From 21 until 28th of Could, researchers, technicians, and college students of the College Museum’s marine part, travelled up North to Torsvåg, near Tromsø, for joint fieldwork. The members represented a number of Artsdatabanken initiatives that cowl marine fungi, hydrozoans, polychaetes, parasites of jellyfish, comb jellies and chaetognaths, bryozoans, marine amphipods and at last the Decrease Heterobranchia and Pyramidellidae gastropods. In this weblog you may learn concerning the basic expertise of the fieldwork and extra particulars concerning the completely different initiatives. And right here you may learn concerning the fieldwork by the eyes of two grasp college students who joined. And if you wish to learn extra adventures and see extra footage take a look at this weblog put up! It was a big group of younger and extra skilled scientists which created the proper alternative for lots of data switch.
This was additionally the primary “massive” fieldwork journey for the Decrease Heterobranchia and Pyramidellidae mission, after a number of sampling occasions within the Bergen space, which you’ll learn right here. Each Decrease Heterobranchia and Pyramidellidae embody small snails, just some millimetres in size which might be exhausting to determine (they will resemble different small species of gastropods). The range of those tiny sea snails is poorly understood in Norway, and thus, throughout this mission these sea snails shall be studied by combining DNA barcoding and shell characters. Sampling shall be primarily based on using dredges, grabs, and snorkelling.
Pyramidellidae are thought to be ectoparasites and are sometimes discovered dwelling on different molluscs or different marine invertebrates, but in addition free in smooth sediments. The Decrease Heterobranchia are sometimes discovered on algae, for instance on the stipes and in between the holdfasts of enormous kelp. Due to the small measurement of those snails one of the best ways to gather them is by sampling the substrate they dwell on. So, that is what we did, we went snorkelling a number of occasions within the chilly waters of Northern Norway, however because of good neoprene layers we have been in a position to maintain heat and concurrently trying like seals!
Amassing the correct substrates for the Decrease Heterobranchs and Pyramidellidae whereas snorkeling. Photograph by Eva Charlotte Samson, UiB
Little lab set-up within the kitchen to kind by the samples. Photograph by Cessa Rauch, UiB.
It was difficult to seek out our snails; there was loads of kelp and excessive range of many different taxonomic teams, however the situations weren’t precisely proper particularly for the pyramidellids that appear to choose areas with sturdy currents.
So, though we sampled many alternative habitats, we regularly ended up not discovering our snails when again within the lab sorting underneath the microscope.
Species of Pyramidellidae; Odostomia turrita. Photograph by Cessa Rauch, UiB.
But, after gathering a ton of fabric and spending many hours sorting, we lastly discovered one pyramidellid!
On this case Odostomia turrita.
Odostomia are neat little pyramidellids which have glands with distinct colors, which makes considerably simpler the identification of species.
The completely different color patterns distinguish completely different Odostomia species. Supply from Høisæter 2014. (Høisæter, T. (2014). The Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) of Norway and adjoining waters. A taxonomic assessment).
Though minute, the decrease heterobranch have been “simpler” to seek out… They appear to be much less choosy with the setting, and on kelp and sand we managed to pattern a couple of completely different species, amongst others two very related ones: Ammonicera rota and Omalogyra atomus. As well as, we discovered within the sand and gravel small snails of the genus Rissoella – R. globularis.
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- One species of Decrease Heterobranch; Ammonicera rota. Photograph by Cessa Rauch, UiB.
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- One other Decrease Heterobranch species; Omalogyra atomus. Photograph by Cessa Rauch, UiB.
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- Species of Rissoella globularis that belong to the Decrease Heterobranchs. Photograph by Cessa Rauch, UiB.
Discipline season has simply began, this was an excellent starting for a busy Summer time with many extra blogs to come back!
-Cessa & Manuel