Leanne Rutten
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
515 Caribbean Drive
Key Largo, FL 33037
ruttenl@uncwil.edu

I am a native Floridian. I grew up eating oranges off the trees in our front yard. Some of my earliest childhood memories include the beach… bobbing between my parents in a little kiddie float boat, digging in the bubbling wet sand in search of tiny coquinas, playing in the surf with my brothers and sisters, watching the seagulls steal hot dogs from the grill when daddy wasn't looking…The beach was both our school and our playground; we knew then that we were lucky kids to live near the ocean. Our family never even had a boat; we never skied, sailed, or snorkeled. As it turns out, you don't need those things to develop a lifelong friendship with the ocean. When we grew older we began to help dig for scallops and clams; we learned how to set crab traps, throw cast nets, bait hooks, and catch fish. Believe me, I spent many long hours gazing into the ocean and wondering what was going on down there. Where are the fish? Do fish sleep? How deep is the bottom? Where do waves come from? What's that green slimy stuff?

I recently received my MS degree in biology at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. It was not a direct path, by any means. I received my BS degree in physics from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1989. Why physics, you ask? Because it is cool, of course! Silly question. I taught middle school and high school science in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a couple of years after finishing my undergraduate work. Then, one of those once in a lifetime opportunities came along and I grabbed it. There was a job opportunity at the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI)…in coral reef research! Had I ever seen a reef? No. Had I ever been on a boat? No. Could I SCUBA dive? No. Was I energetic and willing to learn? Yes! Yes! I became a member of the FMRI coral reef research team, and spent the next four years studying coral reef ecosystems in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). Next, I moved from St. Petersburg to Key Largo in 1996, and became a member of the seagrass ecosystem research lab at Florida International University. I spent the next six years investigating the status and trends of seagrass ecosystems in the FKNMS. Now I am working with the coral reef research team at UNCW.

So, what do I do all day at work? I dive and dive and dive and dive. And then I dive some more! Sometimes I work on the computer, but mostly I dive. I spend most of my dives looking at sessile benthic organisms (you know, things that live on the ocean floor, like corals, seagrasses, algae, and sponges). I write down everything that's there, take pictures and videos, and collect samples to bring back to the lab. Sometimes I look up from my work and I am surprised to see all of the activity that is going on around me in the water. I just never know what I'm going to see when I lift my head… Look - a pod of dolphins swimming my way! Check out that huge roughtail stingray! Where did all of those funky jellyfish come from? Oh, is that hammerhead still following me?

The life of a marine biologist is challenging and exciting. I have had the opportunity to travel throughout the Caribbean, and have worked with scientists from all over the world. I met my husband, Otto, while working in the Florida Keys - he is a marine biologist who studies fish. We were married underwater on Conch Reef. We have a three-year-old daughter, Hallie, who loves to swim (it's a family affair)! When we're not in under the water, we head for the mountains for a little hiking. We have been section hiking the Appalachian Trail. So far, we have made it through Georgia and North Carolina, and are currently hiking our way through the Smoky Mountains.

This will be my third Aquarius mission, and I am as excited as before. I will be spending most of my time during the mission documenting coral populations with my aquanaut pals Dione, Tonya, and Mark. Last year I helped measure, tag, and map hundreds of coral colonies. This year my big challenge will be finding them all again, but I am looking forward to this ten-day undersea treasure hunt.