Mail Buoy
March 2, 2006
Why do you like being a oceanographer?
Glenys
Grade 4
Ukrainian Assumption School
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Dear Glenys:
Thank you for writing to us! I am sure every oceanographer would have a slightly different answer to this question but I will tell you why I like being an oceanographer. I started with a biology background but after going on my first research cruise in the North Atlantic with Larry Madin, I realized that I enjoyed thinking about the lifestyles of marine creatures in their oceanic environment. As an oceanographer, you think about your topic of study (in my case, salps) within the greater context of the chemistry, physics, and biology of the ocean. It is a kind of big-picture approach. I also enjoy being out on the open ocean where most people don't get to go. By scuba diving, I get to see beautiful animals in their natural environment that few people have ever seen. It is very exciting!
Kelly Rakow
Graduate Student
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Shalom from Israel! My name is Joshua and I am 11 years old. I would like to be a marine biologist so I am very interested in your research. I have three questions:
- When were salps first discovered?
- What color light does a salp give off when frightened?
- Why do salps form chains?
Thank you! I hope that you discover new things and that all goes well!
Dear Joshua:
Shalom from Antarctica, and thanks for your questions. Here goes:
- Salps may have been known a long time ago, but the first written description of them was in 1756. Since salps live mostly in the open ocean, people don't often see them close to shore. There are salps in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
- Unlike most other jelly animals, salps do not make light. For animals that do, like some jellyfish and comb jellies, the light is usually blue-green.
- Salps are in chains because they are born connected together by a process called budding. They stay connected as they grow larger, and sometimes the chains can be meters long. See the Hot Topic about salps.
Larry Madin
Chief Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Have you found any undiscovered, or new forms of life?
Keith Lay
Dear Keith:
Thanks for your question about finding new species. We have seen a species of comb jelly, or ctenophore, which does not seem to have been described and named yet, so it is a new species. We also saw it a year ago, and other colleagues have seen it in the past, but so far nobody has written the formal description and given it a name. Maybe we will do that after this trip.
Otherwise, I don't think we've seen new species, but the ocean is full of undescribed organisms, so there is always the chance of a discovery, particularly if you have a new method for looking.
Larry Madin
Chief Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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