Dr. Marsh Youngbluth received his Master's degree in Zoology in 1966 from the University of Hawaii, and his Ph.D. in Biology in 1972 from Stanford University. He is a Senior Scientist with the Division of Marine Science at Harbor Branch Oceanographic institution. He has served as a visiting scientist at the University of Bergen, Norway, the Japanese Center for Promotion of Science, and National Center for Scientific Research in France. Dr. Youngbluth has also served as NSF Biological Oceanography Program Director, and as Program manager for the NOAA National Undersea Research Program.

Dr. Youngbluth's research in the field of biological oceanography is currently focused on in situ investigations of mesopelagic zooplankton, particularly gelatinous fauna. With respect to siphonophores and medusae, Dr. Youngbluth is interested in their ecological roles as predators in deep-water coastal regimes. Other active projects include studies of large appendicularians as mediators of particle flux and transport in midwater and benthic boundary habitats.

Much of Dr. Youngbluth's work employs the Harbor Branch JOHNSON SEA-LINK research submersibles. A firm believer in employing "the right tools for the job," Dr. Youngbluth continues to utilize innovative technologies in the ongoing exploration of the mid-ocean realm.

Professor Per Flood received his Doctorate in 1966 from the University of Bergen, Norway. Dr. Flood served as Professor at the University's Institute of Anatomy from 1966 to 1992, and as Professor in the Department of Zoology from 1992 to 1997. Currently, he is principal research scientist for Bathybiologica A/S.

Dr. Flood first described the structural characteristics of appendicularian feeding filters in a 1973 publication. Since then, he has made significant contributions to the understanding of appendicularian feeding house architecture and function, mucus production and histo-chemistry, and bioluminescence. In a 1992 publication in Nature, Dr. Flood and colleagues documented the ability of appendicularians to filter colloid-sized dissolved matter from seawater, strongly suggesting that the animals may be able to use dissolved organic compounds as a food resource.

Dr. Flood co-authored a chapter on the structure and function of appendicularian houses, and a second chapter on appendicularian bioluminescence in a 1998 volume entitled The Biology of Pelagic Tunicates (Bone, ed.).

Dr. Chuck Jacoby received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biology from Illinois State University in 1974 and 1976, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from Stanford University in 1980. Since then, he has held research positions at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, the University of Queensland in Australia, and the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Dr. Jacoby joined the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia, where he led research teams for a decade and provided expert advice in four multi-million dollar, multidisciplinary, environmental studies. Dr. Jacoby is currently an estuarine and coastal specialist in the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida.

Dr. Jacoby has investigated estuarine, coastal and deepwater marine systems in the tropics, subtropics and temperate zones of the United States, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. His scientific pursuits have appeared in peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on sediment porewater, water quality, benthic microalgae, seagrasses, saltmarshes, zooplankton, meiofauna, macroinvertebrates and fishes.

Dr. Jacoby has collaborated with Dr. Youngbluth since 1980. They have conducted studies of gelatinous zooplankton, particle flux and demersal zooplankton. Dr. Jacoby plans to continue ecological work on gelatinous zooplankton to quantify their roles in offshore and inshore ecosystems.

Casey Dunn is a graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Yale University. He received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. He will be assisting with the predator-prey investigations on this cruise. Casey will also have the opportunity to collect data relevant to his doctoral project on the evolution of colony morphology. He has proposed a molecular approach to understand phylogeny in siphonophore organization, specifically, the diversity of zooids in the siphosomal growth zone.

Brandy Ninesling is a Research Assistant in the Marine Science division of Harbor Branch Oceanographic. She graduated from the University of Florida in 1998 with a BS. degree in Wildlife Ecology and a minor in Zoology. Her previous academic, field, and laboratory experiences include teaching cell biology to undergraduates, culturing corals and marine ornamental fish, and studying marine mammals. Brandy will be assisting Dr. Marsh Youngbluth in researching the predatory habits of siphonophores particularly the Nanomia cara colonies.

David was born and raised in a New England family with strong ties to the sea and a tradition of active storytelling. Both his grandfathers were amateur filmmakers in the 1920s and 30s. Upon graduating with a degree in comparative religious studies from Bowdoin College in Maine, he worked as a professional seaman, then for five years taught and designed sea courses for kids age 14-18 at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine and Florida. A Masters degree in Education at Harvard followed, where David studied moral development and spent a second year as a Kennedy School teaching fellow in Leadership studies. In 1987, David directed and produced his first documentary, OUTWARD BOUND, which was sold to National Geographic TV. David's subsequent early film experiences took him to a river in Kamchatka on a project for Channel 4/ PBS, and he also worked on a film about measuring Mt. Everest for PBS NOVA. An additional early project for PBS NOVA introduced him to the changing commercial fisheries, an interest he maintains to this day. His relationship with PBS programming continued with a six-show stint as a producer on the outdoor how-to series TRAILSIDE. In 1992, he formed his own production company, Compass Light, based in Camden, Maine.

Since its beginning, Compass Light has been involved with nearly 30 productions for broadcast and client groups. Production capacity includes film and video, with an in-house non-linear AVID edit suite. Compass Light also distributes underwater and marine stock footage to an international client base. (more detail at www.compasslight.com)

In addition to his other responsibilities, David finds time to teach courses in Expedition Documentary and Personal Documentary at the International Film & Television Workshops in Rockport, Maine. He is also a Trustee for the Penobscot Maritime Museum in Searsport, Maine. Among other awards, he's been nominated for an Emmy as a Director by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Heather is a Summer Intern sponsored by the Link Foundation. She is a native of Jensen Beach, Florida and has spent much of her nineteen years on or in the ocean off the coast of Stuart and in the Bahamas. "I care deeply about the earth and its health. Since all the spheres of the earth are intricately connected, I hope for career opportunities that will enable me to do my part in preserving the ocean." Heather is majoring in Biological Oceanography and will start her junior year at Florida Institute of Technology this fall. She is also interested in marine geology and is seriously considering pursuing advanced studies in this field. One of her dreams has been to dive in a submersible and directly explore the water column and the sea floor. On this cruise Heather will be conducting experiments to investigate factors that influence the ingestion and digestion rates of prey consumed by gelatinous zooplankton, especially Nanomia cara.

Megan Tinsley has volunteered to work as a research assistant. She is a senior at the University of Tennessee majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology. Her interests in biology are broad and Megan is participating on this cruise to expand her research experience and explore career goals in biological oceanography. Previously, she has assisted in a variety of marine and terrestrial projects that focused on adaptive behaviors of pycnogonid arthropods, swordfishes, desert spiders, and anolis lizards.