Posts in Category: Education
Wild Slugs: Sea of Cortez Edition (Part Two)
At this point, we had a lab set up, some algae had been collected, but no slugs were to be found. Definitely need slugs. Because Berstch had done almost all of his sampling at Punta la Gringa, at the north end of the bay, it seemed like a good idea to have a quick look up there. I had never been there before, so I asked Drew to drive me up there during an afternoon lull in the action.
Bahia de los Angeles, showing a few sites relevant to this post and the next one.
It was a beautiful spot, with sand and smooth stones leading to the water, so it seemed worth bringing the students there on their next field research day.
Punta la Gringa, looking seaward. 6/30/16
But first, it was time to do some molecular biology. Despite the absence of Elysia, we had plenty of algae. In order to know which plants the slugs are eating, we need to get DNA sequences from potential food plants, so we could make some progress by extracting DNA from the algae. It also gives the students their first shot at working with real DNA.
The most likely food plants are Codium (dead man’s fingers), Ulva (sea lettuce) and Bryopsis (feather algae). We have not found Bryopsis, but had plenty of the other two, so we set about grinding the plants up and separating the DNA from the rest of the stuff in the plant.
Ulva from shallows in front of field station. 7/1/16
Codium, possibly simulans. Collected in front of field station and ready to be homogenized. 7/1/16.
Considering the tight space, the students worked well together. It is not easy to pipet stuff from one tube to the next, then wait for an incubation or for the centrifuge to run, then do more pipetting, and so on without going crazy from the heat. Nonetheless they got the procedure finished in time for a trip to La Gringa before lunch. Although we did not find any slugs, it was a very nice dive.
Nancy, Allison and Rosalia extracting DNA.
During the next lab session, we took the extracted DNA and amplified it using PCR to make many, many more copies of our sequence of interest. As before, we used primers specific for the rbcL gene, which is found in chloroplasts but not the nuclei of plants or animals. We also included some controls to make sure the procedure worked. First, we amplified DNA that had been extracted by Haseeb and Maryam at USG, and which we know has worked in the past. When we ran the DNA on an agarose gel, to separate the DNA pieces by size, we also added DNA that had been amplified at USG, to be sure the apparatus was working and the dye showed the DNA.
The procedure worked, at least for Codium. There was a visible band for Codium, as well as for the positive controls, so everything seemed to be working. The lack of signal for Ulva could indicate that something went wrong with the extraction, or that the sample did not amplify. Also, for some reason, the molecular weight markers did not show up at the left end of the gel. Nonetheless, the result was very encouraging.
Agarose gel, showing bands for Codium collected at BLA, as well as positive controls from USG. 7/4/16
The weekend was upon us, which meant a break for the students from research, and an opportunity for the scientists to get ready for the next week. Lots of details to deal with, getting protocols finalized, reagents tracked down, and field survey plans finalzied.
That Saturday, we went on a scorpion hunt, led as usual,by Drew. Normally, the students start getting disappointed during the early part of the hike, because the scorpions wait a while before coming out. This year, they were plentiful and out early. Using flashlights with UV LEDs made them easy to see, because, for some as yet unknown reason, they fluoresce green under UV light.
Scorpion fluorescing under UV flashlight. Hills south and west of field station. 7/2/16
Same scorpion, under normal light. Feeding on winged ant. 7/2/16
Meantime, we still had exactly zero slugs. I was beginning to feel a bit like Ahab in the obsessive pursuit of my little green nemeses. So, on a beautiful Sunday morning, I decided to do yet another snorkel through the shallows to hunt through the algae. The tide was especially low, so I started by just walking through the shallows, looking for slugs, while the mobulas jumped a short distance away.
Sunrise over the islands. Taken from the staff house.
The snorkel itself was quite wonderful, slowly swimming back and forth from the front of the staff house to the south end of the Vermillion Sea field station, which had been used by the group some years ago. As I swam slowly over the shallow bottom, I saw lots of algae, starfish, stingrays, corals, and many species of fishes. I even found one cute little nudibranch. I was however, beginning to despair of finding Elysia.
Stars in shallows. 7/3/16
Stingray on sandy bottom. 7/3/16
Gorgonian near Vermilion Sea Station. 7/3/16
I also had to keep a close eye on the catch bag, because a small crowd of hungry puffers was following along, hoping to grab anything I might stir up.
Puffers, keeping an eye on me. 7/3/16
After about 90 minutes, it was time to move on to other tasks. We needed more algae-covered rocks for the station, so I put the mesh bag containing the little nudibranch into a bucket on the shore and proceeded to hunt around in the shallows for suitably-sized rocks with interesting algae. When I looked at one patch of Codium, I saw what looked like some blue color among the uniform deep green. Could it be? A quick sweep of the hand sent a little Elysia flying through the water column.
I grabbed it, and gently held it while swimming toward the shore. As I got out of the water, I looked in my hand, and it was gone! I almost sobbed through my snorkel. However, after many years as a research scientist, I am thoroughly accustomed to harsh disappointment, and went about my business collecting more rocks. Fortunately for me, and for the project, there were three more of the little gals in separate clumps of Codium, and I was ready with the catch bag this time. As can be seen in the photo below from a later hunt, the presence of Elysia is not always obvious.
Codium, concealing 3 – 4 E. diomedea. Can you find all of them?
The drought had ended! The captive Elysia adapted quickly to their new home.
Captive E. diomedea on Codium at station. 7/3/16
E. diomedea exploring new home. 7/3/16
Not bad. We had the molecular biology working adequately, and we had slugs. As often seems to be the case, finding one opens the door to finding more.
There was a lot more to do, though. It was time to get serious about the slugs’ kleptoplast DNA, their responses to light, and their distribution in the bay.
Wild Slugs: Sea of Cortez Edition (Part One)
Has it really been that long? Well, I’ve been busy.
The preparations of the last few months have now been tested in the field. I am returning from the first two weeks of a five week field study in Bahia de los Angeles in Baja California. As I think I posted earlier (apologies if I did not), the plan for the summer was to work with Ocean Discovery Institute on fleshing out some of the details of the life history and behavior of Elysia diomedea in Bahia de los Angeles. Specifically, we want to know more about where they are found in the bay, what they eat, and how they respond to light. This information will help us to understand more about the role of kleptoplasty, along with the significance of the dramatic population fluctuations of the slugs documented previously by Hans Bertsch.
Even before we left, there were several challenges. For example, for the project to get off the ground we needed permission from CONANP, the agency that oversees the marine reserve, to collect Elysia from the bay. Months before the project began, we submitted an application for a permit to allow us to collect and study Elysia. Unfortunately, that permit was rejected because we had not been clear about the relationship between the Elysia project and ongoing research in the bay islands. Naturally, this caused us significant anxiety. After a lot of work behind the scenes by folks at Ocean Discovery and by my very good friend Drew Talley at USD, our intentions were made clear, and we were given permission to go ahead with the project.
Among the items that were absolutely necessary were aquaria for holding, observing and testing the slugs’ response to light. In April, I had started working with a local company that builds custom aquaria to build two holding/observation tanks and two “I-mazes” for testing light preference. By early June, the tanks had not materialized, and I was beginning to get nervous that missed deadlines and excuses would continue until time ran out. I decided to go with a more experienced vendor, Glass Cages, and they got the tanks into production and had them air freighted to San Diego in plenty of time. The whole process of working with them was pleasant and reassuring.
Tanks and I-Mazes from Glass Cages, freshly picked up from Southwest Air Freight. 6/23/16
The other critical pieces for extracting and amplifying DNA are a microcentrifuge and a PCR thermal cycler. Again, thanks to the persistence of Drew Talley, we borrowed an Eppendorf centrifuge from USD, and received the loan of a demonstration model thermal cycler from Thermo Fisher Scientific.
So, after months of planning, spending a semester making sure that the methods work, arranging for care of the system in Maryland while I was gone, and enjoying a roller coaster ride obtaining permissions and equipment, it was time to get into the field.
The trip down was slightly adventurous. We traveled with the Ocean Discovery students, starting out at Hoover High School in City Heights. This year, we took the eastern route, through Mexicali and San Felipe. It was a little longer, but somewhat more scenic, and had a whole lot less traffic. The road was not great in spots, and one of the vans developed a flat tire along the way. After a little delay, we were back on our way, and arrived in the early evening.
Stopping to fix a flat between San Felipe and Laguna Chapala. 6/25/16
Tire destroyed on way to BLA.
As always, I was very happy to be there. Its hard to think of a place that I would rather be. The sea is beautiful and full of life, and the surrounding desert is spectacular in its own right. Over the course of the two weeks at the station, I tried my best to savor the views, sounds and smells.
Town of Bahia de los Angeles from the field station.
Naturally, I was eager to get started. It was all I could do to sit still during review of procedures around the field station, because I was eager to collect slugs in order to be ready for the students’ upcoming projects. Finally, I got into the water, and began to hunt for Elysia. It was wonderful to be in the bay again, and there was lots to see. The familiar zones of Padina, Codium, Ulva, and the many other algae on the rocks outside the station reminded me of where I thought I should look. After about 1 ½ hours of unsuccessful searching, I headed back to the station to get ready for the rest of my day.
Small stingray over a big field of Padina in front of BLA station. Sargassum at lower right. 7/3/16
Codium in front of BLA station.
I got to meet my crew in person for the first time. The five young women were full of energy, and ready to get going with the project. The goals of the “Photobiology” group (I needed a somewhat official sounding name, sue me) will be to flesh out some basic biology of E. diomedea here in the bay. As we did for E. clarki in Maryland, we want to extract DNA from E. diomedea, and compare the sequence of rbcL in kleptoplasts with those from potential food plants. Also, we will be looking at light preferences, using “I-mazes,” which give the slugs a chance to select their favorite light intensity. We are also hoping to have a chance to explore the bay, surveying for appropriate habitat and the presence of slugs. Lots to do to get set up and get the students trained.
The Photobiology Crew. Richy, at left is the Directed Research Fellow. The students (from left): Crystal, Rosalia, Nancy, Allison and Susan.
The hunt for Elysia continued during the morning of our first full research day. In the past, the morning hours have been the most productive in terms of slug hunting, so I had planned several mornings during the first week for collection. The crew was becoming very proficient in the water, and we hunted for about 90 minutes in the shallows in front of the station. Sadly, despite our efforts, no Elysia were to be found. After a quick cleanup, we headed for the classroom for a briefing on algal diversity, lab equipment and safety before lunch. The students had other activities in the afternoon, which gave me the opportunity to continue setting up tanks and equipment.
Rosalia drawing an example of a dichotomously branching alga.
Our “molecular lab” is located in the garage, along with equipment for other Directed Research groups. We share the space with a group studying ways of reducing bycatch of unwanted fish species and turtles, and another group that documents the flow of energy between the rich waters of the sea and the relatively barren land of the bay islands. The space is a hive of activity at 7 am, when the other groups are rushing to get on boats. After that the space is essentially ours until lunchtime.
Molecular Laboratory up and running in BLA station garage. Special thanks to USD for the centrifuge (left), and to Thermo Fisher for the loan of the PCR machine (right).
The other part of our “lab” consists of the observation tanks. These are in another part of the station containing the kitchen and computer lab. The 16” cube tanks sit on a sturdy table, with circulation provided by air pumps, and lighting provided by morning sunlight supplemented by desk lamps with full-spectrum LED bulbs. Once the slugs are in, the tanks hold slugs for DNA extraction and behavioral assays, with one being used solely for observation of the daily rhythms of undisturbed slugs.
Holding tanks at field station, with I-mazes in front. 6/29/16
Although we had not found any Elysia, at least a dozen small Aplysia rode into the tank with the plants. This will actually be handy for comparison with the responses of Elysia to light. Aplysia do not store chloroplasts, and might be expected to be repelled or indifferent to light.
Little Aplysia in holding tank. 6/29/16
Small Aplysia in holding tank. 6/29/16
Day 2 was reserved for a field trip for the students. It is supposed to be a non-work day, used to introduce the students to some aspect of the bay. It started off great, with a visit to a sea lion colony, and up close encounters with very large fin whales.
Fin whale at north end of the bay. 6/28/16
We did squeeze in a little work, because part of the trip involved time for snorkeling at Coronadito island, at the far north end of the bay, and we were not explicitly banned from looking for Elysia. Although we did not find any, it was useful to note and photograph the nature of the bottom, and the dominant algae species that were present. Lots of Sargassum, some turfy coralline algae, but not a lot of large green algae.
Typical rocky bottom at Coronadito, with a trio of triplefins. 6/28/16
Susan next to a large mass of Sargassum. Coronadito 6/28/16
Fierce damselfish, Coronadito 6/28/16
Algae community on rocky bottom. Coronadito, 6/28/16
Photobiology group, plus a few others, at Coronadito. 6/28/16
The days continued, with more briefings about identification of algae and molecular biology methods. The big question was whether we would actually find any Elysia. Fieldwork always requires some improvisation, but it’s a real challenge to improvise your way around the absence of your research subject. Stay tuned.
Ready to Extract
Qiagen DNeasy Plant Kit 3/21/16
Decisions have been made, orders have been placed, and materials have arrived. It turns out that we are treading a relatively well-worn path of DNA bar-coding. The goal for the semester is to extract, amplify and sequence the rbcL gene for the candidate food plants and the chloroplasts maintained by the slugs. Because rbcL encodes a component of the photosynthetic complex of the chloroplast, and the gene is found in the genome of the chloroplast (rather than the nucleus of the plant), the origin of the chloroplasts that the slugs are carrying can be identified on the basis of the sequence of the gene. Fortunately for us, the sequence of the rbcL gene has been studied by a lot of people. The chloroplasts of all plants have it, but it varies a little from one species to another. That variation can be used to examine how closely related different species are, or to determine if two populations that resemble one another are actually different species. Each species has a unique sequence or “bar code,” that can be used to identify it, and to distinguish it from other species.
Therefore, much of the work has been done for us. Kits, such as the one in the above photo, are readily available, procedures are largely worked out for amplifying the amount of DNA using polymerase chain reaction (although the primers for these algae may be a little tricky), and there are companies such as GeneWiz that provide a relatively inexpensive and simple resource for sequencing the resulting DNA. Makes a nice change after a career spent soldering and tweaking in order to perform experiments using arcane methods.
On your next visit, you may find a photo of DNA bands on an agarose gel. Or maybe something else.
Things Have Been Happening
It have been well over a month, so I suppose I have earned the title of World’s Worst Blogger. It’s not for lack of news, though. In fact, one of the reasons for the lack of posting is the abundance of activity. In addition to the semester being in full swing, with the usual collection of lectures, exams and labs to attend to, the Elysia project has made some real strides in the past few months. Today’s post will be a quick summary of the new beginnings, with the promise of more to come.
First off, this fall is the official start of student involvement in the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) Solar Slug Project. Loyal followers of the blog will know that the USG project has been active for well over a year. However, the primary goal of the project is to provide University of Maryland students here at USG with a research experience. Now that the infrastructure is in place, there is now a squad of two undergraduate students who will be working on a small molecular biology project. The main purpose of their work this semester is to develop a protocol for extracting chloroplast DNA that can be used to determine which species of plants the sea slugs are holding in their bodies. We’ll start with a well-studied species, E. clarki, with a view to performing the same experiment on Elysia diomedea in Bahia this summer (see below). The students have completed their first two assignments covering the basic biology of the system and the specifics of the methods they will be using. We should be ordering reagents in a few days and doing some real biology next week. Stay tuned for updates on their progress.
Another big news item is that solar slugs will be a significant part of the Ocean Discovery Institiute program in Bahia de los Angeles this summer. One of the high points of my year is going down to Baja California to help them out with their work at the field station there. This year, the slug project will expand to be a Directed Research project, involving a small group of students for the entire duration of their time at Bahia. We will be performing experiments to identify the food plants and examine the activity patterns of Elysia diomedea. Because large Elysia species are often found away from potential food plants, and because their method of feeding (sucking the sap) leaves no obvious bite marks, it can be difficult to know what they are actually eating. Knowing what E. diomedea eats, and how much time it spends feeding, basking or hiding, should provide important insight into why it stores and maintains chloroplasts from its food plants.
For the semester’s experiments, we ordered some new E. clarki and have been fattening them up for experiments. In addition to new Penicillus and Avrainvillea from collectors in the Keys, we are getting some nice Bryopsis and an unidentified species of broad-leafed algae in the half-ten algae growout tank.
Elysia clarki exploring broad-leaf algae 2/22/16
Elysia clarki discovering new crop of Bryopsis 2/22/16
E. clarki on Bryopsis 2/12/16
As you can see, it is still difficult to find the right nutrient balance that generates lush growth of the target algae without encouraging cyanobacteria (the red stuff), but we are moving closer all the time.
Slugs among algae selection 2/12/16
That’s it for now. More soon, I hope.
Slug Makes New Species Top 10 List
The Washington Post reported that a species of photosynthetic nudibranch has made the SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry list of the Top 10 New Species of 2015. The field was large, about 18,000 species in all, but Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum made the list based on what the animals tell us about the evolution of the symbiosis between the slugs and the photosynthetic algae they host.
NEW SPECIES, PHYLLODESMIUM ACANTHORHINUM. PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERT BOLLAND
Like Elysia, species of Phyllodesmium steal the ability to perform photosynthesis from their food organisms and maintain the required components in sacs extending from the gut called digestive diverticula. There are some important differences, though. Unlike Elysia, Phyllodesmium is a true nudibranch, and it feeds on corals rather than macroalgae. Another important difference arises from the different biology of the algae that Elysia eat and the corals upon which Plyllodesmium feeds. Photosynthetic corals, such as Xenia, contain symbiotic algae (dinoflagellates, actually) called zooxanthellae, which provide the corals with most of their nutritional needs. When Phyllodesmium feeds on Xenia (or other coral species, depending on the species of Phyllodesmium), it steals the zooxanthellae and stores them in the diverticula. In this way, Phyllodesmium has it a bit easier, the stolen algae are autonomous cells, and the slugs do not need to worry about maintaining isolated chloroplasts.
So how did this species end up in the top 10? A recent paper describing Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum and analyzing the interrelationships of species within the genus (E. Moore and T.Gosliner, 2014, The Veliger 51:237) provides some new insight into how the ability to maintain zooxanthellae evolved within the group. Earlier work had suggested that the branching of the diverticula, and their extension into the cerata (the frills on the back of the nudibranch) increases with the increased ability to sequester and maintain zooxanthellae. In other words, species that simply digest the zooxanthellae have minimal branching, while those that maintain large collections of active zooxanthellae have more elaborate diverticula that branch deeply into the cerata. Based on the descriptions of P. acanthorhinum and another species, P. undulatum, both of which are relatively less specialized for maintaining zooxanthellae, Moore and Gosliner provide additional support for this hypothesis. Further, they suggest that the larger body sizes achieved by more derived species, i.e., those that are better able to maintain populations of zooxanthellae, result from the additional nutrients produced by the symbionts.
Once again, slugs find a way of hijacking photosynthesis from their food. Because Elysia and Phyllodesmium are only distantly related, and their biology and that of their food are so different, the two forms of theft-based photosynthesis must have evolved independently. The similarities are striking, though. It does make one wonder if there is some aspect of the biology of sea slugs that predisposes them to separate chloroplasts or entire zooxanthellae from their food and maintain them in digestive diverticula.
Journal Club: A Sea Slug’s Guide to Plastid Symbiosis
The Elysia literature is rich, varied, and growing constantly. From time to time, I will highlight a recent paper that strikes my fancy.
The paper of the moment is a recent review by de Vries and his colleagues that, from my point of view, demonstrates how the field of kleptoplasty in sacoglossans is maturing as a growing number of researchers apply diverse methods and approaches. Although I will summarize some of the highlights below, it is worth reading this short, nicely written paper for yourself (de Vries et al., 2014, Acta Soc Bot Pol 83: 415-421)
This paper illustrates a larger point that I have had to learn repeatedly during my career: as much as possible, one needs to look at the data and the biology, unfiltered by the way you think it should work. Almost invariably, one generates a mental model to organize one’s observations about a biological system. This model forms the basis for additional experiments, which can potentially support the model, but which almost always show you how naïve and simple your initial model was. The model is essential to focus one’s thinking, but any biological system is more complex (and therefore more interesting) than your limited human mind can imagine. So, there comes a time to listen to what the biology is telling you, and to think very hard about the next generation of models.
The paper by deVries and colleagues highlights that the field is at a point where researchers can, and must, think more deeply about the mechanisms and functions of kleptoplasty. They lay out a series of fundamental unanswered questions regarding the biology of solar sacoglossans.
- How do the slugs sort the kleptoplasts from the stuff that gets digested? When sacoglossans feed, they pierce the wall of an algal cell with a specialized radullar tooth, and suck out the contents. The extracted material contains mostly stuff the slugs will digest immediately (e.g., cytoplasm, nuclei, mitochondria), but also chloroplasts. How does a slug’s digestive system handle the material, with chloroplasts segregated and moved from digestive organelles to the cytoplasm, where photosynthesis can continue?
- How are stolen plastids maintained? Despite initial reports of horizontal transfer of genes from the genomes of the plants to those of the slugs, more recent experiments indicate that this is not the case. So how are the kleptoplasts maintained in a functional state without an algal genome (remember, the nucleus was digested) to direct the synthesis of the structural proteins and enzymes needed to replace those that are constantly degraded? Perhaps the kleptoplasts carry the capability with them, but the details remain mysterious.
- What is special about the biology of slug and algal species that participate in long-term retention (LTR) of chloroplasts for up to months at a time. There are seven species of sacoglossans known to be LTR slugs. These seven slugs are not monophyletic (i.e., are not derived from a common ancestor), and vary in the details of their diets. Some, like E. chlorotica, specialize on a single food plant, whereas others (e.g., E. clarki) feed on multiple species. In some cases, LTR species feed on the same food plants as short-term retention (STR) species, which maintain plastids for only a few days or weeks (e.g., E. clarki vs. E. papillosa). The slugs themselves, therefore must have some specializations to enable LTR. However, in a given LTR species, retention times vary for kleptoplasts of different algal species. These observations indicate that both the slugs and the algae have specializations, completely unknown at this point, that enable long-term survival of chloroplasts inside LTR slugs’ cells.
- Possibly the most fundamental question regards the functions of stolen chloroplasts: what good are kleptoplasts anyway? Multiple experiments have demonstrated that photosynthesis alone cannot support slug survival in the long term, and it is currently unclear whether starch produced by photosynthesizing kleptoplasts even enters the slugs’ cytoplasm. One hypothesis is that the plastids serve as “living larders,” being digested as needed by the slugs during periods of starvation. Kleptoplasts may also produce biochemicals needed by the slugs. For example it has been suggested that juveniles may depend on kleptoplast-derived lipids during their development. It is surprising that the function of long-term kleptoplasty remains mysterious so many years after its discovery.
- I wanted to end with an issue that the authors touched on briefly, that of photobehavior. Experiments have been performed examining phototaxis and parapodial extension in response to light, with the interpretation of the data being strongly influenced by the assumption that the behaviors support photosynthesis in some way. This issue is of particular interest to me, and, although a full discussion of the literature must await a future post, a lot of the data are not really consistent with the behaviors serving to optimize photosynthesis. Like, why aren’t slugs most active in mid-day, or why do they seem to be most affected by wavelengths in the middle part of the spectrum that are nearly useless for photosynthesis? From my point of view, some hard thinking about experimental design and interpretation are in order.
The paper ends with a quote from Ed Yong that echoes my introduction to this blog post, but is much more eloquent: “Science is about resisting the easy pull of conclusions. It’s about testing stories that seem like they should be right to see if they actually are right.”
As the study of kleptoplasty evolves from “gosh, wow, a photosynthetic slug” to a more complex and interesting view of the animals’ biology, the questions become more focused and more sophisticated. It will be fun to watch, and with a little time and effort, participate in the process.
Slugs on NPR!
Terry Gosliner of the California Academy of Sciences was on NPR’s Science Friday this afternoon, talking about…SEA SLUGS!
Mostly he talked about the northward movement of the Hopkins Rose nudibranch (below), and what that tells us about warming temperatures in the Pacific.
Photo by Gary McDonald, posted on FeaturedCreature.com
Of course, he could not help but mention Solar Sea slugs and kleptoplasty. I mean, who can spend an entire interview talking about a spiky pink abomination when you can talk about green beauties like Elysia? It was a bit disappointing that he referred to Elysia as a nudibranch (we all know that they are not), and implied that they derived as much benefit from their chloroplasts as corals do from their zooxanthellae. Nevertheless, any radio show about sea slugs is a good radio show.
More information and audio can be found on the Science Friday web site.
Origin Myth, Part 1
Why does this page even exist? It started with the guy in the picture below, a Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas). More correctly, this story starts with the lack of them.
In 2012, I was lucky enough to be volunteering as a Visiting Scientist with Ocean Discovery Institute during their annual research/education trips to Bahia de los Angeles in Baja California. I had traveled to Bahia de los Angeles a few times with my friend and colleague Dr Drew Talley, and had spent about a week in the summer of 2011 with the Ocean Discovery Bahia Program as a Visiting Scientist. They are an amazing group, and I always come back from visits with them feeling energized about science and education. In 2012, I agreed to assemble a workshop on a subject in which neurobiology intersects marine biology. In previous years, the large Humboldt squid had been relatively plentiful, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to demonstrate for the students the electrical properties of the giant axon and the role it plays in the behavior of the squid.
After many, many hours of preparation, including purchasing a SpikerBox to serve as an amplifier, getting some help from the departmental shop in building a portable, battery-powered stimulator, talking with resident experts about recording giant axons, and trying to think of every contingency that might come up when trying to perform electrophysiology in a remote environment, I was ready to go. So, briefcase full of delicate gear in hand, I headed to San Diego and ultimately Bahia.
It was a perfect plan. I had thought of and coordinated everything, and we were ready to catch squid. Drew and I went out with a couple of fishermen to drop jigs and pull up feisty cephalopods. It was a gorgeous, warm, clear evening, and the water was as smooth as glass. We stopped at a spot near the island Cabeza de Caballo, enjoyed a group of feeding pelicans and boobies, and learned how to use the jigs to catch squid. No luck there, so we moved. No luck. We very much enjoyed the dolphins below us, illuminated by the bioluminescence, but then Drew asked the Question I Should Have Asked Myself Earlier: “What if there are no squid.” Had not planned for that one, and yet there were no squid to be had.
I woke up the next morning with about 12 hours to assemble a workshop. I was lucky that one of the student groups was not working that morning, so we all went out to search for squid substitutes and to discuss a little invertebrate zoology. Nothing perfect, but among our collection was a pair of Elysia diomedea, about which I knew very little at the time. So, by late morning, I had one cockroach (a Periplaneta that had been caught in a bathroom the night before), a SpikerBox, two slugs, and a video about cephalopod camouflage from the Hanlon Lab.
In the end, I used the materials I had to introduce the students to the field of Neuroethology, the evolutionary and comparative approach to animal behavior and neural circuitry. The organization of the workshop may have been a bit rough, but the amazing scenes in the Hanlon video and my enthusiasm for neurobiology and behavior pulled us through.
All this got me thinking. First, if I am so excited about neurobiology and behavior in a natural context, why am I studying the actions of drugs in a reduced system? Second, as I learned more about the biology of Elysia diomedea, I started to think that there may be some really interesting neuroethology in there somewhere.
Given that I was on the cusp of a career change, these seemed to be issues to be considered in some depth. Stay tuned.
Here are the original stars of the show, sitting on a counter in a plastic tub. Possibly one of the dullest videos on YouTube.
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