EXPEDITION STAFF
Benthic Assemblages in the Twilight Zone (BATZ) Expedition
August 25-September 2, 2008
aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster
Click on a name below to learn more about that scientist.
Jennifer DeBose - FGBNMS
Peter Etnoyer - TAMUCC/HRI
Tom Shirley - TAMUCC/HRI
Ian MacDonald - TAMUCC/HRI
Fabio Moretzsohn - TAMUCC/HRI
Doug Weaver - TAMUCC/HRI
Morgan Kilgour - TAMUCC/HRI
Lance Horn - NURC/UNCW
Glenn Taylor - NURC/UNCQ
For a general overview of this expedition, please visit the Nancy Foster Cruise 2008 page.
To learn more about the daily activities of the expedition, please visit the Daily Logs page.
MEET THE SCIENTISTS
Jennifer DeBose
Chief Scientist/Research Biologist
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Dr. Jennifer DeBose is the Research Specialist for the Flower Garden Banks NMS. Her current interests are focused on the long-term monitoring of the biota of Stetson Bank, marine debris assessment and removal, research into the need for an experimental closure within the FGBNMS, utilizing GIS for seafloor and habitat mapping, as well as a variety of other research areas within the sanctuary. She received her doctorate from the University of California–Davis, studying the sensory ecology underlying aggregation behavior of marine fishes and cephalopods.
Peter Etnoyer
Research Biologist
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Harte Research Institute
Peter Etnoyer is a doctoral fellow in the Biodiversity and Conservation Laboratory at Harte Research Institute under Dr. Tom Shirley. He is studying the diversity and distribution of deep-water Gorgonacea in the Gulf of Mexico for his Ph.D. dissertation research at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. His research interests include taxonomy, benthic ecology, and oceanography.
Tom Shirley
Research Biologist
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Harte Research Institute
Dr. Tom Shirley is a Professor and Chair of Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Dr. Shirley received his Ph.D. at LSU, and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Tom studies the ecology of marine invertebrates, particularly deep sea benthos.
Ian MacDonald
Research Biologist
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Harte Research Institute
Ian is a professor of environmental science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The major focus of his research is ecology of natural hydrocarbon seeps using imaging, remote sensing, and GIS tools. He is a lifelong Scuba diver and has conducted research at the Flower Garden Banks since 1987.
Fabio Moretzsohn
Research Biologist
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Harte Research Institute
Dr. Fabio Moretzsohn is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Fabio received his Ph.D. at the University of Hawaii studying the taxonomy of cowries (Mollusca: Cypraeidae). He studies marine biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico, and is interested in molluscan taxonomy and ecology.
Doug Weaver
Research Biologist
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Harte Research Institute
Doug Weaver is a marine biologist and geographic information specialist with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and a doctoral student in the department of Physical and Life Sciences. His research interests include fisheries ecosystem function and reef fish community ecology, seafloor mapping and habitat characterization. He has logged over 1,000 SCUBA dives in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and participated in over 70 research cruises conducting remotely operated vehicle (ROV), submersible, and multibeam mapping surveys in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys.
Morgan Kilgour
Research Biologist
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Harte Research Institute
Morgan Kilgour is a doctoral fellow in the Biodiversity and Conservation Laboratory at Harte Research Institute under Dr. Tom Shirley at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The focus for her Ph.D. dissertation research is on the biology and ecology of galatheoid crabs in the Gulf of Mexico. Her research interests include marine ecology, deep sea biology, and benthic ecology.
Lance Horn
ROV Pilot/Technician
NOAA Undersea Research Center
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Mr. Lance Horn is currently the Operations Director of the South Atlantic Bight/Gulf of Mexico division of the NOAA Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (NURC/UNCW). He has worked at NURC/UNCW for 23 years and participated in hundreds of research missions using scuba diving, remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, and submersible technology. He is the chief remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operator at NURC/UNCW since 1987, and will be one of two ROV pilots on this cruise.
Glenn Taylor
ROV Technician
NOAA Undersea Research Center
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Glenn Taylor is a pilot and technician for ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) with the NOAA Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He also works as a mission coordinator, technical tri-mix diver, and as a technician for AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles).
