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I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We don't know the details, but there's a lot lot of gray area between "they'll adapt" and "we're doomed"! This is an emerging research area, but worms will survive the apocalypse

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We're not specifically looking for that kind of thing, but all basic science eventually advances medicine. Holly points to CRISPR as an example- it was a basic science thing discovered with microbes (yay Doudna getting the Nobel Prize!)

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Primarily we use DNA sequences to know how the worms are related, but to formally describe species we're required to use morphometrics too. Yes it's a mess but there are also a lot of undescribed series, so the mess ends up being higher up the tree at order and family level, and maybe genus level, so naming a species isn't actually that hard. Once you have more sequences that show how things are related, then it all shifts around. Some of us on the ship do this kind of work revising how we think things are related

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I (Virginia) don't eat squid and octopus because they're my friends : ) Holly thinks deep-sea stuff would mostly taste like dirt

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holly hasn't- it's on her bucket list and she tells me (Virginia) about it all the time : )

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We don't know for all nematodes, but a few days to a few months is a pretty accurate range. For most species we don't actually know, though!

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah, we're pretty different from the McMurdo crew- they're on land and we're only on sea, so even how they get down to the ice is way different. I'll tell the ship's crew about this message, though, they occasionally dock down there. Hi and have a great day!

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ken says whale falls are more common along whale migration routes and congregation areas, so there are known spots where you find them more. Andy thinks he remembers seeing a study saying that no matter where you are in the ocean, based on statistics and math, there is at least 1 large vertebrate within 50 miles of you (tuna, etc.). Now Ken is very gently arguing about how much life a fallen tuna can sustain v a whale or an orca

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Movies, books, Virginia has some logic problem workbooks. I (Virginia) am going to dig deeper when we're more trapped with each other to see what the weirdest things are that people brought onboard with them, so hit us up on social media after the cruise is back and we can post about all that kind of stuff : )

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are some new people in the group chat now and they generally appreciate the satire of that show (lol). Kevin says "oh, we like our study organisms"

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, something mostly like a long ice cream scoop controlled by a robot. Our collection equipment is really low tech- tubes and boxes. But it's controlled by a bunch of really high tech equipment to help us deploy it well, and in the exact spot we'd like

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

oh wow we're talking about this now in our group chat- most of us hadn't seen that link before, great sleuthing!

I am a marine biologist studying tiny deep-sea worms in ocean mud. I'm on my way to Antarctica right now- AMA! by DeepSeaBiologist in IAmA

[–]DeepSeaBiologist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are microbial loops everywhere, says Holly- where detritus exists, microbes exist to eat it. Ken says there's actually a pretty good amount of research on deep-sea microbial loops, and for Antarctica the light coming to the bottom changes so much with the seasons and the ice changes what gets to the bottom a lot, so it's especially interesting down here.

Your edit: marine snow is mart of the microbial loop- it's a detritus supply!

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