The Science Team
What Are Harpacticoid Copepods?
The Point Sur Crew
Video
Science Team Profiles
David Thistle —Florida State University
As chief scientist for the cruise and professor of oceanographer, David ranks as one of the foremost deep-ocean benthic biologists in the world. For nearly three decades he has made the study of the ecology and biogeography of harpacticoid copepods his specialty. A veteran of many research cruises over the years, David also has done research using the deep-sea submersibles Alvin and the U.S. Navy’s Sea Cliff. David earned his doctorate in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, and joined FSU’s oceanography faculty in 1977. He’s a native of Tewksbury, Mass.
Erin Easton —Florida State University
A native of Crown Point, Indiana, Erin is finishing a masters degree in oceanography with Prof. David Thistle this semester, and starting her doctoral program at the same time at FSU. Much of what she discovers on this cruise will factor into her degree ambitions, and she’s played a leading role in coordinating the overall plan for this cruise. While at FSU, Erin has developed a knack for sorting through complex collections of harpacticoid copepods and identifying them by species using both DNA methods and visual clues (she actually dissects these impossibly small animals under the microscope). Already, she has made a number of surprising discoveries about copepod communities living just off the shores of Dog Island near the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory. This is her maiden voyage as a deep-ocean researcher.
Russell Carvalho —Texas A&M University
Russell is a doctoral student in oceanography, working out of Texas A&M’s Galveston branch. His key research interests are tied to the evolutionary patterns of polychaete worms. He’s aboard to gain some quality ship-time and learn new sampling techniques to apply to his work with polychaetes. He hopes to discover new information by comparing the species of polychaetes found in the Pacific with those found in the Gulf of Mexico. This is his third research cruise. Russell is a native of Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay).
George D.F. “Buz” Wilson —Australian Museum, Sydney
Buz is a specialist in the biology of isopod crustaceans and the study of deep-sea biodiversity. After getting a Ph.D. at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, his research interests carried him to Australia, where he serves as principal research scientist at the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the Australian Museum in Sydney. He’s aboard to further his research and serve as a team leader and quite possibly —as a veteran of upwards of 40 cruises—a chief morale officer. He calls Oatley, New South Wales, Australia his hometown.
Melissa Rohal —Florida State University
Melissa is a spanking new addition to the graduate program in FSU’s Department of Oceanography, arriving in Tallahassee in August. She’s working toward a masters degree under Prof. Thistle. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Melissa has had a keen interest in marine biology since childhood, when she played on the beaches of Georgia’s Jekyll Island at a family member’s home. Her primary area of interest is deep-sea benthic biology, and she’s developing a talent for differentiating the morphological characteristics of harpacticoid copepods. She’s a veteran sea-goer, coming to FSU from a stint as a marine mammal observer for a Florida-based company that had her aboard ship up to six months a year.
Samuel Dorado —Texas A&M University, Galveston
Sam is getting experience in pursuit of a master's degree in marine biology. This is his third, but longest, sea cruise. He’s aboard to give a hand to Prof. Thistle’s team and hoping to test a method for assessing secondary productivity in phytoplankton, and apply it to the work he’s pursuing in the Gulf of Mexico where most of his research is focused. Sam hails from El Paso, Texas.
Allison McInnes —Texas A&M University, Galveston
This is Allison’s fourth sea-going mission, the other three being confined to the Gulf of Mexico. A native of Houston, Texas, she’s working on a Ph.D. in biological oceanography. Allison will be helping the FSU team and also taking deep seawater samples to study phytoplankton communities at various depths.
Stefan Bourgoin —Florida State University
Stefan is a second-year masters student in biological oceanography at FSU under Prof. Thistle. His key research interest is in fact the study of juvenile gag grouper found in the abundant sea grass beds that thrive literally out the “back door” of the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory. But he’s aboard to do whatever is necessary to help his fellow lab mates get their work done. Stefan is a Birmingham, Alabama native, and this is his first offshore cruise.
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