Hi I'm Elizabeth! Let me tell you about my project....

Quick Summary of Project:

I am fundraising for equipment that is integral to my Master's Thesis project. Money from CSUN Funder will go to documenting undocumented reproductive behaviors of the critically endangered Giant Sea Bass. This money will be used to buy hydrophones, ROV parts, diving equipment, and boat fees. I will use Hydrophones to document Giants' sounds underwater and the BLUEROV2 to document courtship behaviors while Giants spawn (see figure 3). Understanding these behaviors is crucial to helping conserve Giant Sea Bass. Below is a more detailed break down of my project. 

What Will The Money Be Used For?

The funding from CSUN Funder will be used for research for my Master's Thesis project: 

Verification of Giant Sea Bass (Stereolepis gigas) Spawning Through Auditory and Visual Observations 

These funds will pay for equipment, research site travel (boat fees), equipment maintenance, equipment upgrades, and minor miscellaneous expenses (i.e. concrete mix, PVC pipes, buckets, materials for hydrophone stand, etc.)

What Am I Researching?

I am aiming to document the spawning of Giant Sea Bass. From preliminary data gathered by my lab (Dr. Larry Allen's Fish Lab), we believe that Giants use courtship rituals or "dances" and sounds or "songs". We hypothesize that Giants exhibit these behaviors as necessary parts of their reproduction. 

What's A Giant Sea Bass?

The Giant Sea Bass, Stereolepis gigas, is a critically endangered marine bony fish and the apex predator of the giant kelp forests. Giants can live over 70 yrs in age and they can grow over 500lbs, making them the largest bony fish off of the coast of California. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about these giant fish because of severe over fishing that began in the early 1900’s. This constant pressure led them to being placed as critically endangered on the ICUN’s Red list. Due to increasing efforts over the years, Giant Sea Bass populations are slowly on the rise. This has allowed us to uncover some of the secrets these giants still hide. 

My research focuses on two of the biggest mysteries of the Giant Sea Bass, their courtship behaviors and sound production. Nobody has ever described or documented these two behaviors before. Understanding these behaviors is crucial to helping conserve the species. 

Uncovering Giants' Behaviors; What We Think We Know.

Courtship: From previous research we have an idea of what Giant Sea Bass (GSB) courtship should look like. Giant Sea Bass courtship and spawning has been viewed and described in aquaria, but never in their natural environment. It has been hypothesized that Giants' spawn in pairs and release gametes after 3 steps (see figure 1 for reference below): 

When the female is ready, she will swim to a depth of 10–30 meters and have the male (1) follow her there. On the sea floor they will then begin to (2) circle each other up through the water column. During this time the male will (3) nudge the female’s abdomen area near the anal fin to signal readiness to release gametes. When the pair reaches the top of the water column it is hypothesized that they each release their gametes and swim back down to the bottom. These three steps can occur multiple times before they release gametes and broadcast spawn (Clark & Allen 2018).

Sound Production: Our lab has found that Giants can produce a variety of sounds. Giant Sea Bass males are capable of producing sound that is very similar to that of a kick drum. Underwater Giant Sea Bass vocalizations sound like "Booms". These "Booms" produced at frequencies of 40 – 80 Hz (figure 2). During spawning season, it was observed that Giant Sea Bass booms are heard louder and more often the closer you are to their spawning sites. Leading us to believe that spawning and sound production are probably linked. In summer 2019 recordings from in-tank Giants identified new and unique sounds be made by Giants when they spawned.

What Equipment I Need, For Capturing Giants' Behaviors & Sounds.

How do I record these behaviors? With some really cool equipment!

Sound: In order to record Giants' booms, we need an underwater microphone called a hydrophone. The company Ocean Instruments makes the perfect hydrophone that I need - SoundTrap ST300 STD – Compact Recorder (see figure 3 below). Each hydrophone costs $2800. With the money raised with CSUN Funder we should be able to buy 3 of these microphones allowing us to capture more booms and possibly other new sounds. We have 1 existing hydrophone and with the addition of 3 more, I will be able to get far more coverage and sampling area. 

Why is This Important?: The the spawning areas of Giant Sea Bass are large, deep, and are near high human activity. These factors have made it difficult to sometimes identify Giants' vocalizations. With 2 microphones at each sample site I will be able far better coverage for sampling sounds than using just 1 hydrophone for 2 sites. With more hydrophones I'll be able to better calculate where booms and sounds are coming from. This will allow for better identification of mystery sounds due to the broader range of sampling. 

Courtship: While a majority of this funding will be used for acquiring hydrophones, the remaining $1,600 will be used on boat fees, SCUBA equipment and documenting courtship behaviors. Most of the remaining budget will be used for courtship. To record the underwater behaviors of Giant Sea Bass I will be using the BLUEROV2, ROV sub (Remote Operated Vehicle submersible). Using the leftover funds I will acquire longer communication tether and 2 more lights for my ROV named Bruce (see figure 3 below). With more tether Bruce will be able to travel farther without having to move our boat. And with better lights we can get a broader light display, with less disturbance, while we observe Giants.

Why is this Important?: With these upgrades it will be easier to capture Giant Sea Bass behaviors that haven't yet been captured in nature. Longer cables and better lights allow me to better follow Giants during their spawning. 

Overall Your Donations Will Pay For:

• Sound equipment: Hydrophone (Brand Soundtrap)

• ROV parts: lights, tether, and indicators

• SCUBA equipment: Lift bags to carry cement hydrophone stands to ocean bottom.

• Travel fees: Help pay for gas for boat. 

This equipment will lead to us understanding Giant Sea Bass reproduction. 

For more info about my research click the links below:

1. USC Wrigley Saturday at the Lab Talk
2. Wrigley Institute Student Research Blog
3. Talk at USC Wrigley Graduate Student Fellows Symposium, 2019
4. Giant Sea Bass Behavior Videos

Special thank you to Mike Couffer providing several spectacular photos