BIOS faculty members Leocadio Blanco-Bercial and Amy Maas study tiny zooplankton, essential to the marine food web, and fondly refer to students and researchers in their Bermuda lab as members of their “Zoop Group.” Three new student members have joined their ranks, including two who will complete their internships in the months ahead and another who will continue their work through mid-2022.
Little Lives in Bermuda’s Caves
June 08, 2016
The cool darkness of the cave provided relief from Bermuda’s spring sun when BIOS scientist Leocadio Blanco-Bercial ducked down and slipped inside, eager to explore the quiet habitat of organisms smaller than sand grains. His cave research, which began in early April, teamed him with researchers from the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research to gather water samples from six of Bermuda’s renowned—yet mysterious—limestone caves.
A DNA Library for Bermuda’s Fish
July 09, 2017
In an innovative collaboration, BIOS molecular ecologist Leocadio Blanco-Bercial and reef ecologist Tim Noyes are exploring how DNA can be recovered from seawater to reveal which fish species are active on Bermuda’s reefs. As fish swim, water passing over their gills and waste passing through their guts all deliver sloughed off cells to the surrounding seawater, leaving a trail of genetic material behind them. Within that genetic material, a specific short sequence of DNA can be recovered by scientists and traced like a fingerprint to a single fish species. But to learn more about fish communities from the DNA sequences swirling in the seawater, scientists first need to document which sequence belongs to which species.
A Microbial “Whodunit”
July 09, 2016
An interdisciplinary team of scientists joined forces in July for their first annual research cruise dedicated to revealing how specific microbes take up and transform organic matter within a web of ecological interactions in the waters southeast of Bermuda.
An Unexpected Source for Copepods
March 30, 2021
Like all marine scientists, ecologist Leocadio Blanco-Bercial rejoices in the discovery of rare sea creatures. He just never expected to find them showing up in his toilet water.
A Plethora of (Zoo)Plankton Papers
May 29, 2021
While working on board a research vessel positioned 240 miles offshore Ireland in the Atlantic, BIOS zooplankton ecologist Amy Maas announced this month the publication of three new papers in science research journals. Maas, who has spent May at sea with 26 other scientists for the multi-year EXPORTS project (EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing), used Instagram to promote the just-released science publications.
Research at BIOS Leads to Undergraduate Thesis Prize at Princeton
July 31, 2021
Emma O’Donnell, 22, graduated this past spring from Princeton University (U.S.) with a Bachelor of Arts in ecology and evolutionary biology, with high honors. Her undergraduate thesis, “One Fish, Two Fish: Measuring Patterns of Reef Fish Biodiversity in Bermuda Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding,” was based on research she conducted at BIOS, and it earned her the Princeton Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Prize for Best Thesis in Ecology.
A Big Show for Small Organisms
August 28, 2021
Two types of zooplankton will be featured at the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) beginning this summer in a mixed-media exhibit dedicated to reminding us how art can be used to more deeply appreciate our place on this planet. Copepods, small marine crustaceans, and pteropods, tiny marine snails also known as “sea butterflies,” are the focus of this collaborative effort between BIOS and BNG. Some of the artists with works displayed in the series have spent time at BIOS working alongside zooplankton ecologists Leocadio Blanco-Bercial and Amy Maas as they investigate some of the ocean’s smallest and most critically important members of the marine food web.
A Climate Connection for College Students
November 28, 2021
Nine Bermuda College students participated in lectures, hands-on laboratory activities, and a plankton-collecting trip during a two-day climate change workshop earlier this month through a partnership between BIOS’s Ocean Academy and the United States Consulate General in Bermuda.
Welcoming Three New Instruments for BIOS Research
April 13, 2017
BIOS acquired three new instruments this spring to enrich investigations into the roles and interactions between microbial communities and migrating zooplankton in the Sargasso Sea.