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

Participants

Andrew Thurber

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Photo of Andrew ThurberI am a graduate student in the Benthic Ecology lab at Moss Landing Marine Labs (www.mlml.calstate.edu) working towards my Masters degree in marine science advised by Dr. Stacy Kim. My main interests are the seafloor and the animals that live in and on it. Simple questions such as what many of these animals eat or why they are found where they are have not been answered for many locations around the globe. Recently my attention has been on the fauna of the Antarctic which has the distinction of very cold water, slow growing animals, and food for only a short period of time throughout the year. One of my questions is how these animals that feed in the water column are able to survive throughout the times of the year when the water column is mostly filled with bacteria and only slightly larger animals. My thesis at Moss Landing deals with whether sponges, an abundant component of the ecosystem, subsist throughout the year by feeding on these very small particles or whether they fast for much of the year.

In different ecosystems, many factors from current speed to periodic disturbance have been recognized to influence the distribution of animals.

One of the first things that needs to be done before any cause and effect can be found is to identify the location and type of animals. In the marine systems, one of the greatest challenges is this identification and so taxonomy is also one the main pushes of my work. On the Icefish cruise, Dr. Kim and my main goal is to identify the animals brought up in the trawl and the multi-corer and try to determine patterns within and between Island groups. For more information on our specific cruise goals please see her website.

For more information about my work see my website at (ceoas.oregonstate.edu/profile/thurber/)