91探花 oceanographer studies viruses 鈥� but not the viruses that get people worried. He studies viruses that infect ocean microorganisms, which are some of the most abundant living things on the planet.

Morris, a 91探花associate professor of oceanography, previously found that the most common bacteria in the oceans, SAR11, hosts a virus in its DNA. That virus is dormant most of the time, but when and how it erupts could play important roles in ocean ecology and evolution.

Now Morris and a collaborator at the University of California, Los Angeles, are going out with students to collect more of these tiny bacterial hosts and their viral guests to understand how these relationships change depending on the place or the season. They leave Dec. 16 aboard 91探花School of Oceanography鈥檚 small research vessel, the .

91探花News asked Morris a few questions about the upcoming cruise, which includes four undergraduate students, as part of an occasional series, 鈥�In the Field,鈥� highlighting 91探花field efforts.

Where are you going, and when?聽

Robert Morris: Our research cruise will travel from the to the San Juan Islands. This track gives us access to important areas in Puget Sound as well as to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where open ocean water enters the Puget Sound.

We leave on Monday, Dec. 16 and return Friday, Dec. 20.

Have you visited these waters in the past?

RM: This is our third cruise. The first cruise was in September 2023 and focused on the Puget Sound main basin and Hood Canal. The second cruise was this past July and focused on the main basin, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and areas around the San Juan Islands. This third cruise will be a repeat of the summer cruise, but at a different time of year to investigate seasonal differences in the viruses that infect marine bacteria.

Who is going on the cruise?

RM: I am chief scientist on all three cruises, and , at the University of California, Los Angeles, is co-chief scientist. Each cruise has one additional mentor and four UCLA undergraduates.

For this cruise, the mentor is Jason Graff at Oregon State (past mentors have been 91探花graduate students Kunmanee Bubphamanee and Dylan Vecchione). For this cruise, the undergraduate students are Grace Donohue, Natalie Falta, Eleanor Gorham and Madeleine Swope.

What does your team hope to learn from this place?

RM: On the scientific side, we hope to identify spatial and temporal patterns in viruses that infect the oceans鈥� most abundant bacteria, which is SAR11. More specifically, we collect samples to identify the number and types of SAR11 bacterial cells that have viruses in their genomes and isolate new SAR11 species and the viruses that infect them throughout Puget Sound in summer and winter. We鈥檙e also curious how the number of viruses affects infection patterns across our sample sites and seasons.

From an outreach perspective, the field program was designed to allow students from 91探花and UCLA to collaborate and learn 鈥渉ands-on鈥� oceanography and to see how research ideas and experiments inform each other, especially when working in interdisciplinary teams and with active mentorship. We expect this field experience to expose more students to oceanographic fieldwork, which may inspire further studies in oceanography or other sciences.

If this is a repeat effort, will this year be different in any way?

RM: The upcoming cruise is the first one that will be conducted in the winter, with the goal of identifying viruses with different infection strategies. For instance, in the winter we expect to find fewer SAR11 cells, but more with viruses hiding out in their genomes.

Briefly, what鈥檚 a typical day in the field (if there鈥檚 such thing as a typical day)? And what鈥檚 something you enjoy about doing this field work?

RM: We start the day by collecting samples and setting up an incubation study, where we incubate and grow more bacterial cells. We do four incubation studies on each cruise. The study is designed to multiply bacterial viruses in a way that increases the number of cells that are infected. After the incubation experiment is set up, we visit other sites to collect background data that tells us about the environmental conditions in the surrounding area.

One of the most exciting parts of the day-to-day activities is that you don鈥檛 know what the day will bring. Much of the work is outside, so it can be sunny and calm, or rainy and rough. The work gets done either way!

Anything you鈥檇 like to add?

RM: We are working on a collaborative manuscript that will include data from the incubation studies and all student participants. 91探花graduate student , a doctoral student in Earth and space sciences, conducted research in my laboratory for her 91探花Astrobiology research rotation, and was able to gain field research experience during the second cruise. Two 91探花graduate students in my lab, and , will include bacterial culture and genetic sequencing data in future manuscripts.

Lastly, this has been an amazing experience and although many of the students from UCLA have not stayed in oceanography, most have applied to or have gone on to graduate school in science. It has been fantastic interacting with all of the students and seeing them grow into experienced oceanographers over the length of the cruises.

For more information, contact Morris at morrisrm@uw.edu.

The 91探花’s School of Oceanography has a new member of its fleet. After revamping its earlier this year, it now also has a new ship that will allow 91探花researchers and students to explore waters in Puget Sound and nearby coasts.

The was built as a fisheries research vessel in Scotland in 2003, and the 91探花acquired it in 2017 and had it shipped to Seattle last winter. It completed its first science voyage in early April, and is expected to officially join the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System fleet this summer.

“With its significantly greater capabilities, the Rachel Carson really expands our ability to take more scientists and students to sea, to provide better hands-on instruction, and to conduct a much wider portfolio of oceanographic science,” said , the UW’s manager of marine operations.

The 72-foot vessel was purchased with a $1 million gift from William and Beatrice Booth. The 91探花then made upgrades this spring to better equip the ship for teaching and research. It replaces the 65-foot , which served the 91探花for almost 35 years.

Unlike its predecessor, the RV Carson was built as a research ship. It has larger lab space, better tools for lowering equipment into the water, and space for 13 people to sleep onboard. It also has more stable handling, allowing it to venture out in stormier seas and along Washington’s outer coast.

The vessel is named for Rachel Carson, the American marine biologist, author and conservationist.

“It was truly an honor to lead the first group to sail on the RV Rachel Carson, literally researching ‘the sea around us’ in Washington,” said , an oceanographer at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory who was chief scientist on the ship’s first research cruise. “The ship is very stable, allowing us to work in rough conditions, and its increased capacity allows us to involve more students. I was very impressed!”

That cruise was a five-day trip around Puget Sound to collect samples for monitoring by the state-funded Washington Ocean Acidification Center.

The ship also has taken Oceanography 220 undergraduates on a cruise north of Seattle, and this week is doing half-day cruises out of Shilshole Marina for the Oceanography 201 class.

The ship’s home port is on the 91探花Oceanography dock. It is available for use by oceanographic researchers and instructors from inside and outside the UW.

###

For more information, contact Russell at 206-543-5062 or dgruss@uw.edu.