Deep Sea Nematodes

This week I have been helping out with other projects at the lab, since I'm in between the pilot experiment and the full experiment. I will be speaking with our Swedish colleagues next week to finalize all of our plans for the full experiment, but in the meantime, I've been able to assist with two projects at the lab. The first is an assessment of California sanitation using nematodes and other meiofauna as bioindicators, and the second is an assessment of deep-sea nematodes in the UK. These projects have brought me back to my roots and it has been fun to go through deep-sea samples that are not just nematodes or recognizable meiofauna. Additionally, I've gotten to see some unexpected nematode individuals, like the one you can see in this week's photo. Notice how much larger it is than the other nematode in the picture. I definitely did not expect to see nematodes this large from the deep-sea, as nematodes tend to maximize their surface area:volume ratios. However, the size of this nematode and others from the sample not shown here may suggest that this area has plenty of organic matter within the mud that the meiofauna can feed on.

Next week we have a few groups of kids coming to the marine lab to learn about meiofauna, and I will be helping them out as they explore marine sediments for the first time. I can't wait to get back into teaching and working with kids, which is always a joy, especially in times when I'm not as busy with my own research. Hopefully I can get some good pictures for you for next week's blog. See you then!

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