Day 8

Well, I delivered my lecture last night outside on the bow of the ship. The moon was nearly full and the captain held us in one place, but we ran in a circle. Thus the moon was on my left, my right, and then my left again… It was a little disconcerting. The nighttime temperature is so nice (and no bugs) that we will continue these evening lectures for the remainder of the cruise. Following the lecture was the traditional preparation of Styrofoam cups. Can you guess what happens to a Styrofoam cup when it is dropped to a depth of 700 m (ca. 2100 feet)? It is common to commemorate the cruise by drawing appropriate images on your cup – I had everyone sign my cup. (See photo below.)

There are very few working days left and all hands are busy to complete their projects. Young Craig and I are working to measure the rate of oxygen consumption by larvae of the sea urchin Cidaris blakei that were spawned on the 15th. It’s been quite a while since I’ve worked on the metabolism of sea urchin embryos, so I don’t know when bedtime will be tonight.

The dives today have been moderately successful, with the collection of unusual sea urchins called Conolampus and Clypeaster. They should be reproductively active this time of year, but we won’t know until after tonight’s lecture (thankfully delivered by someone else). The students and the PIs are working hard to both get material to work on now and to take home. I will likely be returning to Bloomington with sea urchin larvae and some “pets” to continue to rear at IWU.

We will be returning to New Providence Island tonight for two dives at Southwest Reef tomorrow. The wish list is short – Stylocidaris lineata. Craig Young’s group will be carrying the adult sea urchins back to the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) and will maintain them until they (the urchins) release their gametes (cross your fingers, etc.)

The cook “JB” is preparing wonderful meals and, alas, I am not exercising. To exacerbate the situation I hear the siren call of the ice cream freezer and succumb to temptation. I am not alone as many others are also tempted and also lose their willpower.

A Styrofoam cup before and after a trip to the deep sea.