Amanda Feuerstein

Amanda Feuerstein
Amanda Feuerstein
Amanda Feuerstein scuba dives with a jellyfish.
Amanda Feuerstein’s ocean education began at age five at Compo Beach on the Long Island Sound where tide pools were her classroom. In later years she received a more formal education at Yale University where she got her Bachelors of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She also spent four years studying the invertebrate zoology collections at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and focused on the relationship between sea turtles and the barnacles that call them home. You can now find her working with Nancy Knowlton as a program coordinator in the office of the Sant Chair for Marine Science.

 

Collaborator Contributions

Sargassum forms dense clumps up to the size of a beach ball that slowly rotate as they drift.

Floating Sargassum Seaweed

Sargassum fluitans, a.k.a. “Gulfweed,” forms dense clumps up to the size of a beach ball that slowly rotate as they drift. The fronds are quite dense, but if you look carefully, sometimes you can see hints of the rich community that hides in the floating sargassum.

Emperor Penguin Chick with Mother

Emperor Penguin Chick with Mother

An emperor penguin chick (Aptenodytes forsteri) huddles under its mother's legs to keep warm in the long Antarctic winter. Learn more about research on emperor penguins and other Antarctic creatures.

The fins of the frogfish are perfect for creeping around in the algae and stalking unsuspecting prey.

Frogfish Histrio histrio

The Sargassum frogfish Histrio histrio (Antennariidae) is a small but voracious predator - it can ingest animals up to it’s own size! The fins of the frogfish are perfect for creeping around in the algae and stalking unsuspecting prey.

This shrimp species can be spotted by its long transparent claws or "chelae".

Brown Grass Shrimp

Another common species of sargassum shrimp, Leander tenuicornis (Palaemonidae), can be spotted by its long transparent claws or "chelae". Very similar shrimp are found in near shore habitats all around the world. Using genetic tests we may determine if they are the same species, or two different species that look the same.

Where the pH is the lowest, corals can no longer grow - sand, rubble and seagrasses replace the reef.

Lonely Seagrass in Acidic Waters

Closest to the seeps, where the pH is lowest and the water is most acidic, corals no longer grow. Instead there are sand, rubble and seagrasses that are able to survive.

Branching corals, because of their more fragile structure, struggle to live in acidified waters

Fragile Branching Corals in Acidic Water

Branching corals, because of their more fragile structure, struggle to live in acidified waters that surround the volcanic CO2 seeps of Papua New Guinea.

Read more about how reef scientist Laetitia Plaisance uses carbon dioxide seepsocean acidification and how it will affect biodiversity on coral reefs in the future.

But closer to the CO2 seeps, the complex reef has been replaced by a “monoculture” of boulder corals.

Monoculture of Boulder Corals

Close to the volcanic CO2 seeps the vast diversity of corals that exists in less-acidic waters is replaced by a "monoculture" of boulder corals that are less fragile and better suited to life in acidic water. 

A healthy coral reef far away from CO2 seeps where the pH is still unaffected

A Healthy Coral Reef

Far away from the volcanic CO2 seeps, the water is unaffected and a healthy coral reef flourishes with a diversity of coral species. Closer to the seeps where the water is acidic, the corals barely even grow.

Read more about how reef scientist Laetitia Plaisance uses carbon dioxide seeps to study ocean acidification and how it will affect biodiversity on coral reefs in the future.

Acidic waters are also able to completely dissolve coral skeletons.

Dissolving Coral Skeleton in Acidic Waters

Near the intense volcanic CO2 vents bubbling from the cracks in the seafloor, the water is so acidic that it dissolves coral skeletons.  

The acidic waters from the CO2 seeps can dissolve shells and also make it harder for shells to grow in the first place.

Dissolving Shell

The acidic waters from CO2 seeps can dissolve shells and also make it harder for shells to grow in the first place.

Read more about how reef scientist Laetitia Plaisance uses carbon dioxide seeps to study ocean acidification and how it will affect biodiversity on coral reefs in the future.

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