March 18th, 2022. Aloha! Welcome to paradise, or that’s what it feels like to the Arellano Lab. This warm, lush island is a little different to what our lab is typically experiencing during March in Washington. Currently the lab is sheltering in place in Waikiki, Oahu, HI, until March 21st when we board the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. After years of set backs, the Arellano Lab is finally heading to the Lau Basin to study how symbionts influence species distributions of Provannid snails at southwestern Pacific hydrothermal vents.
During this cruise, the lab will work closely with scientists from multiple institutions including the University of Rhode Island (URI), University of Oregon (UO), Temple University, and the Gollner Lab at NIOZ. This multi-institutional crew will also work with a plethora of deep-sea instruments including ROV Jason, AUV Sentry, a McLane High Volume Pump, Suspended Particulate Rosette (SuPR) samplers, and Field Recruiment Isolation Enviroments (FRIEs) to collect samples.
We will be collecting many different types of samples, and we’ll go into depth about what all these will tell us later in the cruise blog. The focus of this cruise will be on two main groups of snails found at our sites; Alvinoconcha sp., and Ifremaria nautilei. Relying on symbiotic bacteria that feed off the vent fluid, their distributions follow patterns throughout our sites, and we want to find out why. To explore this question we will be dissecting adult snails to retrieve gill tissues, we will sort through plankton samples searching for larval and juvenile snails, and we will collect and filter water samples. Additionally, we will take lots of photos and videos of our sites and the organisms that inhabit them.
For many of us this is the longest cruise, or the first cruise we have been on. Spending a total of 51 days on the ocean, without stopping at any ports, we will put to the test our dedication to unraveling the mysteries of the deep-sea.
Before we head out on our expedition, with long nights and hard work, we’re enjoying the Hawaiian experience, much different than our home towns. Staying COVID conscious, and avoiding people, we are delving into the tropical natural world around us.
Many of us are spending time at the beach where we read, draw, swim, and tan (actually more like burn..) in the 82 °F sun. This tropical climate also allows us to experience all sorts of different flora and fauna, exciting for a group full of biologists and nature lovers. Hiking through forests of palm trees and large fronds, volcanic craters, along the coast with cerulean waters and sandy beaches, Oahu is full of fantastical habitats to explore.
On top of the nature, we are inquiring on the local cuisine. A new variety of local fruits consisting of guava, papaya, lilikoi, longan berries and many others stimulating our tastebuds. The accessibility of local fish provide delicious poké and sushi dishes to try. Of course we also have been trying other Hawaiian specialties including musubi, hula dogs and malasadas. Staying in the Waikiki area supplies many different international cuisines as well such at Korean BBQ across the street, udon and ramen shops down the strip, empanada food trucks, and burgers for our dining pleasure. We are certainly making the most of our shelter in place.
To follow along with our journey search for our Instagram and Twitter posts including the hashtag #veligervoyage
