Written by: Jess Van Vaerenbergh, 黑料网吃瓜爆料CMS graduate student
Researchers have long known that fish reproduce in the Gulf of Mexico, but which species spawn where remains a mystery.
Researchers at the 黑料网吃瓜爆料College of Marine Science (CMS) may soon solve that mystery thanks to , a graduate student in biological oceanography at CMS, and an unassuming device called a CUFES (pronounced, coofs).
The CUFES 鈥� short for Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler 鈥� is a device that鈥檚 smaller than a mini fridge with long, flexible tubes to suck up seawater.
The original CUFES was invented in 1993 by biologist to study fish spawning patterns in California. After a successful trial run on a (NOAA) vessel, a long-term collaboration was created with , the , and (SIO).
Four decades later, CUFES devices have helped track fish spawning and manage fisheries around the world.
The CUFES operates by using a pump to draw in water from the side of the vessel. This water is then pushed through a large flexible hose into a box called a concentrator. Inside the concentrator, the seawater is filtered through a fine mesh bag, which allows the eggs to remain. The eggs are then directed into a small clear tube and collected in a container.
Every 30 minutes, the crew empties the sample into small vials.
When researchers at CMS wanted a new way to study spawning in the Gulf of Mexico, Christopher Stallings, a professor of biological oceanography, had a bold idea: why not build a CUFES from scratch?
Miller, a student in with a knack for engineering and an apprentice in the machine shop on the CMS campus, were up to the challenge.
Miller and other members of Stallings's lab first tried to track down the blueprint but all they had was a photo of NOAA鈥檚 CUFES. Undeterred, graduate student Ian Williams, who worked with the original device in previous research, traveled to the in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and brought an original CUFES back to St. Petersburg, where Miller used it as a model.
Mille