We explore the entire tree of life on the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN: animals, algae, bacteria, and viruses. The cruise focuses on the food web and ocean biodiversity. However, some animals, especially hunters such as squid and whales, are too big, fast or camera-shy for our instruments. To detect these top predators, we search for and collect genetic traces, so to speak, working as zoological forensic scientists. Ocean animals constantly lose cells and DNA when swimming, breathing, eating and defecating, resulting in the release of genetic material. We collect and identify this so-called environmental DNA (eDNA for short) using a method specifically developed to analyse DNA traces collected from environmental samples. Specific DNA sections, such as ribosomal DNA or genes essential for energy production, are analysed and exist in all animals. The same or similar essential genes are used for bacteria or unicellular organisms. These genes are later amplified from the samples via PCR and sequenced via next-generation sequencing technologies. The results are later compared to genetic databases to discover which species occurred in the environmental sample.
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Selfie while filtering eDNA water samples. Photo: Babett Günther
So, while our colleagues filter water samples to study phytoplankton and microplankton, we filter water from the CTD in parallel and analyse the DNA later in Kiel in the GEOMAR laboratories. Based on the specific DNA traces, we can determine the presence of certain species, such as the deep-sea cephalopods Histioteuthis and Heteroteuthis. Water sampled every 100 m from the surface down to the seafloor can show us at what depths cephalopods occur and allows us to predict what species of prey predatory whales may encounter during their dives. For this, we work together with cetacean specialists. At the same time, we also analyse the biodiversity of other organisms in the samples, which we could then compare to predict the prey of the cephalopods. Ultimately, we can also compare our genetic results with the distribution and abundance of the diverse species of plankton and animals identified by the MSM126 team members, each of whom has their own taxonomic speciality.
We are also carrying out an innovative eDNA experiment on the deep seafloor during our expedition. For this, the deep-sea robot or ROV has deployed a deep-sea lander with bait on the seafloor to mimic the deposition of a carcass from the overlying water column. This carcass attracts and nourishes many organisms since deep-sea bottom organisms largely depend on food from the overlying water column. We returned to this site several times with the ROV robot to take sediment cores and water samples. These samples are immediately preserved on board for future eDNA analysis. The experiment will investigate 1) which species are attracted to the food deposition event and 2) to what extent the biodiversity and ecosystem of animals and bacteria change over time after the food deposition event.
Environmental genetics, the search for traces in the sea, is a modern addition that supports various classical approaches in marine research and contributes new information and perspectives. It is, therefore, also an essential part of MSM126 to combine research from different disciplines and gain new insights.
Imagine you are living in a city where it typically rains a lot, the skies tend to be grey, and a dry heaven combined with a single sunbeam breaking through is considered “good weather”. That´s Kiel for you. The city where I, Lisa, have been living since September, with the perfect timing to get a glimpse of how nice life at the Baltic could be, but mostly experiencing soggy and frosty winter months. I came here to be part of the Biological Oceanography Master´s program, taught at GEOMAR, and while our studies never get boring, dreams of taking a swim in the fjord in the morning before class and exciting field work out in the sun is what kept me going.
Now imagine it is June, sunbeams breaking through the clouds become more frequent, the second semester of hard work is nearing its end, and the only thing between a beautiful summer with concerts and beach days are a few lousy exams. The dream so close, I can almost taste it. Or so I thought.
Well, it would have been, if there hadn´t been a very unexpected email mid-june, informing me of the slightest possibility of joining a cruise to the arctic, scheduled to set sails in about 3,5 weeks. While I have never been particularly fond of the cold, joining a research cruise that lasts longer than the typical two weeks the Alkor is meandering about the Baltic has been something I wanted to do for a long time! And as these projects are usually planned two or more years in advance, getting to be part of one so soon was something I never would have imagined. Well, my pestering the head scientists of the Littorina with questions about long-term cruises and whether he knew about any opportunities to apply for whenever we went on the monthly KBP cruise might have had something to do with it.
Anyways, after 10 days of anxiously waiting, whether Greenland would send an observer to the cruise after all (as sometimes they want to make sure that none of the wildlife is harmed in the process of the cruise or sampling), finally received confirmation. With barely two weeks to spare to pack, prepare, and wrap up any lose ends of my classes, my departure to Iceland was quite hectic and without a plan. I certainly didn´t know what I was getting myself into.
Being part of a monthly timeseries sampling a station near Kiel with the small vessel Littorina, I am somewhat trained for taking water samples of various parameters from the Niskinbottles of a CTD-device. However, as these are day-cruises only, this is nothing compared to the life aboard a larger vessel that is operating around the clock.
While hydroacoustic surveys are being run at night, CTDs take place mostly during the day. I found myself to be part of the sampling team, collecting water samples from 24 different depth layers that are subsequently being tested for various parameters. It might sound as easy as filling a glass of water from the tap, but when collecting our samples there are many things that need to be considered, like which samples would need to be filled through special filters, which ones need to be bubble-free, which ones need to be protected from the light…. And after all, not a single drop of water may be wasted, as every drop is used in some way if possible. Once this is done, all the samples are processed further. Together with the rest of the filtering team, I take part in the biological testing. Specifically, I am filtering water through glass fiber filters, which are later on analyzed for the amount of chlorophyll a and particulate organic matter (POC) that they contain. The distributions of these particles across the water column will later give information about e.g. algae blooms in the fjords, which in turn allow conclusions about the productivity and such. The task itself – placing filters into the filtration rack, inverting my water bottles a few times before adding the water to the set-up and making sure the pump is running smoothly – is easy enough. The real challenge is to process all the samples of one station before the next one is reached. As I learned, the data we collect is most valuable, if all stations of an area are sampled within short timespans, so the results of each depth layer can be properly compared with each other. Working together as a team, we do our best to prevail and overcome the sheer water masses flowing through our lab every day. Not only metaphorically, but also quite literally – during our first test-stations the floor had to be mopped quite regularly. Although the spilling has stopped by now, our lab definitely has the cleanest floors, and no one can convince me otherwise!
Mooring recovery:
The mooring team (Kieran, Gabby and Shannon) started out strong with a successful recovery of the mooring that was deployed August of 2023! After some heavy lifting and lots of help from the Meteor crew (thank you crew!! 
), the mooring was recovered just one hour after its release !!!
Foto: Gabrielle ArrietaData Evaluation:
Recovery of the mooring resulted in year long (Aug 2023 to July 2024) recordings of biological sounds, active acoustic data and environmental data at a fixed depth. An initial evaluation of the recordings showed sperm whales, dolphins, beaked whales and some baleen whales !!!
Play sound here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NdPQIjul2buW0u833p2R4RDzfV-Ux1Kb/view
Play sound here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ElYHBzjs70QMz_VsBRalJfoDNjX2zEv/view
The Days Ahead:
The mooring team is working hard on getting the recovered instruments ready to redeploy at the end of the cruise. We are also working on getting a 2nd mooring with double the instruments ready to deploy !!!!
The Mooring Team (Kieran, Gabby and Shannon)
Das Verankerungsteam (Kieran, Gabby und Shannon) begann mit einer erfolgreichen Bergung der Verankerung, die im August 2023 ausgesetzt worden war! Nach schwerem Heben und viel Hilfe von der Meteor-Besatzung (vielen Dank an die Besatzung!! 
) wurde die Verankerung nur eine Stunde nach ihrem Release geborgen!!!
Foto: Gabrielle ArrietaDatenauswertung
Die geborgene Verankerung hat ein Jahr lang (August 2023 bis Juli 2024) biologische Geräusche, aktive akustische Daten und Umweltdaten aus einer bestimmten Tiefe aufgezeichnet. Eine erste Auswertung der Aufzeichnungen zeigte Pottwale, Delfine, Schnabelwale und einige Bartenwale!!!
Hört euch den Ton hier an:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NdPQIjul2buW0u833p2R4RDzfV-Ux1Kb/view?usp=sharing
Hört euch den Ton hier an:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ElYHBzjs70QMz_VsBRalJfoDNjX2zEv/view?usp=drive_link
Die kommenden Tage
Das Verankerungsteam arbeitet hart daran, die geborgenen Instrumente für die erneute Aussetzung am Ende der Fahrt vorzubereiten. Wir arbeiten auch daran, eine zweite Verankerung mit der doppelten Anzahl an Instrumenten zu installieren !!!!
Euer Verankerungs-Team (Kieran, Gabby und Shannon)
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