Will My Wood Research Be Poplar?

Video frame grabI wooden dream of having a post full of wood puns.  On the other hand my alder ego often gets the best of me and I may have to cherry pick a few.  I am participating in the new round of SciFund Challenge.  I am hoping yew (I can’t help myself) will help me support some research on wood falls.  Details will be coming soon about how you can contribute! Fir now I have link roundup with my and my collaborator’s recent posts on this cool research.

Not to board you with more but below is a gallery of images that I think will spruce up the post.   The photos are from wood falls nearly two miles deep on the Pacific seafloor and many are courtesy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.  I hope I left you pining for more.

 

DSC_9095
My collaborators Jim Barry and Chris Lovera inspect a collection bag for the wood falls
Xylopyolas_L5
The siphon of wood boring bivalve Xylopyolas sp. notable because of the protective plates at the end
Gastropod1
A species of minute snail (<3mm) found on the wood falls
concava
Xylophaga concava, a species of wood boring bivalve. With a shell unlike other clams the siphon is also much larger than the shell
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The elegant damage done by wood-boring bivalves on a log
DSC_9104
The benthic elevator sets on the back deck of the Western Flyer as we depart from Moss Landing
evildrm
Here I am shiving wood for science
poly3
The golden setae (hairs) of this worm make it one of the more charismatic invertebrates from the wood falls
DSC_9248
Me carefully picking invertebrates out of bored log
gastropod3
My favorite snail from the wood falls because of its milky white color
DSC_9293
Kurt Buck looks over my work as pick invertebrates from the log.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The ROV Doc Ricketts being deployed through a moon pool on the Western Flyer like a bond villian
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The remains of log that spent 7 years on the deep-sea floor
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
More Bond like robots and moon pools
poly4
This worm is the craziest looking organism that occurs on the wood falls
specimen1-L26
Elephant trunk? Nope. Siphon from a wood-boring bivalve
Video frame grab
Tiny hydroids take up residence on the polypropylene rope on the wood fall
Video frame grab
A grayish colored halo forms around wood falls. This represents an area of immense bacterial action feeding off wood bits and feces coming out of the wood fall.
Video frame grab
Sea cucumbers, Amperima, stretch out their tentacles to feed in the sediment nearby
02_34_23_22
The foreboding last minute before I collect this squat lobster with the suction sampler
Video frame grab
Even through the mesh it is clear to see that the log has been bored.
Video frame grab
Benthic elevator on the bottom holding the collection bags with the wood falls in them.
Video frame grab
The urchin Tromikosoma. Note the awesome club spines
Video frame grab
Another bored wood fall
Video frame grab
A scale worm crawls on the outside of the wood fall
Video frame grab
SEA PIG!!!!
Video frame grab
MOAR SEA PIG!!!
Video frame grab
EVEN MOAR SEA PIG!
Video frame grab
Several squat lobsters remain after a wood fall is collected
Video frame grab
Sea cucumbers, Amperima, and Xenophyophores, a large unicellular organism, dot the seafloor near the wood falls
Video frame grab
A fluffy mound of wood-boring bivalve feces (orange specks), wood bits, and bacteria. A feeding white snail finds this an enjoyable snack.
Video frame grab
A fish with a fungal infection swims over one of the wood falls
Video frame grab
A squat lobster covered in bacteria and sediment tries to hide
Video frame grab
A squat lobster stands gaurd
Video frame grab
ROV collecting sediment cores
Video frame grab
Now time to grab the wood fall
Video frame grab
Careful…
05_02_19_01
A squat lobster feeding on a wood fall
Video frame grab
This squat lobster does not seem amused
wood8
A log seven years ago before being deployed to the deep-sea floor

11 Replies to “Will My Wood Research Be Poplar?”

  1. Silly question born from genuine curiosity: in the absence of wood, what do those wood boring bivalves eat?

  2. Not a silly question at all. Once a wood fall arrives to the deep-sea floor larvae settle it on it. The organisms live their entire life until death on the wood fall. However, we really don’t know much about the life cycles of the animals or the cycle of the community itself.

  3. As of right now we have not seen anything that is recognizable as Siboglinid on the wood falls, but we are still in the process of sorting all the animals and identifying everything.

  4. I just saw that Xylophaga concava in ¨Prometheus¨.
    It wasn’t interested in wood though.

Comments are closed.