Siphonophores

As part of our cruise MSM126 focus on the “jellyweb”, we are also interested in siphonophores. Even in the vast and mysterious world of marine life teeming with peculiar inhabitants, these distinctive creatures stand out. While they share similarities with jellyfish, particularly in having stinging cells known as cnidocysts, they do not look much like […]

An intersection of art and science

by Karen Osborn I am a marine biologist because of the to infrequent time at sea and my fascination with the animals that inhabit our ocean.  There was a time though that I considered following a different path, that of an artist.  Though I chose science and leave painting and sculpture to my almost nonexistent […]

An der Schnittstelle von Kunst und Wissenschaft

Von Karen Osborn Ich bin Meeresbiologin, weil ich gerne auf See bin und mich die Tiere, die unsere Ozeane bewohnen, faszinieren. Es gab jedoch eine Zeit, als ich mir durchaus vorstellen konnte, einen ganz anderen Weg einzuschlagen, den Weg der Künstlerin. Obwohl ich mich für die Wissenschaft entschieden habe (und das Malen und die Bildhauerei […]

Yay! Yo-Yo!

It’s ten o’clock in the evening, the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN is moored off the coast of Madeira. The bridge gives the announcement: “On station in about ten minutes”. And off we go for another night of yo-yo CTD cruising. As we mentioned in a previous blog post, today we’re diving deep into why […]

Unknown fish from the depths

Aboard the Merian we are investigating the entire food web off Madeira. This includes all water depths and therefore all ocean habitats. The different trophic levels range from tiny algae, called phytoplankton, to the large predatory fish that hardly have to worry about being hunted. The diversity of fish in the Eastern Atlantic is huge […]

Forensics in the sea

We explore the entire tree of life on the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN: animals, algae, bacteria, and viruses. The cruise focuses on the food web and ocean biodiversity. However, some animals, especially hunters such as squid and whales, are too big, fast or camera-shy for our instruments. To detect these top predators, we search […]

Micro-creatures

Exciting plankton creatures have been making their way into the laboratories on board RV Merian since we left Funchal almost two weeks ago. Several scientists and engineers from German, Portuguese and US institutions set up shop in the chemistry, dry and deck labs on the main deck to prepare for plankton sampling and analysis. Since […]

Mikrokreaturen

Seit wir vor fast zwei Wochen Funchal verlassen haben, sind aufregende Planktonlebewesen in die Labore an Bord der MARIA S. MERIAN gekommen. Mehrere Wissenschaftler:innen und Ingenieur:innen aus deutschen, portugiesischen und US-amerikanischen Einrichtungen haben sich im Chemie-, Trocken- und Deckslabor auf dem Hauptdeck niedergelassen, um sich auf die Probennahme und -analyse von Plankton vorzubereiten. Seitdem hat […]

Cruise MSM126 “Jellyweb Madeira” now blogging from the Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean!

“Which species are there?”, “Where are they in the water column and why?”, “Who eats whom?” – These and other seemingly simple questions remain largely unanswered for the deep sea, the largest and least explored habitat for life on Earth. At the same time, climate change and increasing human exploitation are putting pressure on this […]