Monday, July 16, 2001

Key Largo, FL -- Beginning July 16, a team of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley will live and work underwater using the nation's innerspace station, Aquarius. During their 10-day mission, the scientists will study the biology and ecology of crustaceans known as stomatopods, or mantis shrimp. Mantis shrimp get their name from a powerful pair of modified forelimbs that lash out in a manner reminiscent of the strike of the praying mantis. However, the strike of a mantis shrimp is 50 times faster than that of a praying mantis and is one of the fastest known animal movements.

Aquarius is an underwater laboratory where scientists live and work on the seafloor for extended periods using a special technique called saturation diving. Aquarius is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, in 60 feet of water, 3.5 miles offshore. Owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), Aquarius is the only undersea research platform of its kind in the world.

Principal investigator Dr. Roy L. Caldwell from the Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, will lead the mission. During the mission, Caldwell will be joined by Dr. Mark Erdmann (UC-Berkeley), Mr. Alex Cheroske (U. of Maryland), and Dr. Pamela Jutte (SC Dept. of Natural Resources), and UNCW habitat technicians Mike Hutchens and James Talecek who will operate the undersea lab throughout the 10-day mission.

Stomatopod crustaceans are a major component of Florida offshore ecosystems, but their biology is poorly known. They have one of the most highly developed visual systems in the animal kingdom, and many aspects of the daily light cycle influence important aspects of their biology. In a previous Aquarius mission, the team measured physical characteristics of the light environment around the underwater laboratory and they investigated the use of color as visual signals by stomatopods. Like some butterflies and flowers, stomatopods have ultraviolet color patterns that are not visible to the human eye, but the patterns are highly visible to stomatopods whose eyes are very sensitive to ultraviolet light.

In this Aquarius mission, additional measurements will be collected on polarized light and the ability of mantis shrimp to communicate using polarized signals. Other discoveries made on the previous missions including the evolution of monogamous mating systems will be studied in more detail. For the first time, biologists will attempt to observe the behavior of stomatopod larvae in the open ocean. A monitoring program will also be established to help test whether stomatopods can be used as "indicator species" of environmental change in south Florida.

Aquarius also operates live Web cameras in and around the undersea laboratory during each mission. For the first time ever, live video streaming will also be available.

Further information on this and Aquarius missions is available at the center's website: www.uncwil.edu/nurc/Aquarius or by contacting:

Dr. Steven Miller, NURC/UNCW, center director: millers@uncwil.edu,

305-451-0233, or Mark Ward, NURC Public Affairs: markeward@aol.com, 407-975-6569.