HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

A Crab's Eye View of the Deep Sea

FT. PIERCE -- The deep-sea is beyond the reach of sunlight, yet many animals there still have functioning, sometimes quite large eyes. So, what do they see and how do they see it if everything is so dark? On Wednesday, March 15, for the next event in the 2006 Harbor Branch Ocean Science Lecture Series, visual ecologist Tammy Frank will describe her career-long quest to answer these questions.

The focus of Frank's talk will be on a recent expedition to the Gulf of Mexico where she was able, after trials and tribulations resulting in experiments being foiled by hurricanes, slimy hagfish, and territorial crabs, to collect deep-sea crabs with intact eyes. This was no simple feat, as the eyes of deep-sea animals are extremely sensitive, meaning any ship or submersible lights will blind them.

Frank had to work with Harbor Branch submersible pilots to collect animal in traps and suction samplers using only dim red light and then transport the animals from the seafloor to a shipboard laboratory in sealed dark containers. Working with these animals, Frank has discovered a deep-sea crab species that has the ability to see ultraviolet light, a very curious find given that there is no known source of ultraviolet light in the depths.

She will discuss possible explanations for the mysterious ultraviolet sensitivity, the rest of her results, and some of the other work conducted on the Gulf of Mexico expedition, called Operation DeepScope 2005. During the trip, Frank's colleagues collected video of the world's first known species of fluorescent shark, and of deep-sea sharks schooling, both of which she will show during the Wednesday presentation.

SPEAKER BACKGROUND Dr. Tammy Frank came to Harbor Branch in 1992 and now heads the Visual Ecology program in the Division of Marine Science. Her research involves studying how light affects the behavior and distribution of marine animals, and how they detect and process the light they encounter. This work combines observations made from the institution's submersibles with ship-based laboratory studies on the light sensitivity of animals brought to the surface in nets and using special traps. She has led 30 research expeditions around the world and been a participant in 40 more. She received her Ph.D. in Aquatic Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

DETAILS Frank's talk, "Vision in the Deep Sea: A Crab's Eye View," will be held in the auditorium of the Johnson Education Center on the Harbor Branch Campus, 5600 US 1 North, Ft. Pierce, Fla. at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15. All talks in the Ocean Science Lecture Series are free to the public and followed by a free reception. A cash bar is available before and after the 7:00 p.m. talk.Ê Please direct press inquiries to Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu. General questions about the series should be directed to the Marine Education Office at 772-465-2400 ext. 506 or education@hboi.edu.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.