Hello!

I'm a molecular ecologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, working on a comparative population genetic study of mesopelagic fishes as part of WHOI's Ocean Twilight Zone initiative. As part of this project, I'm conducting RAD-based population genetic analysis on a suite of widespread mesopelagic fish species, and am looking for as broad a global distribution of samples as possible. (We have excellent sampling in the northwest Atlantic, but were not able to conduct our own cruises in other areas.)

To help capture as broad a view of intraspecific biodiversity as possible, I'm seeking folks who might be willing to share DNA-friendly tissue samples (frozen or ethanol/RNALater-fixed) from our target species:

  • Chauliodus sloani
  • Cyclothone microdon
  • Nemichthys scolopaceus
  • Argyropelecus aculeatus
  • Sternoptyx diaphana
  • Sigmops elongatus
  • Ceratoscopelus warmingii
  • Scopelogadus beanii
  • Hygophum hygomii
  • Serrivomer beanii

I'm ultimately hoping to find sufficiently good sample coverage to sequence 6-7 of these species (not all 10), but the current list is broader as I try to determine the species for which we can get the best geographic coverage.

Please let me know if you either have access to such samples, or have suggestions of folks who might! I'd love to chat more about potential collaborations. (Thank you very sincerely to everyone I've already contacted about samples!)

Thank you,

Carolyn Tepolt (ctepolt@whoi.edu)