Greetings!
Happy New Year from Ocean Genome Legacy! It's a new year! Looking back, we are happy to share with you that in 2010, we found new ways to preserve marine ecosystems around the world, we enhanced our technologies here in the laboratory, we expanded our collections with samples from across the globe, and we're not slowing down as we enter 2011. This year, we'll continue to grow as we focus on many new projects based in the oceans, near and far. In this issue, we highlight an exciting expedition: In late 2010, our collaborators traveled to a remote tropical island, where they successfully collected samples of the world's longest clam species!   |
| Collecting The World's Largest Clams |
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Over the mountains, through the jungles, and under the water... a team of scientists traveled to collect the world's largest clam, the elusive Kuphus, which can grow up to six feet long!
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The research team gears up
for the expedition
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This rare species of shipworm is found in sparse locations around the world, and little is known about its lifestyle. Unlike all other shipworms, Kuphus does not live in and eat wood, but instead it lives
submerged in mud on the seafloor.
But shipworms are infamous for burrowing and consuming wood with the help of their bacterial partners. Could Kuphus be the exception to the rule?
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Researchers dissecting a giant Kuphus in the field lab
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 | | A collection of large tubes made by Kuphus animals |
Intrigued by Kuphus's unusual size and unknown dietary needs, OGL and collaborating researchers have teamed up in an NSF-funded expedition to understand what makes Kuphus tick. In addition to monitoring behavior in its natural environment, scientists collected Kuphus for chemical and molecular analysis. From these collections, the scientists also took samples of their stomach content and dark and grainy waste to analyze for nutrient content. Our team at OGL is currently using advanced microscope techniques to hunt for bacteria that may contribute to the shipworm's large size. Stay tuned in the near future for the first comprehensive description of Kuphus and its bacterial partners!
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| Coming Soon... | |
LIONFISH ALERT!
 Remember that scene from Naked Gun? In next month's issue, we want to give you some more information about this fish - a threat to the Caribbean and the Keys! How could such a beautiful fish cause trouble on tropical coral reefs? And why are these tropical fish swimming in our waterways up in the continental US? Stay tuned to learn more about how lionfish are eating their way across reefs, decimating local fish populations, and disturbing fisheries all the way from the Caribbean to New England.
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