February 14th -18th 2022
The Bryozoa are possibly not essentially the most well-known of animals, so let’s begin with a fast rundown: Bryozoa, also called Polyzoa, Ectoprocta, or moss animals (mosdyr, på norsk) are a phylum of aquatic invertebrates. Bryozoans, along with phoronids and brachiopods, have a particular feeding construction known as a lophophore, a “crown” of hole tentacles used for filter feeding, which you’ll be able to see in motion within the video Tine captured:
In Norway we now have 292 species registered, of which 281 are marine (Kunnskapsstatus for artsmangfoldet 2020, pdf right here). It’s estimated that the precise variety of species current is larger. Additional, a number of recognized species are thought of “door knocker species” which will set up right here throughout the subsequent 50 years.
Bryozoa largely reside in colonies made up of tiny particular person animals known as zooids, which develop in a wide range of shapes, and a few of them present structural habitats for different species. They’re meals for a lot of different animals, specifically nudibranchs, fish, sea urchins, pycnogonids, crustaceans, mites and starfish. Marine bryozoans are sometimes chargeable for biofouling on ships’ hulls, on docks and marinas, and on offshore buildings. They’re among the many first colonizers of recent or just lately cleaned buildings, and will hitchhike to new locations with marine site visitors. (Bonus: they’ve an excellent attention-grabbing fossil report, and this can be utilized to inform us extra concerning the world in the way in which again!)
A couple of of the shapes the colonies can develop in. Pictured are 1: Membraniporella nitida 2: Bugula sp. 3: Flustrella hispida 4: Crisia eburnea
They’re one of many focus teams of Hardbunnsfauna: there may be nonetheless so much we have no idea about them!
Ernst Haeckel – Kunstformen der Natur (1904), plate 23: Bryozoa. Public area, accessed by way of Wikipedia
Planning in a pandemic isn’t straightforward, and we now have needed to postpone our plans for this gathering a number of occasions. The second week of February we may lastly collect our “Workforce Bryozoa” right here in Bergen for every week of in-depth research of those fascinating animals.
Workforce Bryozoa (centre), from left Piotr, Mali, Jo and Lee Hsiang, and among the animals they studied. Group photograph by Piotr Kuklinski
In complete we had been 11 individuals;
College Museum of Bergen: Endre, Jon, Tom and Katrine,
Pure Historical past Museum in Oslo: Lee Hsiang and Mali,
NTNU College Museum: Torkild, Tine (MSc. pupil) and Tiril (MSc. pupil),
and our two guests from overseas:
from the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences got here Piotr,
and from the Heriot Watt College (Orkney Campus), Joanne.
The principle focus of the workshop was to get as many samples and species as doable recognized, work although the DNA barcode vouchers from samples submitted upfront and attain a consensus on which species the doubtful ones had been, to community with our colleagues, and to incorporate the scholars within the work and the group. All of it went swimmingly, and a we had a really productive and gratifying week!
take a look at @hardbunnsfauna on Instagram for extra!
We arrange camp on Espegrend Marine Organic station, and mixed lengthy days within the lab finding out materials collected all through the challenge with shorter journeys out on R/V Hans Brattstrøm.
Right here we collected reside colonies, launched the scholars to numerous accumulating strategies, and let everybody catch some contemporary fjord air.
Tine (prime left) working along with Mali within the lab and within the subject.
Tine is doing her grasp thesis on the species distribution of Bryozoa in shallow water alongside the Norwegian coast.
Throughout the workshop she received the prospect to have among the troublesome species identifications verified by the specialists, and he or she ready a plate of 95 tissue samples that might be DNA barcoded although NorBOL.
Tiril, prime left, along with Jon on the ship and dealing within the lab.
We additionally had Tiril with us, who’s simply beginning out on what’s going to develop into a thesis on ascidians (sea squirts), probably with a deal with species within the genus Botryllus and Botrylloides.
She labored along with Tom, getting accustomed to the literature and the strategies used for engaged on the group. Like Tine, she might be utilizing a mix of conventional morphology primarily based strategies and genetic information.
A couple of impressions from the week
Going ahead we’ll first ship the plate of tissue samples to CCDB to be sequenced, fingers crossed for good outcomes! Throughout the week, *so many* samples had been recognized, so we will definitely be making ready extra plates through the spring. All of the recognized samples might be included into the scientific collections of the museum.
Thanks a lot to all of the individuals for his or her efforts!
-Katrine