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ICY INVERTS
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ICY INVERTS
Antarctic Research Expeditions

The Mission

Cruise NBP 25-01
Our team of four scientists who study the biology of marine invertebrate animals (i.e., animals without backbones) will board the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in Lyttleton, New Zealand on 11 February 2025 and embark on a two-month voyage to Antarctica returning to Lyttleton on 16 April 2025. During the expedition, we will sample and study marine invertebrates living in some of the most remote but fastest changing seas on the planet. Specifically, the team will explore the biodiversity, evolution, and biogeographic patterns of comma shrimp (Cumacea) and other peracarid crustaceans living in the Ross Sea using morphological and molecular tools to assess Antarctic biodiveristy, unrecognized genetic variation, and evolutionary relationships.

Our team includes members from three different institutions funded by several different grants from the United States National Science Foundation. Details on the funded projects we will be working on during the cruise are below and more information on the IcyInverts scientific team can be found on the Participants page. We are sharing the ship with other teams of researchers who are here to study the geology and geomicrobiology of the region and are led by Chief Scientist Dr. Masako Tominaga from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

This research would not be possible without the expertise and dedication of the ship's crew from Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) and personnel from the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).

The Ship

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Our home during cruise will be the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. The Palmer is a 94-meter research ship with icebreaking capability. For more information on the ship, visit the USAP Vessel Science and Operations page.

Past and Present IcyInverts PI
Institutions and Laboratories

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Halanych Lab

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Department of Biological Sciences

Kocot Lab

University of Alabama

Department of Biological Sciences



Mahon Lab & Learman Lab

Central Michigan University

Department of Biology

Bik Lab

University of Georgia

Department of Marine Sciences



Gerken Lab

The University of Alaska Anchorage

Department of Biological Sciences

Steen Lab

University of Tennessee Knoxville

Department of Microbiology

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation. This research is funded by grants from the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) and the Office of Polar Programs (OPP):

NSF OPP 1916661
Collaborative Research: Have transantarctic dispersal corridors impacted Antarctic marine biodiversity?

PI: Ken Halanych & Co-PI: Andy Mahon


NSF DEB 1846174
CAREER: Revolutionizing Biodiversity and Systematics Research on Aplacophora (Mollusca) and Training the Next Generation of Invertebrate Systematists
PI: Kevin Kocot


NSF OPP 2032029
RAPID: Monographing the Antarctic and Subantarctic Cumacea
PI: Sarah Gerken


NSF OPP 2031442
RAPID: Meta-genomic and Transcriptomic Investigation of Complex Organic Matter Degradation in Antarctic Benthic Sediments
PI: Deric Learman


NSF DEB 2143304
CAREER: Characterizing the phylogenetic lineages and genomic factors enabling adaptation in free-living marine nematodes
PI: Holly Bik


NSF OPP 2132641
ANT LIA: Do Molecular Data Support High Endemism and Divergent Evolution of Antarctic Marine Nematodes and their Host-associated Microbiomes?
PI: Holly Bik


NSF OPP 2138993
Collaborative Research: ANT LIA: Cumacean -Omics to Measure Mode of Adaptation to Antarctica (COMMAA)
PIs: Sarah Gerken & Kevin Kocot


NSF- OPP 2147045 and 2147046
Connecting Metagenome Potential to Microbial Function: Investigating Microbial Degradation of Complex Organic Matter Antarctic Benthic Sediments
PIs: Deric Learman & Andrew Steen


NSF DEB 2321306
Collaborative Research: PurSUiT: A Backbone for the Peracarida
PIs: Sarah Gerken, Kevin Kocot, and Regina Wetzer

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Social Media

Follow the hashtags #IcyInverts, #Peracarida, #ConfusingCrustaceans, and #SweatTheSmallStuff on social media and check out our individual and lab social media handles on the Participants page. We will make every effort to keep our followers posted on what's going on during the cruise but internet access will be limited so we may be unable to do this at times.
The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation, our institutions, or their officers and trustees. The content of this website has not been reviewed or approved by the National Science Foundation or our institutions and the authors are responsible for its content.
  • Home
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  • Previous Cruises
    • 2004
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      • Participants
      • Shipboard Blog
  • YouTube
    • IcyInverts YouTube Channel
    • The Naturalist Project