David Gruber | |
---|---|
Born | Paterson, New Jersey, US |
Citizenship | United States |
Alma mater | Rutgers University (PhD) Columbia University (MS) Duke University (MEM) University of Rhode Island (BS) |
Awards | Lagrange Prize |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine Biology |
Institutions | Baruch College Harvard University American Museum of Natural History |
David Gruber is an American marine biologist, [1] a Presidential Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences at Baruch College, City University of New York, [2] and a National Geographic Explorer. [3]
Gruber was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and received his B.S. at the University of Rhode Island, an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University, a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography at Rutgers University Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences. He completed a post-doctoral position in Molecular Psychiatry at Brown University. David was a 2017–2018 Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, [4] and is a current Adjunct Fellow at the John B. Pierce Laboratory, [5] affiliated with the Yale School of Medicine.
Gruber and collaborators reported discoveries of more than 180 new fluorescent fish species in 2014, [6] as reported in The New York Times's article, "Fluorescence is Widespread in Fish, Study Finds." [7] In 2015, he observed fluorescence in Hawksbill sea turtles in the Solomon Islands, [8] marking the first time that scientists had observed fluorescence in a marine reptile. [9] Field video of this discovery was featured on National Geographic . [10] Also in 2015, Gruber gave a TED Talk on fluorescence in sea creatures at Mission Blue II which has been viewed over 2.3 million times. [11] In 2020, this discovery was listed by National Geographic as a “top 20 scientific discoveries of the decade” for “Seeing animals’ unexpected sides.” [12]
Gruber and collaborators again had video featured on the National Geographic website [13] in 2016 after engineering a "shark-eye" camera, [14] which for the first time allowed scientists to view sharks as they see each other. From 2017 to 2018, Gruber used his time as a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study in order to pursue an in-depth study of jellyfish on topics ranging from their fluorescence, to their connection to humans and how they are effected by climate change. [15] Gruber would use this research into jellyfish in order to act as an educator on a TED-ed animation. [16] In 2018, Gruber promoted marine biology for National Geographic Kids' series "Best Job Ever." [17]
In 2019, Gruber was part of the team responsible for discovering that bromo-tryptophan-kynurenines make sharks fluorescent, [18] and this work was featured in The New York Times , [19] National Geographic , [20] Science Magazine, [21] on PBS [22] and on CNN. [23] That same year, Gruber and team were again featured in an article in National Geographic [24] for their discovery of flashlight fish schooling at night using their bioluminescent organs, which opened up the possibility that schooling fish may inhabit even the deep sea, [25] and Gruber led the first study to apply advanced deep machine learning techniques to better detect and classify Sperm Whale bioacoustics. [26] Gruber currently leads Project CETI, an Audacious project to understand Sperm Whale communication.
Since 2015, Gruber has worked in collaboration with the Harvard MicroRobotics Laboratory in the development of several gentle robotic devices that allow marine researchers to capture and analyze jellyfish and other delicate sea creatures without causing harm. Working with Robert Wood, the director of the MicroRobotics Laboratory, they have developed Squishy Robot Fingers, [27] [28] the Origami Robot, [29] [30] [31] teleoperated soft robotic arms for submarines, [32] [33] and an ultra-gentle robot with soft fingers. [34] [35] [36] [37]
The work of the "Squishy Finger/Soft Robotics for Delicate Deep-sea Marine Biological Interactions Team" was highlighted in the American Museum of Natural History exhibit, Unseen Oceans. [38] [39]
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, than the absorbed radiation. A perceptible example of fluorescence occurs when the absorbed radiation is in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, while the emitted light is in the visible region; this gives the fluorescent substance a distinct color that can only be seen when the substance has been exposed to UV light. Fluorescent materials cease to glow nearly immediately when the radiation source stops, unlike phosphorescent materials, which continue to emit light for some time after.
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water that are unable to propel themselves against a current. The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish, and baleen whales.
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus Vibrio; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves.
Catsharks are ground sharks of the family Scyliorhinidae. They are the largest family of sharks with around 160 species placed in 17 genera. Although they are generally known as catsharks, some species can also be called dogfish due to previous naming. However, a dogfish may generally be distinguished from a catshark as catsharks lay eggs while dogfish have live young. Like most bottom feeders, catsharks feed on benthic invertebrates and smaller fish. They are not harmful to humans. The family is paraphyletic, containing several distinct lineages that do not form a monophyletic group.
The mesopelagiczone, also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light, and begins at the depth where only 1% of incident light reaches and ends where there is no light; the depths of this zone are between approximately 200 to 1,000 meters below the ocean surface.
The swell shark is a catshark in the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found in the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific Ocean from between central California to southern Mexico, with an additional population off the coast of Chile. As a defense, the swell shark is able to expand to approximately double its regular size by swallowing water.
The chain catshark or chain dogfish is a small, reticulated catshark that is biofluorescent. The species is common in the Northwest Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. It is harmless and rarely encountered by humans. It has very similar reproductive traits to the small-spotted catshark.
Gelatinous zooplankton are fragile animals that live in the water column in the ocean. Their delicate bodies have no hard parts and are easily damaged or destroyed. Gelatinous zooplankton are often transparent. All jellyfish are gelatinous zooplankton, but not all gelatinous zooplankton are jellyfish. The most commonly encountered organisms include ctenophores, medusae, salps, and Chaetognatha in coastal waters. However, almost all marine phyla, including Annelida, Mollusca and Arthropoda, contain gelatinous species, but many of those odd species live in the open ocean and the deep sea and are less available to the casual ocean observer. Many gelatinous plankters utilize mucous structures in order to filter feed. Gelatinous zooplankton have also been called Gelata.
The warty frogfish or clown frogfish is a marine fish belonging to the family Antennariidae.
The messmate pipefish is a species of marine fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, from the eastern coast of Africa to the Vanuatu Islands. This species can reach a length of 19.8 cm. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade where it is known as the dragonfaced pipefish. Other common names are bloodspot pipefish, reef pipefish, reeftop pipefish and yellow-streaked pipefish.
Blue edged sole is a sole from the Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a length of 18 cm.
Scorpaenopsis papuensis, the Papuan scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific.
The sand lizardfish, clearfin lizardfish or variegated lizardfish is a species of lizardfish that lives mainly in the Indo-Pacific.
Enric Sala is a former university professor who saw himself writing the obituary of ocean life, and quit academia to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Sala’s present goals are to help protect critical marine ecosystems worldwide, and to develop new business models for marine conservation. He also produces documentary films and other media to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy environment, and to inspire country leaders to protect more of the natural world.
The warteye stargazer is a species of sand stargazer native to the Atlantic coast of southwestern Florida, United States, and in the Caribbean Sea from the Bahamas and the coast of Central America to Panama where it can be found in sandy areas on reefs or among rocks. It is an ambush predator, burying itself nearly completely in the sand and waiting for prey items to come along. It can reach a maximum length of 5 cm (2.0 in) TL.
The shortfin false moray is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Leonard Peter Schultz in 1953. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from American Samoa, Samoa, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Wallis and Futuna. It typically dwells in seaward and lagoon coral reefs at an approximate depth of 43 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 13 centimetres (5.1 in).
The collared eel is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by James Erwin Böhlke in 1967. It is a tropical, marine eel known from coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean, including Texas, USA; the Bahamas, the Antilles, northern South America, the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is a benthic, solitary eel that primarily resides in tubular sponges. Males can reach a maximum total length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in).
Scorpaenopsis diabolus, the false stonefish, false scorpionfish or the devil scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It has venomous spines and lives in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as in the Red Sea. It is a bottom-dwelling predator that relies on its camouflage to catch passing prey.
Brooke E. Flammang is an American biologist at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She specializes in functional morphology, biomechanics, and bioinspired technology of fishes. Flammang is a discoverer of the radialis muscle in shark tails. She also studies the adhesive disc of the remora, and the walking cavefish, Cryptotora thamicola. Her work has been profiled by major news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, BBC Radio 5, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Wild. She was named one of the "best shark scientists to follow" by Scientific American in 2014.