OGAP Sampling Voyage - Haida Gwaii B.C. to Friday Harbor Laboratories WA
In August and September 2021, the OGAP science team sailed the cutter SAM some 600 nm from Sandspit, British Columbia to the San Juan Islands completing the final leg of a 5,000 nm run from the Aleutian Islands, along the Gulf of Alaska, to coastal British Columbia. Under the direction of Prof. Leonid Moroz (University of Florida) and Ocean Genome Atlas Project lead scientist, the team collected valuable plankton and benthic species that are now being sequenced using advanced genomic technologies.
Passing through the pristine Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and National Marine Conservation Area, the team had the opportunity to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site at SGang Gwaay , often referred to as the Machu Picchu of the Sea. Following an overnight crossing to Vancouver Island, the team sailed along the stunning 300 nm West coast of Vancouver Island including Clayoquot Sound, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Underscoring the value of affording scientists more time on the water and the wholly unpredictable nature of scientific exploration, Dr. Moroz found a cluster of unique species of salps, which represent one of the earliest branching lineage from our common chordate ancestors. The team also unexpectedly encountered thousands of Polyorchis penicillatus – the truly unique jellyfish with well developed nervous system and the prominent model in neuroscience. Dr. Moroz found Polyorchis in an unexpected place – dockside during a provisioning stop in the small British Columbia town of Tofino. This jellyfish is also a symbol of the Friday Harbor laboratory.
The destination of this voyage was the Friday Harbor Laboratories, the University of Washington’s storied marine biology research station on San Juan Island. The vessel SAM remains berthed at the station for use in collaboration between OGAP, Friday Harbor Labs and University of Florida, including a forthcoming apprenticeship program in the spring of 2022. The team plans to deploy the OGAP vessel to sample and monitor the diversity of planktonic and pelagic species in the Northwestern Pacific.