CMarZ News
September 27 - October 16, 2007
 Bluewater diver collects fragile, transparent zooplankton. Image courtesy of Exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea 2007 Exploration, NOAA-OE. |
"The Southeast Asian nations of Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia occupy one of the richest biological environments on Earth. Sometimes called the “coral triangle” this region of islands and ocean basins is considered a ‘hotspot’ of biodiversity both on land and in shallow marine environments. Until now, most of our knowledge of marine biodiversity here is from shallow water environments – the deep sea is almost entirely unexplored. The goal of 2007:Exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea is to learn more about this center of shallow water biodiversity by studying the fauna in the midwater realm and making extensive vertical surveys of the water column. Our mission will explore one of the most intriguing parts of the deep sea – the deep basin of the Celebes Sea south of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines." |
26 Oct - 27 Nov 2007
 Putting nets onto the MOCNESS-10 |
Twenty-seven researchers, students and others from around the world joined together to collect and study zooplankton on the RVIB/Polarstern ANT-XXIV/1. The ice breaker was transiting from Bremerhaven, Germany to Cape Town, South Africa on route to the Antarctic. Net collections were conducted from the surface to over 5000m depth to find rare and unknown species. Taxonomic experts and geneticists worked together to identify and barcode the DNA from hundreds of species of zooplankton. View images of some of the animals they found. |
Machida wins Osaka prize
June 2007
 Ryuji Machida |
Ryuji Machida, CMarZ-Asia Project Manager and Post-doc, was recently awarded the Okada
prize for 2007 from the Oceanographic Society of Japan (OSJ) with his accomplishments on a series of research on "molecular genetics and evolution of marine zooplankton".
Commemorating the late Professor Takematsu Okada, the Okada Prize is awarded to a young member of the Society who has made outstanding contributions to the progress of oceanography. Up to two prizes are awarded annually. |
5 May 2007
Francesc Pagès |
Francesc Pagès, our much loved and highly respected Steering Group member and expert in gelatinous zooplankton passed away on 5 May 2007. The CMarZ members put together a memorial for him. |
March 2007
 Ann Bucklin |
CMarZ project leader Dr. Ann Bucklin was interviewed for the Bulletin of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. She discussed the project, the integral role of genetic tools to understanding organisms and populations, and more. Read the interview. |
February 2007
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Science News published an article "What's Going On Down There?: 2,000 ocean scientists do the biggest, wettest census ever" featuring zooplankton on the journal's cover. |
April 2006
 A baby octopus collected in the Sargasso Sea |
In April 2006, the Census of Marine Zooplankton sailed aboard the US NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown for a CMarZ-devoted cruise from Charleston, South Carolina, USA to San Juan, Puerto Rico. They sampled from the surface to near the bottom with fine mesh nets in order to collect as many species of zooplankton from the Sargasso Sea as possible. A team of taxonomists identified the animals on board after which the genetics researchers and students analyzed the DNA, creating genetic barcodes of each species. Fabulous photographs and video of live zooplankton are available as well as the cruise track, chief scientist daily reports, reports from the teacher who joined the cruise, and more. http://www.cmarz.org/CMarZ_Cruise_April |
