Research cruises assess North Carolina marine resources
An East Carolina University professor is taking part in a series of interdisciplinary research cruises aimed at exploring biological organisms off the coast of North Carolina and gauging how climate and oceanic conditions affect marine resources.
In February, researchers from multiple universities, including East Carolina University, set off on the first of eight cruises aboard the R/V Cape Hatteras, a vessel managed by Cape Fear Community College. (Photo by Dr. Bradley Tolar, UNC Wilmington)
Dr. Rebecca Asch, associate professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology, is a collaborator on the $1.5 million Research Opportunities Initiative grant. ROI grants are funded by the North Carolina General Assembly to encourage innovative and collaborative research projects across the state. Dr. Bradley Tolar, assistant professor of biology and marine biology at UNC Wilmington, leads the project with partnerships from ECU, UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University.
“It’s a really important initiative, and I am proud to represent ECU,” Asch said.
Transect Expedition to Assess Land-to-Sea Habitats via Interdisciplinary Process Studies (TEAL-SHIPS) is the name of the project. It involves researchers exploring the continental shelf of North Carolina to collect data and better understand physical, chemical and biological oceanographic processes. Surveys of the coast, from estuaries along the Cape Fear River near Wilmington to the Gulf Stream, will span two years of data collection throughout eight research cruises (four times per year, or once per season), with one year to analyze the data and findings. They will traverse the same locations, collect the same information and use the same equipment on each research cruise.
Asch said many of these offshore areas have not been surveyed by biologists since the 1990s.
A conductivity, temperature and depth sensor measures physical and biogeochemical variables in the ocean. (Photo by Dr. Rebecca Asch)
“If we are going to be making good decisions about managing marine resources, we really need updated data,” she said. “This is one of the first initiatives in quite a long time that is going to allow us to get that updated picture of what is going on in the ocean.”
“From a biological standpoint, we are trying to understand the community dynamics of organisms spanning from microbes up to top predators. The goal is to develop baseline data for use in understanding how climate change may impact marine resources,” Asch said.
Describing life on the boat, Asch said that on research cruises, there is often a full staff just running the ship, including a chef. The researchers stay on the boat for a couple of days at a time and share rooms with bunk beds for sleeping. A fun little fact, she said, is that almost every ship has a hidden ice cream freezer.
“People can have an ice cream cup at any point in the day,” she said.
The first of the eight cruises took place Feb. 10-13, and the researchers used three types of equipment. The main piece of equipment is called a CTD, or conductivity, temperature and depth sensor, which measures physical and biogeochemical variables. It is surrounded by a series of water bottles that can collect water samples from different depths for later biological processes or chemical analysis. Fish trawls and plankton nets were also deployed to collect plankton, fish eggs, larval fish and adult fish.
A net full of fish is raised out of the water to be examined during the first of eight multidisciplinary research cruises that will occur over the next two years. (Photo by Dr. Rebecca Asch)
Ellissa DeFeyter, an ECU master’s student in the biology program with a concentration in environmental and organismal biology, is assisting Asch on the research.
“I feel very excited to be part of this project and eager to learn about fish spawning and the unique biogeography of North Carolina’s coastal waters,” DeFeyter said. “This project will involve a combination of field, lab and computational methods and will allow me to learn about fish reproductive biology, oceanography and our local region from multiple angles.”
Throughout the research cruises, DeFeyter and Asch will collect and analyze samples of fish eggs. Then, they will sequence the fish eggs via DNA barcoding to better understand when and where commercially important species are spawning in North Carolina waters or beyond the state.
“Our fisheries are a sizable industry, both commercially and recreationally,” Asch said. “Almost all the species are estuarine dependent but go offshore to spawn. Because we don’t monitor those habitats, we don’t know where they are going. We want to understand what is spawning where and when and provide that information to others to make informed decisions.”
The R/V Cape Hatteras, a vessel managed by Cape Fear Community College, was used for the first of eight research cruises that will help researchers survey the North Carolina coast, from estuaries along the Cape Fear River and into the Gulf Stream. (Photo by Dr. Rebecca Asch)
Although unable to go on the first research cruise, DeFeyter is now analyzing the data collected from the trip. She said she looks forward to going on upcoming cruises with Asch and networking with researchers from UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State.
“I will enjoy learning the logistics of conducting surveys under changing sea conditions while ensuring that the boat and crew stay safe,” she said.
She is also excited about increasing her field, laboratory and computational skills, which she said will aid her while writing her graduate thesis.
“Through TEAL-SHIPS, I will be able to learn how to deploy plankton nets at sea, identify larval fish and eggs from plankton samples, conduct DNA barcode analysis and quantitatively analyze and describe my data,” she said. “TEAL-SHIPS will also provide me with access to a wealth of data on physical and environmental parameters and catch data on adult fish in my field of study.”
After completing her master’s degree, DeFeyter said she is interested in a career in research and policy.
“I would like to participate in the NOAA Knauss Fellowship program to gain experience in marine policy,” she said. “I am also interested in working in state agencies or industry for a few years to determine whether to pursue a Ph.D.”
Asch hopes this partnership with UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State will be the start of a longer-term research series that will attract additional funding from the National Science Foundation or other sponsors.