{"id":2961,"date":"2017-10-17T17:56:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T17:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=2961"},"modified":"2017-10-18T15:06:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T15:06:02","slug":"kristine-clark-and-heteropods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=2961","title":{"rendered":"Expert: Kristine Clark &#038; Heteropods"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Kristine-Clark-336x403.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2965 size-medium alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Kristine-Clark-336x403-250x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Kristine-Clark-336x403-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Kristine-Clark-336x403.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>Happy Hagfish Day!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meet Kristine Clark, a graduate student at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg. Kris is part of the DEEPEND Consortium studying the deep-sea in the Gulf of Mexico. Kris studies a kind of animal most people have never heard of \u2013 heteropods.<\/p>\n<p>Hello Kris!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Let&#8217;s jump in with this important clarification, you once said that heteropods \u201c\u2026are kind of like little globs of snot looking for other snot-like creatures to eat\u2026\u201d Does this mean they related to hagfish or they eat hagfish?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> No, heteropods are not related in any way to hagfish. Hagfish are fish. Heteropods are invertebrates. To clarify my description, heteropods are just little gelatinous, floating balloons with eyes. Gorgeous, aren&#8217;t they?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What is a heteropod? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> Heteropods are open ocean (pelagic) marine snails. For those of you that like taxonomy, they are a kind of gastropod. There are different kinds of a heteropods:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Oxygyrus-inflatus-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2616 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Oxygyrus-inflatus-sm-300x193.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Oxygyrus-inflatus-sm-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Oxygyrus-inflatus-sm.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<!-- x-tinymce\/html --><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Carinaria-lamarck-sm.jpg\"><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Carinaria-lamarck-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2617 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Carinaria-lamarck-sm-300x193.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Carinaria-lamarck-sm-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Carinaria-lamarck-sm.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Oxygyrus-inflatus-sm.jpg\"><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><!-- x-tinymce\/html --><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Pterotrachea-scutata-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2615 \" src=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Pterotrachea-scutata-sm-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"287\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Pterotrachea-scutata-sm-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Heteropod-Pterotrachea-scutata-sm.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Atlantids:<\/strong> a fully-shelled group<\/li>\n<li><strong>Carinarians<\/strong>: A Carinarian has a tiny little shell that only covers its visceral mass (which is about 1\/10 of its body).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pterotrachids<\/strong>: These heteropods do not have a shell.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Do you have a favorite kind of heteropod? Why?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> I really find all of them very interesting. However, I do have a favorite. The Pterotrachids, especially a species called <em>Pterotrachea scutata<\/em>. (The name rolls off your tongue, doesn&#8217;t it?) They are little chubby, elongated, adorable looking heteropods!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What makes heteropods standout enough to make it a Hagfish Day Star?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> Because they are soooo weird and unusual!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I saw some heteropods and couldn&#8217;t tell which end was which. Is that normal? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> I think that is very normal for many people, especially when you see them for the first time. But, with a quick anatomy lesson, it is easy to see their head end versus their tail end. The Pterotrachids, for example, resemble little floating elephants. They have an elongated proboscis that looks like a tiny elephant\u2019s trunk with a thicker collar at the distal end that forms their actual mouth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">How do they catch their food\/eat? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> It depends on the kind of heteropod. Some have a sucker on their fin. They attach to the prey. Others just attach to prey with their radula. That&#8217;s a tongue-tooth combo gastropods have. Then they chew and swallow eating the whole prey, like another cool gastropod, the pteropod.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What was your first thought when you heard that hagfish finally got their own holiday?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> Hagfish?? Yucky! They are really weird and gross!\u00a0 Oh! I guess that makes for a very interesting animal!\u00a0 Now I get why they are awarded their own holiday!\u00a0 (A progressive thought process).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">How long have you been studying such cool creatures like the heteropods? Do you study them from shore, a ship, a sub? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> I have been studying heteropods for 2.5 years. For DEEPEND, we mainly collect samples from cruises or out on ships. We do net tows from a ship far out at sea. We use a net system called the MOCNESS or MOC10. This net system is a series of five (5) nets that collects at determined depths. For example, Net 1 will open (deploy) at 1500 to 1200 meters below the surface of the ocean while all the other nets are closed. After about 2 hours, Net 1 closes. Then we raise the MOCNESS up to 1000 to 800 meters and Net 2 opens, and so on with all the nets. It is an awesome piece of equipment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What is your goal or how will your research help hagfish, dragonfish, and other ocean animals?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> The more we know about heteropods the better we will understand how they fit into food web, ecosystem and how they interact with other ocean animals. The abundance of heteropods in the oceans is very large. That probably means many marine animals depend on them in some way. I am excited to find out how.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Do heteropods need to be protected like whales and sharks? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> As far as I can tell, heteropods do not require inclusion to any endangered lists any time soon.\u00a0 However!\u00a0 The overall health and status of the ocean is in crisis. There is not a clear understanding of how broad-scale phenomena as climate change to pollution will change life for heteropods. It does seem reasonable to assume that all life is being effected by temperature rises, ocean acidification, and the like.\u00a0 Especially for Atlantid and Carinaria heteropod species because they have shells. These creatures are effected by pH and chemical balance changes occurring in our oceans now. The overall effects are not known though. I hope with the DEEPEND research (and other scientists&#8217;) that knowledge will not come too late.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">How can I support (and\/or follow) your research?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> Celebrating Hagfish Day is a perfect way because it introduces unusual ocean animals and shares the importance of ocean research and protecting the ocean. As we all know in science circles, we have only explored about 5% of the ocean. There is so much more to discover!<\/li>\n<li>You can follow\u00a0our research at the\u00a0DEEPEND website:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.deependconsortium.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.deependconsortium.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What do you want\/hope kids to learn\/discover while they celebrate Hagfish Day? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> I hope they discover a passion and drive for a lifetime of always learning,\u2026 a love and sensitive conscience for our marine environments,\u2026 and the beginnings of a personal responsibility to do all we can to protect and allow learning about them to fulfill.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">One last, and very important question. <a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=2939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Dr. Douglas Fudge<\/strong> <\/a>(one of our wonderful Hagfish Experts from a previous year) is trying to create fabric from hagfish slime. What do you think about that? Will wearing slime shirt make you the envy of the DEEPEND Team? <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KC:<\/strong> If he can figure that out, I want one!\u00a0 I will take a medium t-shirt please!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>*If you&#8217;re wondering when\u00a0you can get your hagfish inspired slime clothing, read our interview with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=2939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Douglas Fudge<\/a> or our article, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=2937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Save the Planet, Wear Hagfish Slime&#8221; <\/a><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_636\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DEEPENDwhtEmail.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-636\" class=\"wp-image-636 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DEEPENDwhtEmail.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"46\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-636\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">DEEPEND Research funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">BACK TO WHALETIMES&#8217; HAGFISH DAY!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Hagfish Day! Meet Kristine Clark, a graduate student at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg. Kris is part of the DEEPEND Consortium studying the deep-sea in the Gulf of Mexico. Kris studies a kind of animal most people have never heard of \u2013 heteropods. Hello Kris! Let&#8217;s jump in with this important clarification, you &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/?page_id=2961\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":171,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2961","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2961"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3051,"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2961\/revisions\/3051"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whaletimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}