People

Charles "Chuck" Fisher

Works at: Pennsylvania State University

Research in the South Pacific: As Chief Scientist I need to ensure that the expedition's work will complement what was done on previous cruises. We are focusing on seafloor communities. One set of researchers onboard will use close-up color cameras to make detailed mosaic pictures of the seafloor. Another group will make fine-scale measurements of the chemistry around the animals in these pictures. My group will quantitatively sample the communites to find out who is really there and what animals might be hiding from the cameras. Because we are using quantitative sampling methods we can compare the biomass, composition and structure of the communities to those we are studying in other parts of the world.

Bio snippet: I began my research career studying symbioses between coral reef animals and photosynthetic algae in Hawaii and the West Pacific. Now, 25 years later, I am back in the western pacific, this time studying animals with chemosynthetic microbial symbionts that never see sunlight. Sometimes, my research group uses a "Bushmaster," a hydraulic net, to collect animals such as tubeworms from the seafloor, along with any "root systems" and the rocks to which they are attached.