Last workshop for hyperbenthic copepods (HYPCOP)

Our first worldwide workshop with from ltr; Anders Hobæk (NIVA), Cessa Rauch & Jon Kongsrud (UMB), Tone Falkenhaug (mission chief, IMR), Alexandra Savchenko & Rony Huys (NHM), picture by Alexandra Savchenko

Over the past week of September, HYPCOP organized its final and essential workshop for ending the mission. We invited worldwide collaborators Prof. Dr. Rony Huys and Dr. Alexandra Savchenko from the Pure Historical past Museum in London. Prof. Dr. Huys is a widely known copepod taxonomist and crustacean researcher and revealed a large number of species descriptions and books together with key identification guides. We had been very pleased to listen to he had time to come back and journey to Bergen, paying us a go to whereas additionally serving to us with species identifications of the numerous, many copepods we had collected through the two years of our mission.

Throughout the two years of the HYPCOP mission we collected round 600 specimens from totally different localities throughout Norway, together with shallow coastal waters and the deeper components of the mid-Atlantic Ridge (Loki’s Citadel area of energetic hydrothermal vents). From all these specimens we extracted DNA from the smooth tissue of the animal. Subsequently, retaining the laborious exoskeletons, for morphological identification downstream. That is probably the most time consuming and difficult half. The species can typically solely be recognized primarily based on minuscule variations within the look of its legs. Apart from, one wants good taxonomic competence to assign these variations to the hundreds of marine benthic copepods species. And that is the place the HYPCOP crew wanted assist.

HYPCOP began in Might 2020, when loads of nations, together with Norway, had been in a lockdown and worldwide journey was tough and even not possible. Subsequently, it was problematic for HYPCOP to ask worldwide researchers for more often than not. Thus, we centered totally on extracting DNA from our collected specimens and build up a barcode library. However what was lacking was the nomenclature of the majority of the specimens. When lastly, our first worldwide researchers may come and take a look at our specimens, it turned out to be an infinite activity. With the assistance of Prof. Dr. Huys and Dr. Savchenko we managed now to have nearly 300 assigned names to our DNA library of 500 specimens. Fairly a couple of of these are new species and even new genera.

Kickoff of the workshop, which might happen at Marine Organic Station Espegrend throughout every week, picture by Alexandra Savchenko

Rony and Alexandra arrived Sunday night in Bergen along with mission chief Tone Falkenhaug and mission technician Cessa. We had been stationed on the Espegrend marine organic station in Bergen for the whole thing of the week. It was for Tone and Cessa the primary time they might lastly meet Rony and Alexandra in individual, after many months of digital communication. It was a pleasant enjoyable first night. The subsequent day Anders Hobæk from NIVA and Jon Kongsrud from the UiB joined and we began off the week with a presentation overview of the mission.

The overview knowledgeable everybody about this system of the week and the cutting-edge of the mission. With the DNA barcode library, we managed to assemble a COI phylogenetic tree. Among the bigger clades had been already recognized all the way down to species stage, however many extra species names had been lacking from the smaller clades. It was as much as us that week along with Rony and Alexandra to determine these final instances.

Alexandra onboard analysis vessel Emiliana, picture by Tone Falkenhaug

We additionally had in the future of fieldwork deliberate, to have us work additionally with some contemporary materials. This we did with assist of analysis vessel Emiliana and the Beyer’s sled. Each stationed at Espegrend Marine Organic station. We tried to pick a pleasant and dry day for going out with the boat and that occurred to be within the mid of the week. We went slightly bit exterior of the Organic Station, with a depth of round 90 – 120m. The Beyer’s sled is an epibenthic sampler, it’s referred to as a sled for its kind. We obtained many contemporary samples, however due the online being slightly giant in its mesh dimension, we didn’t get as many small species as we preferred.

Subsequently, we additionally tried one other sampling technique with assist of Anders; he had introduced with him a light-weight lure. Gentle traps are very straightforward to DIY with a bottle and inverted bottle opening, like a funnel, and a small led mild on the underside. You put in the lure within the water in a single day; the little led mild attracts loads of small hyperbenthic and planktonic (and a few greater) species.

Everybody working laborious on the Marine Organic Station Espegrend, assigning species names to specimens, picture by Cessa Rauch

Everything of the week consisted of many hours working on the microscope, going by means of literature, dissecting specimens, and assigning species names to the specimens. Finally with assist of Rony and Alexandra, we managed to assign 298 scientific names to 702 specimens in our assortment. From these specimens, we extracted DNA from 593 specimens and produced a DNA library, which we uploaded to the BOLDSYSTEMS (Barcode of Life Knowledge System). This library additionally has all of the metadata of our specimens, akin to location, depth, dimension, and footage of the specimens (both life, mounted and in some instances components). And will probably be publicly obtainable on the finish of the HYPCOP mission.

The week was demanding however very rewarding and we obtained many specimens recognized, with even a couple of new species and genera to Norway and presumably new to science; all due to the laborious work and assist of Rony and Alexandra. We due to this fact additionally want to take this chance to thank them once more for his or her time and efforts in serving to the HYPCOP mission transfer ahead! Till subsequent time.

Rony Huys and Alexandra Savchenko serving to the HYPCOP mission transfer ahead, picture by Tone Falkenhaug

– Cessa