CEPHALOPOD & PELAGICS RESEARCH

Principle Investigator:

Jennifer L. DeBose
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA
jennifer.debose@noaa.gov

Research Assistants:

Jennifer Davidson, Mark Hodges, Emily Platzer

Collaborators:

Dr. Gabrielle Nevitt (advisor, UC Davis), Dr. Ron Kiene (Dauphin Island Sea Lab), Dr. Suzanne Strom (Shannon Point Marine Center)

Background:

Jennifer DeBose started working with the Flower Garden Banks NMS as a volunteer, almost 10 years ago. Later, as a Research Assistant, she began documenting the cephalopod species of the FGBNMS and their behaviors.

In 2001, Jen reluctantly left the sanctuary to begin the process of obtaining a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior at the University of California-Davis, but returned to the FGBNMS with a new research question: What chemical cues are used by pelagic organisms to find habitat (i.e. these solitary reefs in the Gulf of Mexico) and appropriately time their arrival?

Jen also joined the sanctuary staff as a Research Specialist in December 2007.

Research Focus:

Role of chemosensory cues in finding habitat, specifically coral reef habitat, by pelagic organisms.

Research Summary:

The Flower Garden Banks offer a special reef structure, unlike most other accessible reefs. They are relatively solitary, shallow seamounts at which multiple pelagic species aggregate throughout the year. Jen's field work consists of documenting fish and squid abundance in relation to a specific environmental chemical, in short, collecting water and counting fish. She is conducting studies at comparative sites in the southern Caribbean, which include Bonaire and Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Research at comparative sites is necessary due to the difficulty of conducting experiments under the conditions inherent to the FGBNMS reefs.

Aside from field work, Jen is also conducting olfactory experiments with multiple jack species in the laboratory. Interesting results to follow...