigneten Stueck Meeresboden gesucht. So ein Schiff kann man nicht einfach anhalten, wenn es erst einmal in Fahrt ist und ein ordentlicher Felsbrocken auf dem Boden kann das Netz entweder sofort zerreissen oder es so schwer machen, dass es beim Heraufholen kaputtgeht. Eine Kamera hat man zwar nicht, aber es gibt ein Geraet, das einem wenigstens ein bisschen ueber den Untergrund verraten kann: das Echolot.
Das macht ganz laut klick, klick, klick, das hoert man im ganzen Schiff. Die Schallwellen breiten sich im Wasser aus und werden vom Meeresboden zurueckgeworfen. Je weiter er weg ist (also je tiefer das Wasser ist), desto laenger braucht das Echo von all diesen Klicks, bis man es auf dem Schiff hoeren kann. Wir Menschen hoeren das schon nicht mehr, aber dafuer gibt es sehr empfindliche Mikrofone im Schiffsboden, die das koennen. Dieses Echo sagt uns nicht nur, wie tief das Wasser ist, sondern auch ob der Boden aus glattem Sand oder grossen Felsbloecken besteht und ob er glatt oder zerklueftet ist. Wenn draussen Schnee liegt oder wenn ihr im Wald lauft, hoert sich das Geraeusch der eigenen Schritte ja auch ganz anders an, ganz aehnlich funktioniert das hier auch.
Wenn wir einen Abschnitt gefunden haben, der uns geeignet erscheint, wird das Schiff gewendet und die Geschwindigkeit auf zwei Knoten gedrosselt.
Drueckt uns die Daumen, dass alles gut geht und wir auch etwas fangen.

Ganz herzliche Gruesse!
Euer Christoph
PS: Bitte antwortet mir, ob ihr das Foto auch sehen koennt, sonst muss ich etwas aendern.

17. Have you found any invertebrates in the Falkland waters that have not been found here before?
From: Bernice
School: Stanley Infant and Junior school, Falklands
Teacher: Ali Short
Grade: 6

Hi Bernice,
Finding new species is tricky. We cannot be sure, until we get home Where we can do detailed laboratory analysis, that we have a trulu new, undescribed species. We need to compare new specimens we have collected to "holotypes" or the original specimens that are preserved in museums, consult taxonomic experts, and in some cases, perform genetic analysis before we can confirm a new species. But, many of the species that we found around the Falkland Islands were new to us - we had only seen pictures in books or museum specimens before, and it is very exciting to have a living, colorful organism to examine in detail! Thanks for sending your question; we're glad to hear from someone interested in the invertebrates!

Best Regards,
Stacy Kim and Susanne Lockhart

16. How many researchers are there on aboard your ship, how many are male and how many are female? Over what range do your ages extend?
From: Samantha
School: Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Ms Cherry
Grade: 10

Dear Samantha,
We have 31 biologists on board, of whom four are women. Of the 19 Principal Investigators, two are women. Among the 12 graduate students, there are also two women.
We range in age from 25-67.

Cheers!
Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH Cruise
R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer

15. Question: Where do you eat? Is the food yucky?
From: The Dragons
School: A.M. Barrows School, Reading, MA, USA
Teacher: Ms. Walcott
Grade: Kindergarten

Dear Dragons All,
We eat in the mess hall (dining room) on the Nathaniel B. Palmer. We eat the food that's prepared for us by two good cooks who are on board. It's really quite yummy. Since we're catching fish, sometimes we give the cooks the skeletal muscle, and they prepare it for us. For example, we had some Patagonian toothfish (Chilean sea bass) last week. We've also had some King Crab that we caught on the Burdwood Banks. excellent!

Cheers!
Bill Detrich, Chief Scientist

14. Have you been trawling since you left the Falklands? Have you found anything new? What is your present location? Thank you for coming and seeing us!
From: Lesley
School: Stanley Infant and Junior School, Falklands
Teacher: Ali Short
Grade: 6

Hello Lesley,
Yes, indeed, we have been both trawling for fishes and fishing with baited fish pots (fish traps), most recently in the Sound between East and West Falkland and off the coast of East Falkland. We have not found any new (previously unknown) species but many of the fishes are "new" to most of us scientists aboard. As a consequence, there is a great deal of activity when the catch is sampled, with great care taken to ensure that everyone is able to obtain samples from the fish that are caught.
Right now we are at 53 05 W, 56 35 S (a bit to the east and south of East Falkland) and are making way on a heading toward the S. Sandwich Islands and S. Georgia. The will take us about 2.5 days and we will do some fishing there before heading farther east.
It was my pleasure to visit you and your classmates at the Junior School and I hope to have an opportunity to come back to the Falklands again sometime in the future.

Bruce Sidell

13. What types of fish are you currently working with?
From: Chaital
School: Victoria Girls� High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Czreredrecki
Grade: 10

Dear Chaital:
Thanks for your message asking about the fishes we're studying. The main fish group everyone is after is called the notothens, a suborder of perch-like fishes found only in the southern hemisphere. Some are important in local fisheries, like the Falkland Islands where we are now, and many are still rare in scientific collections. We are taking blood and tissue samples, examining the diets and swimming energetics, to name a few studies aboard ship, of about 7-8 notothens captured so far. We've also caught some snailfish, eelpouts, silversides and some skates. You can find descriptions and pictures of these fishes in our book, "Fishes of the Southern Ocean" at the SAIAB library if you want more information. Let me know if I can help further.

Dr. Eric Anderson
SAIAB, Grahamstown
South of East Falkland Island
aboard 'Nathaniel B. Palmer'

12. What made you want to begin a project like this, and how long did it take to start?
From: Chaital
School: Victoria Girls High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Czeredrecki
Grade: 10

Dear Chaital,
Since the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, fish biologists from the Antarctic Treaty nations have made impressive progress in understanding the notothenioid fishes (a suborder of perch-like fishes) that dominate the fish fauna of the cold Antarctic marine ecosystem. What made me want to organize the ICEFISH cruise was the realization that we understood very little about the Sub-Antarctic notothenioids, which represent the temperate fishes from which the cold-living Antarctic notothenioids evolved. To understand truly the evolution of the adaptations of the Antarctic group, one needs to know the baseline, if you will, from which the evolutionary process began.
The community of Antarctic fish biologists is an international one, so right from the start I was contacting scientists, like Dr. Anderson and Mr. Lukhanyiso Vumazonke of your nation, to join in the project by contributing their expertise.
In total, I spent eight years planning and developing ICEFISH. I'm very pleased that it is underway at long last!

Cheers!
Bill Detrich, Chief Scientist
ICEFISH Cruise 2004
Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer

11. Have you experienced any violent storms during the course of this research trip? What precautions are taken?
From: Ayanda
School: Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Ms Cherry
Grade: 11

Dear Ayanda,
No, we haven't experienced any strong storms up to now. The weather has been very friendly considering that we're in late fall/early winter. Many precautions are taken when a ship is in rough weather. All equipment is secured (tied down), and the watertight doors are all closed. All moveable items inside the ship are also tied down. The Captain must handle his vessel carefully, usually by pointing the bow into the weather (that is, the direction from which the waves are coming). Then, it is largely a question of riding out the storm.
I was once in a typhoon near Tierra del Fuego, South America, on the Research Vessel Polar Duke. The storm lasted 36 hours and produced seas in excess of 12 meters. The winds were Beaufort scale 12 or greater during the entire time. The Captain kept the ship's bow into the weather and made way at two knots. After 36 hours, our cruise track was 60 nautical miles sideways because the storm had carried us that way. I was very happy after the storm had blown itself out!

Best,
Bill Detrich, Chief Scientist
ICEFISH Cruise 2004

Dear Ayanda:
Thanks for your message asking about conditions here. We've had only a few rough days so far with seas running up to 5 metres or so, but no storm-induced damage yet. When the sea is that rough, we lash everything down, close the water tight doors and work slowly and deliberately anticipating the ship's next roll the best we can. When deploying the trawl nets, fish traps and bottom grabs, the gear technicians are lashed to a bulkhead by rope and wear 'float coats' for safety. Hard hats are required for any of the technical or scientific teams outside on the stern where we send over the gear because of the over head cables and swivels. The 'Palmer' is so large (98 metres) that it takes very rough conditions to get her rolling adversely, but that will mean it's too rough to work so everyone gets 'down time.' In those conditions, laboratory equipment, laptops, chemicals and samples are locked into cabinets so they don't go flying if the ship takes a wave hard. I expect we'll experience seas like that over the next few weeks as we press on toward the South Sandwich Islands, but today it's nice and balmy, with fairly clear skies, seas only to 1 metre (I can barely feel the ship moving while writing this), air temperature 5 deg. at 14:00. Thanks for the interest, let your friends know about the cruise and we'd like to hear more from VGHS.

Dr. Eric Anderson
SAIAB, Grahamstown
South of East Falkland Isl.
'R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer'

10. What is the purpose of this expedition and what do you as an individual hope to gain out of it?
From: Nasta
School: Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Czeredrecki
Grade: 10

Dear Nasta,
The overall goal of this expedition is to relate the ecology, life history strategies, and the biochemistry and physiology of the Sub-Antarctic notothenioid fishes to their relatives from the High Antarctic. This will increase our understanding of how the Antarctic fishes evolved from the originally temperate notothenioid stock. Similar studies are also being conducted by our invertebrate biologists.
The 20 Principal Investigators (PIs) on board are conducting projects that relate to this central theme. I hope for two major outcomes: 1) that each PI returns to his or her home institution with the samples that they need for long-term study; and 2) that my group (myself and my graduate student Cate Cornell) obtain DNA samples from as many Sub-Antarctic notothenioids as possible. My lab will use these DNA samples to support genome-level comparisons of the Sub-Antarctic and High-Antarctic fishes.

Best wishes,
Bill Detrich, Chief Scientist
ICEFISH 2004 Cruise
R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer
Off the Falkland Islands

Hi, Nasta:
I see that our chief scientist, Dr. Detrich, has told you about the expedition's purpose, so I'll just tell you about my goals. First, I'm taking tissue samples, like gills, muscle, livers and such, for a SAIAB researcher, Mr. Ofer Gon, and his colleagues. One topic that they are studying is the population genetics and taxonomic status (validity) of some of the subantarctic notothens. Another is how they can describe the evolution of this group through DNA analysis. As a PI standing in for Mr. Gon this year, my goals are different from their group. I am studying the fish family Zoarcidae, or eelpouts, and am hoping to collect specimens to finish a research paper on western Antarctic species which we may find off South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. I have a few specimens in my lab at SAIAB collected in 1975 from South Georgia of a species first known from the Bering Sea and need to find more of these. It is called Bothrocara molle and ranges from Japan to South Georgia at depths of about 800-2500 metres. Wish me luck! You can learn more about the notothens from our book, "Fishes of the Southern Ocean" that we produced in 1990 at the SAIAB library.

Dr. Eric Anderson
SAIAB, Grahamstown
South of West Falkland Island
aboard 'Nathaniel B. Palmer'

9. How cold is it?
From: The Dragons
School: Barrows Elementary School, Reading, MA, USA
Teacher: Ms. Walcott
Grade: Kindergarten

Currently cruising around the Falkland Islands, the temperature right now is about 5 degrees Celsius, about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of -7 degrees Celsius, which is about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Here we are bundled up for a fishing expedition.Photo of Fishing Expedition This past weekend we were hit by several snow squalls, freezing rain as well a beautiful rainbow with some scattered sunshine. As we head South to Shag Rocks and South Georgia Island, the temperatures will begin to plummet to more Antarctic-like conditions.

Thanks for asking! Keep the questions coming!
Cate Cornell

8. How will the information gained on the Ice Fish cruise help with the conservation of these fish?
From: Talia Lancaster
School: Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Cherry
Grade: 10

Dear Talia,
The best way to put an end to the illegal fishing of the Patagonian toothfish would be to develop genetic or "molecular" markers that distinguish between populations of toothfish at different locations. Toothfish from the Falkland Islands are likely to have small differences in their genomes compared to the stock at South Georgia, for example. These "single nucleotide polymorphisms," or SNPs (pronounced snips) can be easily identified by molecular biological techniques.
Say a fishing vessel arrives at Cape Town claiming to have captured their toothfish under a South Georgia license, when in fact they came from an Indian Ocean sector that is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. The fishing vessel would present phony documentation to substantiate their claim. The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity would take a sample of the fish and analyze it for SNPs. Lo and behold, they find that the SNP pattern matches to toothfish originating in the Indian Ocean. At this point, South Africa could impound the catch and fine the vessel owner's for illegal fishing.
The work that we will be doing includes determining the SNPs that would permit discrimination between different toothfish populations.

Cheers,
Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH 2004 Cruise

7. Nous savons que vous proc�dez � des dissections � bord. Quelles informations vous apportent-elles?
We know that you dissect on board. What kind of information do those dissections provide?

From: Elodie's class
School: Marcel Pagnol, Les Mureaux, France
Teacher: Marie-Laure Le Louarn-Bonnet
Grade: 10

Les dissections servent � savoir comment chacun des organes de ces animaux arrive � fonctionner dans le froid, un froid qui peut �tre proche de z�ro degr�s Celcius. Comment ils arrivent � respirer, � dig�rer,� contracter leurs muscles, et surtout, � ne pas geler. On pr�l�ve leur sang pour �tudier les produits anti-gels qu'il contient, les h�moglobines (quand il y en a) qui transportent l'oxyg�ne. Dans leurs organes, on pr�l�ve m�me des choses tr�s tr�s petites, des mol�cules, pour comprendre comment ces animaux fonctionnent. On note aussi le contenu del'estomac, pour savoir de quoi les esp�ces se nourrissent. Par exemple, dans l'estomac d'un Dissostichus, on a retrouv� un bec de calmar. On note aussi leur maturit� sexuelle en regardant l'aspect de leurs organes reproducteurs. On regarde leurs � pierres d'oreilles �, les "otolithes", en fait des os sp�ciaux de l'oreille dans lesquels il y a des stries qui donnent l'�ge de l'animal. Si l'on fait cela sur un nombre suffisamment grand d'individus,tout cela donne des indications sur l'�tat des populations (si elles sont jeunes ou vieilles, quel genre d'animaux elles mangent, etc.). Mais ce n'est pas tout. En comparant les organes et les mol�cules de diff�rentes esp�ces, on peut comprendre leurs relations de cousinage entre elles. Car en g�n�ral, ceux qui se ressemblent le plus sont plus apparent�s entre eux qu'� d'autres. En comparant des esp�ces sub-antarctiques (la r�gion o� nous p�chons) avec des esp�ces antarctiques (r�gion o� nous avons p�ch� lors de missions pr�c�dentes), les parent�s entre elles nous racontent une histoire : elles nous disent comment ces t�l�ost�ens ont �volu� jusque dans les eaux antarctiques pendant les cinquante derniers millions d'ann�es.
--Guillaume Lecointre
These dissections have multiple purposes. They are used to understand how the organs of these animals do function in the extreme cold conditions, near zero degrees Celsius. How do they breathe, digest, keep their nerves working, contract their muscles, and not freeze. We collect blood to study antifreeze proteins and their haemoglobins (when present) which carry oxygen. In their organs, we even collect extremely small things, called molecules, to understand how these animals function at that level. Dissections also allow us to record stomach contents, to know what these animals eat and in what proportions. Just for example, in a stomach of a toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), we found a beak of a cephalopod (squids). Dissections allow us to record the sexual maturity of the animals, by studying the reproductive organs (gonads) and to record the age of the fish by collecting otoliths which are small bones in the ear. If these studies are conducted for a large enough number of animals, they provide the structure of the population (e.g. if the population is too young or too old, endangered or not, etc.), and the prey-predator relationships in the southern ocean. But dissections also allow us, by comparison of organs, anatomy and molecules among different species, to understand evolutionary interrelationships among these species. Because in general, two species that are more similar to each other than to other species must be more closely related than to others. By comparing sub-antarctic species (where we are fishing now) with antarctic species (where we have already fished in the past with other cruises), evolutionary relationships will tell us a story: how did these fishes evolve and developed into antarctic waters during the last fifty million years.

6. How do researchers deal with sea sickness?
From: Kathryn at Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Czeredrecki
Grade: 10

Hi Kathryn,
So, how do researchers deal with sea sickness? Mostly, one must tough it out. Individuals differ in their susceptibility to motion sickness; I'm very lucky that I can handle most conditions, but others are not so lucky. In my opinion, it is possible to train yourself not to get sick by applying one's willpower. Most people would not agree.

My best,
Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH Cruise
Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer

5. What kind of preparation goes into a research project like ICEFISH?
From: Kathryn at Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Czeredrecki
Grade: 10

Hi Kathryn,
I first proposed the idea of the ICEFISH Cruise to my colleagueseight years ago at a meeting in Auckland, New Zealand. After obtaining advice from the Biology Program Officer, Dr. Polly Penhale, at the Office of Polar Programs of the US National Science Foundation and Al Sutherland, who manages the research vessels for the US Antarctic Program, I submitted a research proposal which was subsequently funded. I had already lined up a group of Antarctic fish biologists and another group who were interested in studying the benthic invertebrates that are a "bycatch" of a bottom trawl. So here we are. All 31 of us.

After the proposal was funded, I began detailed planning of logistic requirements with Raytheon Polar Services Company, which provides support to the USAP. My Technician, Sandra Parker, and I canvassed the investigators for their supply and equipment needs, and RPSC purchased them after obtaining NSF approval. The whole process is performed using an RPSC on-line, interactive software program called Polar Ice. Sandra and I have been hard at it since October last. We both gave sighs of relief when, prior to sailing from Punta Arenas, Chile, we found that virtually all arrangements had been made satisfactorily. Whew!!!

My best,
Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH Cruise

4. What would you say is required of a person to go and take part in such an experience?
From: Simone at Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Miss Cherry
Grade: 10

Hi Simone,
There are actually many ways. If you are interested in marine biology, you might consider graduate studies at Rhodes University, which has a close relationship with the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. As you probably know, we have two SAIAB marine biologists on board, Eric Anderson and Lukhanyiso Vumazonke. In addition, there's a large community of biologist around the world who work in the Antarctic (or Arctic), and they often take graduate students with them into the field.
Work of this sort also requires a great deal of logistic support. Raytheon Polar Services Company in the US provides such services to the US Antarctic Program. We have six RPSC Marine Tecnicians on board who are trained in the many facets of science on an Antarctic research vessel such as the NBP. These individuals work under term contracts (e.g., 6 months), then often explore the world on their "off-duty" periods. It's also a great way to save money; when you're in the field on a research vessel or at an Antarctic research station, there's not much to spend your money on!

Best wishes,
Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH Cruise

3. How has the experience been so far and what are you enjoying most? Would you recommend the experience?
Name: Simone
School: VGHS, Soutrh Africa
Grade:10
Teacher: Miss Cherry

Dear Simone,
I recommend this experience very strongly. Our work combines both rigorous science and the adventure of visiting new and exotic places. In my case, I've always been interested in the adaption of organisms to cold temperatures, and the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic are perfect places to study such organisms.
We've been successful in sampling many rare species of fish and invertebrates about which little is known. I am enjoying most the spirit of comaraderie that has developed among the scientists and crew. We're learning a great deal from each other.

Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist, ICEFISH 2004 Cruise
On board the Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer

2. Where do all 32 scientists manage to set up lab space on board the ship and where are all the fish and crustaceans stored after trawling?
From Victoria Girls' High School, South Africa
Teacher: Nadia Czeredrecki

Dear Nadia and friends,
We are very fortunate that the Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer was purpose-built as a research ship. We have about 4,600 sq. ft. of lab space on board. (I'll let you do the conversion to square meters!) .Photo of Aft Dry Lab This is quite sufficient for our 32 scientists, although sometimes it seems that we all crowd into one room.
The fish and invertebrates are stored in plastic containers (bottles or jars) of appropriate size. Some are preserved with a formalin fixative, others are placed in 95% ethanol, and still more are frozen at minus 70 deg C. They are either stored in cabinets, in refrigerators, or in freezers as necessary.

Cheers! Bill Detrich, Chief Scientist, ICEFISH Cruise
54 deg 37 min S latitude, 55 deg 46

1. What did you do during your first days at sea?
May 18, 2004
Research Vessel (R/V) Nathaniel B. Palmer
At sea

We departed Punta Arenas, Chile, yesterday at 1:22 pm Chilean Standard Time (identical to Eastern Daylight Savings Time) and steamed northeast for eight hours to the mouth of the Straits of Magellan. Since then we have been in the Atlantic off the coast of Tierra del Fuego as we proceed to our first fishing grounds, the Burdwood Banks. We anticipate arrival at our first sampling site at 9 am, May 19. So far the sea state is very calm and we are riding very smoothly.
In the meantime, our 32 scientists are setting up their laboratory spaces and making all equipment secure against the possibility (probability!) of rough seas. The 20 Principal Investigators (scientists with Ph.D degrees and independent research programs) come from universities and research institutes in seven countries (United States, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom). We have 12 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from six countries. For many, this is their first experience of an open ocean research cruise! To learn more about the research being conducted on the cruise, please visit the participant section of this web site.
The R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer is a remarkable research platform. Our primary fishing net is the otter trawl, used for catching bottom dwelling species. The same gear is used to catch the Atlantic cod and other ground fish in New England waters. We will also deploy a MOCNESS (multiple opening and closing net system) to collect mid-water fish and fish larvae. As we fish, we will be able to use multiple instruments to obtain bottom profiles. The information on bottom type (sandy, muddy, rocky, level or uneven) is important not only for successful trawling for bottom fish (most of the species that we catch are in this category) but also for understanding the ecology of the different species. What do they prefer to eat? Where is the food found? We will also sample the bottom sediments using a multicorer, which is designed to retrieve undisturbed samples of the bottom for detailed compositional analysis.
More news to follow after we begin collecting fish!

Cheers!
Bill Detrich
Chief Scientist of the ICEFISH Cruise