PhD scholarship available at the VUB, Marine Biology Lab, in the framework of the RECTO project

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Bruno Danis

PhD scholarship (4 years) in molecular ecology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Biology, Marine Biology Lab, Belgium.

We are searching for a highly motivated PhD student that will work on evolution, population genetics and connectivity in Antarctic sea stars utilising a genomics approach (DNA barcoding, microsatellites and next generation sequencing) in the framework of the interdisciplinary project

Refugia and Ecosystem Tolerance in the Southern Ocean (RECTO).

Because of its long history and geographic isolation, the Southern Ocean (SO) provides a natural laboratory for research on evolution and biodiversity. Confronted with fast-paced environmental changes, biota in Antarctic ecosystems are strongly challenged and face three possible outcomes: adaptation, migration or extinction. Past glaciation periods have already forced marine zoobenthos of the SO into refugia, being either ice-free continental shelf areas, the deep sea or sub- or peri- Antarctic regions, followed by recolonization when the ice retreated. In a multidisciplinary approach and involving all major Belgian research groups studying evolution and diversity of SO faunas, RECTO will strive at understanding how such past events have driven diversification and adaptation in different animal groups and how these can be applied as proxies to understand the contemporary situation and predict future scenarios.

The Marine Biology Lab at the VUB specialises in research on molecular ecology of marine fauna from the poles to the tropics and from invertebrates to fishes. In the new collaborative research project RECTO the evolutionary history of Antarctic sea stars will be studied.

More details here: PhD scholarship advertisement

PROTEKER – Quelques moments de la campagne 2015 par Chantal DE RIDDER

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Bruno Danis

Le navire français Marion Dufresne 2 réalise cinq rotations par an au départ de la Réunion. Ces rotations permettent de ravitailler les bases des Terres australes et antarctique françaises (TAAF) dans l’Océan Indien (dont Crozet, Kerguelen et Amsterdam) et d’en assurer la logistique; elles permettent aussi le transport de personnes (notamment celui des scientifiques). Une rotation dure environ 4 semaines. C’est la rotation OP3 qui nous amène aux Kerguelen. (http://www.taaf.fr)

Trajet d’une rotation passant par Crozet, Kerguelen et Amsterdam (taaf_IPEV_00e46)

Départ de La Réunion, le 13/11 à bord du Marion Dufresne

Sa 14 ; di 15 calme. Encore dans les eaux tropicales ; lu 16 – ma 17- me 18 (de plus en plus frais, on passe la convergence subtropicale ; grosse houle … mais rien d’insupportable… Je m’attendais aux pires tempêtes! Entrée progressive dans les 40^èmes rugissants (Les Kerguelen se trouvent à la marge des 50^èmes hurlants … des précisions qui laissent rêveur !)

Me 18/11 : Ile de la Possession (Archipel de Crozet): débarquement en hélicoptère à la base Alfred Faure, on passe la journée sur l’ile, on rejoint Port-Alfred (Baie du Marin, platier du Bollard), pour récolter des patelles (étudiées par E. Poulin, notre collègue chilien). Temps venteux mais soleil magnifique. Curieux, les manchots royaux nous observent de près !

Crozet: récolte de patelles à marée basse (Photos J. Fournier)

Crozet: récolte de patelles à marée basse (Photos J. Fournier)

Crozet: manchots royaux

Ve 20/11 : On reprend la mer- Cap sur Kerguelen. On ne s’ennuie pas à bord… Samedi 21/11 de 9h30 à 11h exposé par le médecin de bord sur les 1ers soins en cas d’urgence – théorie; à 11h, exposé de notre équipe sur nos recherches aux Kerguelen; 14h-15h30: 1ers soins – ‘pratique’ (instructif). Dimanche 22/11 : navigation en eaux calmes, acrobaties des albatros (sourcils noirs et grand albatros), des pétrels et des damiers du Cap autour du bateau.

Lu 23/11: Port Christmas – Voici enfin la côte nord de Grande Terre, l’ile principale de l’archipel des Kerguelen. Débarquement en hélico de l’équipe TREKKER, qui va traverser l’ile du nord au sud (elle va rejoindre Port-aux-Français, le 17/12 : http://www.latitudes-nord.fr/carnets-et-photos/trekker-traversee-de-l-ile-de-kerguelen), et 1^ère plongée (depuis le zodiac du Marion Dufresne) pour deux membres de notre équipe, Thomas Saucède et Gilles Marty (T° de l’eau: 5°C) – au programme : relevé et remplacement des thermomètres et des placettes de colonisation ; les oursins ne seront pas au rendez-vous. Le bateau poursuit sa route vers le sud en longeant Grande Terre, encore une étape avant Port- aux-Français (PAF).

Arrivée à Port Christmas

Mise à l’eau du zodiac

Retour de plongée

Ma 24/11: Port Couvreux – Dans la brume se dessine sur la côte ce qui reste d’une ferme construite vers 1912 pour y élever des moutons, une entreprise qui périclitera après plusieurs rebondissements tragiques, les derniers habitants seront évacués en 1931 …

Du matériel est héliporté vers une des cabanes de Grande Terre; une quarantaine de cabanes y sont réparties; elles permettent aux scientifiques de rester plusieurs jours sur le terrain pour y effectuer des observations. Malheureusement pour nous, la plongée à Port Couvreux est annulée en raison des mauvaises conditions météo.

L’hélicoptère en action

Port Couvreux

Port-aux-Français, Kerguelen, le 25 novembre. Débarquement en hélicoptère, rotations hélico-bateau toutes les 5 min, cela va très vite, à peine le temps de réaliser qu’on est en vol … On atterrit, pas très loin de ‘nos’ premiers éléphants de mer! Transition rapide entre les 10 jours de mer et la terre ferme. Il y a beaucoup de vent et une jolie lumière qui joue avec les couleurs, des éléphants de mer omniprésents et notamment des bonbons (jeunes éléphants de mer dans le jargon local) et… des lapins qui gambadent une peu partout! Paysages à la végétation rase de toundra, où vert, jaune et ocre dominent mais leurs nuances varient sans arrêt avec la lumière changeante.

Les déchargements à partir de Marion Dufresne sont subitement interrompus, en cause, le vent (c’est peu dire, difficile de marcher!). Le chaland (‘L’Aventure II’) revient s’amarrer devant le port et l’hélicoptère retourne sur le pont du Marion. La mer moutonne et les rafales de vent en balaient la surface formant de larges bandes ridées bleues presque noires. Notre matériel est encore à bord. Le vent devrait mollir demain. C’est la météo qui dicte les activités, une règle incontournable ici. Pour patienter, nous avons installé notre labo dans le bâtiment BIOMAR qui héberge tous les scientifiques, et récupéré du matériel laissé par la mission PROTEKER de l’année dernière. La base de Port-aux-Français (PAF) est peuplée d’hivernants, de divers techniciens, de scientifiques de passage, …). La vie à PAF est organisée et confortable, avec ses codes et son langage … abréviations et surnoms avec lesquels il faut se familiariser. Je découvre que je suis une biolo (biologiste), qu’il y a un bib et un bibou (médecin et aide médecin), un pateux (boulanger) et des bouts de bois (menuisiers), que PAF est un village comportant outre les bâtiments de logements (L1, L2,… où les gens sont généralement regroupés par corps de métier), une bibliothèque, un restaurant (Tyker), un bar (Totoche), une salle de projection (cineker), des bâtiments techniques de toutes sortes (BT) notons que parmi ces derniers, il y a kerpou où se fait le tri des ordures (une bonne partie d’entre-elles sont rapatriées)

… Bientôt les premières plongées et les oursins! Affaire à suivre…

Vue aérienne de PAF (photo TAAF)

Le bâtiment Biomar

Premières récoltes à marée basse à PAF…

Et nos voisins …

Premières plongées … Premiers oursins !

A bord du zodiac Commerson (Ile Haute) – Photo J. Fournier

Relevé des placettes de colonisation- Photo E. Poulin

Ctenocidaris nutrix – Photo E. Poulin

Description du projet PROTEKER

http://www.proteker.net/?lang=fr

http://www.proteker.net/-PROTEKER-programme-IPEV-1044-.html?lang=en

L’équipe PROTEKER 2015 à bord du chaland, L’Aventure II
De gauche à droite : Gilles MARTY (TAAF), Chantal De Ridder (ULB), Thomas Saucède (uB), Salomé Fabri-Ruiz (uB, ULB) et Jérôme Fournier (CNRS MNHN)

L’équipe comporte aussi deux autres agents des TAAF indispensables: Romain Vergé, pilote du Commerson et Luc Baudot, son aide efficace !
De gauche à droite : Thomas Saucède (uB), Gilles MARTY (TAAF), Luc Baudot (TAAF), Chantal De Ridder (ULB), Romain Vergé (TAAF), au terme de la mission

The White Island Blitz

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Bruno Danis

Seawater of the Future?

This post is a press release from the University of Otago related to White Island expedition, to which the Marine Biology Lab of the ULB is participating.

In the first week of December a team of scientists [including Antonio Agüera] from all over the world will descend on Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. These chemists, biologists, geologists, botanists and marine scientists are planning a “blitz” on the nearby marine volcano: Whakaari or White Island. Their aim: to find out as much as they can about the currents, the water, the algae, and the marine animals as they can in one week. White Island is special because the volcano heats up the water and bubbles carbon dioxide into it, through vents on the flanks of the volcano. This creates a marine environment that is warmer and more acidic than “normal” seawater – the kind of environment that we can expect to see as CO₂ in the air is absorbed by the oceans over the next several decades. In effect, it creates Seawater-of-the-Future.

Scientists have been looking at the effects of warming and acidification on plant, animals and even ecosystems in the lab, but there are serious limitations to that kind of study. Having a real-life lab, where animals and plants have lived their whole lives in Seawater-of-the-Future, makes a big difference.

“We need to know more about how this kind of environment varies over time,” says expedition leader Dr. Abby Smith. “We hope to find out where the water is warmest, and where the bubbles make the water the most acid. This work will form the baseline for further studies, and allow scientists to plan their studies better. The best way to find out more about White Island is for us to go there all together.”

The White Island Blitz is being organised through the University of Otago Ocean Acidification Research Theme. Most of the 17 scientists who are coming along are from University of Otago or from the University of Auckland, but there are participants from Australia, Belgium, and the UK as well. This scientific expedition will take place in the first week of December, with fishing boats, divers, snorkelers, and a variety of equipment and samplers going out 48 km offshore to White Island for four days.

On Monday November 30 the Whakatane community and media will have a chance to meet the scientists and hear more about the expedition. And throughout the week a community engagement programme will invite locals, including tourism operators, teachers, and school children to learn more about their marine environment.

For further information contact, [or contact us directly]:

Associate Professor Abby Smith, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago

Chief Scientist of Expedition

Abby.smith@otago.ac.nz

Sally Carson, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago

Community Engagement Coordinator for Expedition

Sally.carson@otago.ac.nz

Short news from DDU

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Bruno Danis

The acidification experiment on the sea urchins is now running rather smoothly. An aquarium system has been set up and the Aquatronica material is doing a very good job for controlling the pH. The first results indicate that Sterechinus neumayeri is reacting very quickly to acidification: the acid-base balance of the inner fluid is already controlled after 4 days of progressive decrease of the sea water pH. This supports the hypothesis emitted in our previous work on Antarctic sea urchins and published in Global Change Biology (Collard et al. 2014, GCB doi: 10.1111/gcb.12735 )

Leaving South, part I: Dumont D’Urville

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Bruno Danis

Last week, Philippe Dubois headed South, on an expedition to the Dumont D’Urville station, managed by the french IPEV. Together with Loïc Michel, from the University of Liège, the team will be running ecophysiology experiments and collecting samples for trophic networks analysis, in the framework of the vERSO project. Once they have reached the station (see their current location here), Philippe and Loïc will be diving under 3m of ice to access the samples they will need to work.

We’re expecting news soon, and will be posting photos and other material as we receive it!

You can find more information about the vERSO project on the dedicated website.

The SCAR Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Bruno Danis

The SCAR Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean has been officially launched at the SCAR Open Science Conference in Auckland, New Zealand. The Marine Biology Lab of the ULB has been heavily involved in the effort, mainly in the edition, data mobilization and writing of the book.

You can download the first chapter of the Atlas as a preview.

Below is the press release, as prepared by the British Antarctic Survey.

The new Atlas, providing the most thorough audit of marine life in the Southern Ocean, is published this week by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Leading marine biologists and oceanographers from all over the world spent the last four years compiling everything they know about ocean species from microbes to whales.

It’s the first time that such an effort has been undertaken since 1969 when the American Society of Geography published its Antarctic Map Folio Series.

In an unprecedented international collaboration 147 scientists from 91 institutions across 22 countries (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the USA) combined their expertise and knowledge to produce the new Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean.

More than 9000 species are recorded, ranging from microbes to whales. Hundreds of thousands of records show the extent of scientific knowledge on the distribution of life in the Southern Ocean. In 66 chapters, the scientists examine the evolution, physical environment, genetics and possible impact of climate change on marine organisms in the region.

Chief editor, Claude De Broyer, of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, said:

“This is the first time that all the records of the unique Antarctic marine biodiversity, from the very beginnings of Antarctic exploration in the days of Captain Cook, have been compiled, analysed and mapped by the scientific community. It has resulted in a comprehensive atlas and an accessible database of useful information on the conservation of Antarctic marine life.”

The data, and expert opinions, in the Atlas will help inform conservation policy, including the debate over whether or not to establish marine protected areas in the open ocean. Sophisticated environmental models coupled with existing species distribution data provide a valuable outlook on the possible future distribution of key species as they adapt to climate change.

New advances in genetics have shed light on some of the best known species from the Antarctic sea floor. The giant isopod crustacean Glyptonotus antarcticus is one of those. The animal lives on the edge of the continent at depths of up to 600 metres. Previously considered to be a single species with a circumpolar distribution, molecular barcoding suggests it may, in reality, be a group with up to eleven species inhabiting much smaller geographic regions.

Author, and editor, Huw Griffiths, of the British Antarctic Survey, said:

“The book is unique and contains an amazing collection of information and photos. It’s been an enormous international effort and will serve as a legacy to the dedicated team of scientists who have contributed to it. The Atlas is a must-read for anyone interested in the animals living at the end of the Earth.”

The Atlas contains around 100 colour photos and 800 maps. It will be launched at the SCAR 2014 Open Science Conference in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday 25^th August.

BIOMAR Lab hosting mARS workshop

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Bruno Danis

This week, we are hosting another workshop to scope out the next steps for the Microbial Antarctic Resources System (mARS) , a followup project from SCAR’s Expert Group on Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics (EG-ABi).

The participants include Alison Murray (Desert Research Institute), Anton Van de Putte (biodiversity.aq), Nabil Youdjou (biodiversity.aq) and Bruno Danis (Marine Biology Lab). PhD students from the CCAMBIO project also attended, as beta-testers.

The Microbial Antarctic Resources System (mARS) is envisioned as an information system dedicated to facilitate the discovery, access and analysis of geo-referenced, molecular microbial diversity (meta)data generated by Antarctic researchers, in an Open fashion. The scope of diversity will encompass all freel-living and host-associated virus, Bacteria, Archaea, and singled-celled Eukarya.

mARS focuses on past, present and future works. It offers a community-driven platform for scientists to publish, document, analyse and share their (meta)data with the broad community for science, conservation and management purposes, in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty.

This week, we will be beta-testing the mARS to take it to Step 3, as described in our vision document.

PostDoc opportunity!

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Bruno Danis

vERSO PostDoc

The deadline is now passed, we will not be accepting more candidates!

Background

Based at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the BIOMAR marine biology lab carries out its research on the bioecology of marine benthic invertebrates, with a special focus on echinoderms.

Our lab will be coordinating the new vERSO research project which aims to assess the impact of the main stressors driven by global change on benthic Antarctic ecosystems using representative taxa from different size classes of the benthos.

We will assess the simultaneous effects of temperature, acidification, sedimentation and food quality and quantity on nutrient fluxes and metabolism of sediment communities, providing insights in both sensitivity and resilience of these ecosystems. It is intended to integrate these aspects to develop dynamic species distribution models (SDMs), under non-equilibrium conditions. These models can help reveal tipping points leading to irreversible changes in ecosystems functioning.

We are looking for a postdoctoral scientist, for a period of 2 years

Topic

Global change affects Antarctic communities through numerous interacting stressors, the most important ones being temperature increase, acidification, increase in sedimentation rate and change in nutrients and food supply linked to glacier melting, reduced seasonal ice cover and ice shelf collapses. For the Antarctic the impact of stressors such as temperature rise and acidification have so far mainly been considered at the individual or species level and, in most cases, only a single impact factor was studied and occasionally two. These studies provided evidence that numerous taxa as well as global diversity will be affected. However, no community-level studies addressed the combined effects of the aforementioned stressors on Antarctic benthos. Furthermore, it is obvious that stressors will act synergistically and that their combined effects should be determined.

Emphasis will be put on in situ experiments during polar expeditions, in two contrasting areas of the Southern Ocean. In parallel, dynamic SDMs will be developed to gain insights on the potential future distributions of models organisms under various Global Change scenarios.

Profile

PhD in Marine Biology
Spent over 24 months abroad (not in Belgium) during the last 3 years
Interest in polar ecosystems and biodiversity informatics
Ready to participate in long sampling campaigns at sea or station-based
Experience in project coordination and interest in modelling is an asset

Deadline

If you are interested, please send a brief CV, and a letter of motivation to the project coordinator (Dr Bruno Danis, bdanis@ulb.ac.be), no later than April 30th, 2014.

Biomar Lab hosting mARS workshop

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Bruno Danis

This week, we will be hosting a hands-on workshop to push the mARS project further, with Alison Murray (Desert Research Institute), Anton Van de Putte and Nabil Youdjou (biodiversity.aq project)

mARS is composed of interoperable modules, iteratively building the microbial component of the biodiversity.aq network.
To the best extent possible, the wishes of the community regarding mARS functionalities will be reflected in the flexibility and scalability of the system. Feedback is expected from the users community in order to align their needs and the functionalities of mARS.

This week, we will try to get through Step 3 of the mARS system and prepare for Step 4 once we have enough data in mARS to make it worthwhile.

mARS steps include:

1. Data description and discovery

2: Habitat and Microbial Sequence Metadata Entry (MiMARKS Data Standard; Microbial_Sequence_Set_Template)

3: Georeferenced-molecular sequence database integration

4: Processing batch sequence data –Circum-Antarctic microbial diversity

You can find more on the mARS white paper page.

OpenROV étape 6: assemblage du boitier étanche

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Bruno Danis

Cette partie de l’assemblage se fait également sans difficulté particulière. Elle consiste à coller entre eux des disques concentriques de diamètres différents, ce qui permettra d’intercaler des o-ring qui assureront l’étanchéité. Les orifices latéraux servent d’un part de passe-cable (et seront étanchéifiés à l’aide d’une pâte époxy) et d’autre part d’évent, pour éviter une surpression à l’intérieur du cylindre.

Vue générale du boitier d’étanchéité. Photo: Bruno Danis

Les deux bouchons du boitier, formés de cercles de différents diamètres. Photo: Bruno Danis

Montage à blanc, tout s’ajuste parfaitement. Photo: Bruno Danis

Le boitier d’étanchéité, la webcam est placée. Photo: Bruno Danis

OpenROV by OpenROV is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.