While it’s always exciting to spot larger animals from the ship, aboard WCOA 2026 there are some big enthusiasts for the tinier creatures. Using “net-tow” sampling – it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect – biologists have found some amazing critters that are way easier to take pictures of than any whale or dolphin and much more numerous! After deploying large conical nets with specific sizes of mesh, the net tow team tirelessly filters and sorts through their catch to use in experiments, save as specimens, and—of course—to show off to everyone else!
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The net contents tend to look like a brown-orange slush, but under the microscope it’s a zoo of zooplankton! Unlike phytoplankton, which can create their own energy through photosynthesis, zooplankton must eat their fuel and are considered heterotrophs. Of particular interest are pteropods and copepods – pteropods are marine snails that have long been assessed in relation to ocean acidification as their shells can thin with decreasing ocean pH. Graduate student Avery Matthias and professor Karen Chan from the University of Washington School of Oceanography are collecting copepods to assess their response to temperature stress. Lucky for everyone aboard, Karen often spotlights creatures she deems unique, rare, or just downright ‘weird’ and night-shift, net-lead Dr. Zack Gold (NOAA PMEL) has a high quality camera. Take a look!
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