Tag Archives: Marine Genetics

MARINE BIOLOGY RESEARCH & SEALS 2018-19: SPRING SEMESTER IN REVIEW

MBRP class of 2019! (Selfie credit: Rosalia Elslamony)

Every graduating class has a personality of its own molded by each individual and the particulars of the school cohort. This year’s graduating class was characterized by many unique and strong personalities. What they all had in common though was honesty. I have never met so many young MBRP scholars in tune with themselves and the spirit of the times. I’m most grateful to this particular group for having embodied a crucial component of the program which is independence. This characteristic allowed them to pull through and manage the many aspects that running a high school research program requires. From maintaining our various recirculating lab systems, managing the 8th Annual Marine Science Symposium, competing in the New York City Science and Engineering & Urban Barcode Research Program fairs, completing professional maps using ArcGIS, working thousands of internship hours, earning dozens of college credits, and, most importantly, enhancing environmental awareness of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, this group of graduating scholars will be making big waves in our world for the better in the years to come. To get to know our graduating MBRP Class of 2019 better, click here to view their ePortfolios.

8th Annual New York Harbor School Marine Science Symposium (Photo credit: Mauricio González).

On May 15 the New York Harbor School hosted its 8th Annual Marine Science Symposium. We had over 50 projects on display and over 30 volunteers from various industry & post-secondary institutions. Among the volunteer judges of the student projects was a team from Con Edison, which has generously supported Marine Biology Research at Harbor School for several years. This year’s theme was the Oroboros- a symbol of chaos and order. The inquiry process, which lies at the heart of research, involves the brave act of taming the chaos inherent in the unknown to try to extract some kernel of truth only to realize that new questions have sprung up and the process continues. Research requires the delicate balancing act between finality and infinity, end and renewal.

8th Annual New York Harbor School Marine Science Symposium group shot (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).

This year’s winner of the MBRP Trident Award of Excellence was bestowed to Marcus Charles (Class ’18). The Trident Award is given to a MBRP graduate that has accomplished all three of the following feats: 01) has earned all the possible college credits offered by the MBRP, 02) has competed in the NYC Science and Engineering Fair or obtained GIS SPACE certification, and 03) has assumed a leadership position in the Harbor SEALs Citizen Science after school team. To view the Symposium Booklet with the complete list of volunteers, senior autobiographies, project titles, and Symposium results click here.

Prof. Henry Bokuniewicz from SUNY Stony Brook mentoring our 10th Grade MBRP scholars Gabriel Castro and Emily Lysakova (Photo credit: Mauricio González).

Our work is not possible without the ongoing support of industry and Post-secondary partners such as ConEdison, SUNY Stony Brook, Bronx Community College, BMCC, Urban Barcode Program, Roger Williams University, SUNY Albany, NYC Department of Education, New York Harbor Foundation, and Rozalia Project, to mention just a few. The opportunities they grant our scholars serve to enrich their education and help make them college and career ready.

Emily Lysakova and Gabriel Castro present at the 2019 Conference on the Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York (Photo credit: Lysakova family).

An example of the benefits of the synergy between our partners and the MBRP is our yearly completion of long term research projects, many of which compete at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair with NYC’s brightest STEAM students. We had four competitors in this year’s regional fair with our MBRP research scholar, Cyd Bloomfield, placing third in the category of Earth & Environmental Science. Thank you to Dr. Elizabeth Burmester for mentoring many of this years projects. Go New York Harbor School Science!

New York Harbor School at the 2019 NYC Science and Engineering fair.

In the field, our young Harbor SEALs scholars have been hard at work. Our Microbiology/Plankton and Phys-Chem teams have been monitoring the health of our Harbor waters. Our Biodiversity team has been preparing Econcrete tiles to deploy off of Governors Island for long-term monitoring. And our freshmen and sophomore scholars have been hard at work learning the ropes to take over leadership of their teams next school year.

Harbor SEALs team Plankton. Left to right: Kate Mumford, Taina Berrios, Sunita Pearson_Siegel, Luke Samton (Photo credit: Mauricio González).
Harbor SEALs team Phys-Chem, Right to left: Adult mentor Sean Lynch, Malik Ford, Dakota Rogers, Brian Mejia, and, visiting scholar, Jasmine Mendoza (Photo credit: Mauricio González).
Harbor SEALs team Microbiology/Plankton, Left to right: Kate Mumford, Prophet Davison, Aelish Mullaney , and Mimi Katz (Photo credit: Rosalia Elslamony).

Our alumni have been graduating from college and many continue to visit throughout the year. This past month I attended two graduation ceremonies. Our scholars report that college is not easy. Many struggle to adapt to the rigors of academic expectations and many are also the first to go to college in their families. I am pleased to also mention that colleges are starting to support our minority students by creating special associations that our students can go to for guidance. These associations also provide career assistance after graduation. Common themes I heard in our various conversations were 01) don’t be afraid to ask for help from your professors, 02) take advantage of office hours, 03) go the extra mile so your professors take you under their wing, 04) completing research in the MBRP opened doors for students, 05) don’t let impostor syndrome creep in, you’re not alone! Again, ask for help.

Violeta González, Jade Gonzáles, Andrew Sommer, and Tahirah Abdo, MBRP Class of 2015, graduate from SUNY Oswego.
Violeta González, MBRP Class of 2015- my daughter:) (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).
Nicole Martinez, MBRP Class of 2015, graduates from Columbia College (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).
Katha Conklin and Jared Rosin, MBRP Class of 2017, visiting during our Symposium.

It has been an honor for me to have been awarded the NYC Big Apple Award for the 2018-19 school year. As a part of this recognition, I’ve had the privilege of participating in advisory meetings with Chancellor Carranza and his talented staff. I have also been a part of Academy for Teachers Master Classes that have enriched my intellectual growth. I’d like to end this update by dedicating it to my late mentor, Dr. Gregory Hodge, who passed in February 2019.

Academy for Teachers: Three-Day Master Class on the Hudson River Valley: Art, History, Ecology
(Photo credit: Academy for Teachers).
Big Apple Award: DOE Chancellor, Richard Carranza, Founder and Director Marine Biology Research Program & Harbor SEALs Citizen Science, Mauricio González, and UFT President, Michael Mulgrew (Photo credit: NYC DOE).
My late mentor, Dr. Gregory Hodge , circa 2009 (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).
My wife Anita Morawski’s “love cakes” for the Harbor SEALs (Photo credit: Elizabeth Burmester).

MARINE BIOLOGY RESEARCH 2017-18 SPRING SEMESTER IN REVIEW

MBRP class of 2018! Guess who’s been photo-shopped? (Photo editing and credit: Mauricio González)

What a whirlwind of a Spring semester! First off: Marine Biology Research Program class of 2018, you will be missed dearly. I know I say this about most graduating classes but I can’t get used to the loss. You’re all moving on to your next goals stronger, smarter, and as self-reliant young adults. The future is your oyster. I am confident in seeing you off. Change the world!

Getting dirty! We have a saying in the MBRP: You’re not a real New Yorker until you’ve been soiled with NY Harbor benthic mud! (Photo credit: Mauricio González)

The 2018 Spring semester has been marked with numerous accomplishments. On 19 May, 6 MBRP research scholars embarked on an expedition up the Harlem/East River to retrieve a 2 year-old ecological experiment. Led by our senior project manager Nicholas Ring, this expedition put a close to Phase Two of the CIVITAS-New York Harbor School project to determine the baseline conditions of the Harlem/East River and to test different construction materials for their effect on marine biodiversity. Water was spraying  us from all directions as we pulled up nine 40+ pound experimental units onto the Indy 7 from the river. The rain above and the muddy waters from below  tried slowing us down but we pulled together as a team of marine scientists and maritime crew to finish ahead of schedule. A million thanks to the Indy 7 Captain Kirsten Johnsrud, First Mate Halcyon Spooner, and their young crew for your invaluable help and leadership. Equal thanks to our Harbor Class instructor Sean Lynch for stepping up to lead the crew. For PHASE TWO results click here.

7th Annual Marine Science Symposium at the New York Harbor School, May 16, 2018. (Art by Gryffen Snyder-Shane)

On May 16 the New York Harbor School hosted its 7th Annual Marine Science Symposium. We had over 50 projects on display and over 60 volunteers from various industry & post-secondary institutions, not to mention our guests from the Netherlands led by Marc Van Breukelen to help judge. The theme this year was Godzilla- fictional character and product of the unbridled marine contamination that ensued after World War II. Godzilla came to represent nature rising to warn humanity of the perils of altering the Earth’s delicate balance. During the symposium we also introduced a new award called the MBRP Trident Award of Excellence. This award is given to a MBRP scholar that has accomplished all three of the following feats: 01) has earned all the possible college credits offered by the MBRP, 02) has competed in the NYC Science and Engineering Fair or obtained GIS SPACE certification, and 03) has assumed a leadership position in the Harbor SEALs Citizen Science after school team. Two MBRP alumni have accomplished these ambitious feats and were bestowed with this honor: Cezanne Bies (class ’16) and Melanie Smith (class ’17). Thanks to our former CIVITAS Project Manager Maura Smotrich for delivering a beautiful keynote address. To view the Symposium Booklet with the complete list of volunteers, senior autobiographies, project titles, and Symposium results click here.

Marine Science Symposium volunteers from the Netherland’s Windesheim School, led by Marc Van Breukelen. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)
Final presentation of the CIVITAS/NY Harbor School project on May 16 at the Hudson River Foundation. The presentation was led by our senior project managers Nicholas Ring & Nailea Rodriguez as well as our senior data analyst Matthew Chiu and benthic captain Marcus Charles. Present at the meeting were Jim Lodge from the Hudson River Foundation, Maura Smotrich from City of White Plains, Daniella Davi from CIVITAS, Alexander Adams from CIVITAS, James MacDonald from the Department of Environmental Conservation, Jim Tripp from Environmental Defense Fund & CIVITAS, and Matthew Haiken from Billion Oyster Project. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)

Back in the lab, our young marine scholars have been hard at work. Our junior scholar Aaniyla Allen-Sutherland has been monitoring the health of our Harbor waters by testing for Entrococcus faecalis. Our junior research scholar Lauren Salitan has been testing the effects of chlorine concentrations on the survivor-ship of oyster larvae. And our freshmen and sophomore scholars have attempted to bar-code marine invertebrates for the first time at our lab on Governors Island.

Junior scholar Aaniyla Allen-Sutherland displaying IDEXX Enterolert trays that she uses to monitor the Harbor. (Photo credit: Elizabeth Burmester)
Junior research scholar Lauren Salitan and mentor, Elizabeth Burmester, PhD, work on an experiment testing the effects of chlorine on oyster larvae. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)
Gel electrophoresis run by our freshmen and sophomore research scholars Lisette Mejia, Destiny Coley, Brian Mejia, Gabriel Castro, and Jasmine Mendoza. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)
Urban Bar-code Symposium sponsored by Cold Spring Harbor Labs. Our young scholars presented at the symposium on May 24, 2018. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)

Some of the best moments of the school year are when alumni visit. They’ve come for our SEALs-giving dinner, Marine Symposium, and just randomly throughout the year. Below are photographs of just some of the many alumni who’ve stopped in this year.

Gracie Carter, (Photo credit: Nicholas Ring)
Averille Ramos. We retired his # 17 SEALs jersey. (Photo credit: Jacqueline Obermayer)
Nicolle Martinez. (Photo credit: Anita Morawski)
Pablo Jimenez and Zain Bin Khalid. (Photo credit: Anita Morawski)
Marcus Charles & Cézanne Bies. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)
Violeta Gonzalez and Ahyrton Vasquez. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)
Pierre Landet and Orlando Ramos. (Photo credit: Anita Morawski)
Jared Rosin, Mondragon, Katha Conklin, Kaila Scott, Mariah Gathers, and Melanie Smith. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)

To have a little fun, our Harbor SEALs scholars participated in the CIVITAS annual benefit. They presented their monitoring results of the Harlem/East River to residents and politicians from all over NYC at the House of the Redeemer by Central Park.

Harbor SEALs Citizen Science team at the CIVITAS annual benefit. (Photo credit: Mauricio González)

And after many years of sacrifice, hard work, and grit, Mauricio Gonzalez wins the Big Apple Award for 2018! Next school year as a Big Apple Fellow, he’ll be convening with school officials to share and learn best practices.

Mauricio González, 2018 NYC Big Apple Award recipient, presented by the DOE Deputy Chancellor, Phil Weinberg. (Photo credit: NYC DOE)

MARINE BIOLOGY RESEARCH 2017-18 WINTER REVIEW IN PICTURES

WE WIN AT NYCSEF! Harbor school seniors Nicholas Ring & Nailea Rodriguez win Second Prize while Matthew Chiu wins Third Prize in addition to three special elite awards. Special thanks goes out to Maura Smotrich, Rachael Miller, and Captain Michael Abegg for believing in us. These accomplishments would not have been possible without the support of CIVITAS Citizens, the Rozalia Project, BOP, and our wonderful team of Harbor SEALs Citizen Scientists! (Photo by M. Gonzalez)

The 2017-2018 winter season has been busy as usual for the Marine Biology Research Program and Harbor SEALs Citizen Science Monitoring scholars. Below we put together a sample of some of the activities we’ve been a part of during the 2017-2018 winter season. Thanks again to our industry and post-secondary partners for your continued support. Please mark your calendars: on May 16 the New York Harbor School will be hosting our 7th Marine Science Symposium. More information will be forthcoming. We hope to see you there. Enjoy the images!!!

Nailea Rodriguez, senior MBRP scholar, presenting at the NY Blue Tech consortium during World Water Day, March 22, 2018. (Photo by Nynke de Vette, Netherlands Consulate)
Here our Harbor SEALs younglings Destiny Coley, Lisette Mejia, Brian Mejia, Gabriel Castro, Jasmine Mendoza, and Tiffany Vu get ready to genetically barcode marine invertebrates as part of a collaborative project involving partners CIVITAS Citizens, BOP, Cold Spring Harbor’s Urban Barcode Program, and New York Harbor School’s Harbor SEALs Citizen Science monitoring team. Thanks to our other partners at ConEdison and a “RESO-A” grant through which we were able to obtain many of the materials for this important project. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
This year our scholars will complete phase two of the CIVITAS-NYHS East River Esplanade baseline study. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Next, with over half a million students in NYC public and private high schools, five-hundred fifty that are selected to compete at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair, to just over one hundred that make it to the finals, the Marine Biology Research Program had three scholars selected for for this honor in the category of Environmental Science. In total we had a School record breaking high of six students who competed this year at the Preliminary Round. Left to right: Marcus Charles, Nicholas Ring, Matthew Chiu, and Nailea Rodriguez (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Senior MBRP scholars Isabella Torres and Seth Rivera present their project on shark diet at the Preliminary Round of the NYC Science and Engineering Fair on March 4, 2018. Considering that the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School is an un-screened school and that we’re going up against the most selective public and private schools in the city (i.e. Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Townsend Harris, etc.) this accomplishment is impressive, to say the least. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Chris Bell and Nicholas Ring, Senior MBRP scholars, present their projects at the Preliminary Round of NYCSEF, March 04, 2018. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Our Harbor SEALs scholars train in invertebrate zoology as part of the Advanced Marine Biology course offered at the New York Harbor school. Taught by Instructor Mauricio Gonzalez, M.Sc. in collaboration with SUNY Stony Brook, students earn 3 college credits upon successful completion. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Senior marine research scholars Chris Bell, Matthew Chiu, and Isabella Torres dissect a squid to better understand the anatomy and evolutionary relationship of marine invertebrates. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Econcrete discs were poured by Marine Biology Research & Harbor SEALs scholars. The discs were then placed in the Harlem River to determine if biodiversity can be attracted with the proper construction materials. (Photo by N. Ring)
Nicholas Ring presents his project to the Harbor SEALs younglings to set the level of excellence expected of those coming up in the MBRP.
Mike McCann from The Nature Conservancy and Liz Burmester from the Billion Oyster Project lead a workshop on water quality sampling for the Harbor SEALs Citizen Science team. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
Matthew Chiu shows off his hats made of up-cycled microplastic fibers derived from laundry machines and dryers.
Sean Lynch, Harbor School Instructor, has been a key partner for the Harbor SEALs and will begin supporting our physical-chemistry team. (Photo by M. Gonzalez)
MBRP and Harbor SEALs director, Mauricio Gonzalez, has advanced to the finals in the prestigious NYC Big Apple Awards. Up to five finalists were named per district – roughly 250 across the city out of more than 4,500 teachers nominated this fall. The final 15 winners will be announced in the coming week.

2017 Senior MBRP Scholars!

Senior scholars of the 2016-7 MBRP.

To allow my students to struggle and flourish is one of the main goals I strive for as a marine research teacher. This year’s MBRP senior scholars completely embody this  way. I have witnessed a remarkable group of youngsters, now young adults, start off as rebellious schooled children and end off self-reliant and self-directed young adults ready for their open-ended futures. There is nothing more satisfying than this as an educator. These remarkable group of folks have managed to complete a comprehensive baseline study of the marine natural resources of the Harlem/East River and will be the first group in our program to be ready to take the Geographic Information Systems SPACE certification assessment.

Melanie Smith (Project Manager), Cindy Isidoro & Grace Carter (Co-Operations Analysts) of the CIVITAS, NYHF, NY Harbor SEALs collaborative study of the Harlem/East River.

Seeing these students work together to learn technical skills, content knowledge, project management skills, and leadership skills to complete their long term research has been remarkable to say the least. Some of the technical skills they developed along the way were methods to study benthos, plankton, physical-chemistry, and biodiversity using genetic barcoding. Melanie Smith, Cindy Isidoro, and Grace Carter managed over twenty-five (25) volunteers at any given point throughout their two year study. They weren’t timid to pull up sediment from the bottom of the Harlem River to look for signs of life. Their love for living things drove them to respectfully sieve through bucket fulls of mud brought up with their Ekman grab. You can find most of their data here. Stay tuned for a complete report to be published by the end of the month.

Melanie Smith (Project Manager), Jared Rosin (Marine Field Tech.), Erik Wiemer (Data Analayst), and Katha Conklin (Phytoplankton Specialist) presenting at the Career and Technical Education 2017 Open House at the DOE’s Central Headquarters, old TWEED Courthouse.

To manage, process, and represent the extensive data sets generated by our four teams we needed an impeccable analytical mind found in the person of Erik Wiemer, Project Data Analyst. Erik single-handily created a data management system and work flow that is now the backbone of the Harbor SEALs environmental monitoring system. All this work couldn’t be accomplished without the dedication of our team captains and field technicians. Katha Conklin (Phytoplankton Team Captain) and Jared Rosin (Field Technician) led their smaller groups on various field excursions that started often at seven in the morning and sometimes ending at dusk, rain or shine. These tenacious young scientists were the bedrock from which reliable data could be guaranteed.

Kaila Scott & Bella Valentin (GIS Analysts)

Gearing up for Geographic Information Systems certification are Kaila Scott, Bella Valentin, and Mariah Gathers. These students will be the first to attempt this feat in June. Their dedication and commitment has been inspiring. They have me on the trot keeping up with their progress as they blaze through the curriculum. These scholars are pioneering the last major component of the Marine Biology Research Program which is to ultimately map the data our teams are gathering.

Map generated by Kaila Scott (GIS Analyst).

Yesterday our MBRP seniors learned of the results of their New York City Science and Engineering Fair competition. Seeing our scholars on stage with the City’s most promising young scientists was an appropriate milestone highlighting the fruits of the struggle we began with in this story. The culture of science excellence in our Program and the school at large is finally beginning to blossom and flourish. 2017 MBRP Scholars, you’ll be missed. A heartfelt thank you to all family, friends, post-secondary and industry partners for your continued support. Look out INTEL here we come!

MBRP scholars competing at the 2017 NYCSEF competition and younger scholars showing up to support!

MBRP SCHOLAR HIGHLIGHT: CEZANNE BIES

Cézanne Bies, class of 16, building experiemntal oyster cages for the COIVOTAS Esplanande project.
Cézanne Bies, class of ’16, building experimental oyster cages for the CIVITAS-Harbor SEALs Citizen Science project.

It’s not often that a young scholar passes through the public school system in New York with all the qualities of a true scientist: organized yet willing to take risks, diligent yet creative, attentive to detail yet an eye on the big picture, and, most importantly, not deterred by set-backs. Remarkable is the word that comes to mind when reviewing all of Cézanne Bies’, class of ’16, accomplishments and attributes in the past three years at the Marine Biology Research Program (MBRP). Cézanne was a finalist in the 2016 NYC Science and Engineering Fair together with her project partner Zain Bin Khalid for their project Survival and Growth Performance of Crassostrea virginica in the NYC Harbor, the  first scholar to earn 12 SUNY college credits for science research at the New York Harbor School (NYHS), and helped to launch the marine genetics program there too, just to name a few.

Cézanne Bies teacing her phys-chem team how to perform the Winkler Method to measure the dissolved oxygen of the Harlem River.
Cézanne Bies teaching her phys-chem team how to perform the Winkler Method to measure the dissolved oxygen of the Harlem River.

Whether collecting physical-chemistry samples from  the Hudson River Estuary, planting eel grass at Bush Terminal Piers park, organizing and analyzing Harbor SEALs project data, or extracting oyster DNA, Cézanne is always at the center of the action. Cézanne’s dedication and leadership has truly elevated the level of science at the NYHS and particularly the MBRP.

Cézanne Bies extracting eastern oyster DNA to test for genetic differences between farmed and wild oysters.
Cézanne Bies extracting eastern oyster DNA to test for genetic differences between farmed and wild oysters.

Early on in the 10th grade, Cézanne showed great promise as a budding scientist by constructing the 1st place winning wind racer with project partner Raphael Bonnano and in the 11th grade Cézanne won 1st place with the project Determining the Genetic Difference between Farmed and Wild Oysters. Cézanne’s unique curiosity and problem solving skills have been essential to running the Marine Science lab.

Cézanne Bies planting eel grass at Bush Terminal Piers Park, Brooklyn.
Cézanne Bies  and Orlando Ramos planting eel grass at Bush Terminal Piers Park, Brooklyn.

Aside from these accomplishments, Cézanne is a frequent contributor to the school newspaper, The Harbor Current, an intern with Earth Matter organizing the NYHS biomass production to create compost, an integral member of the Gay-Straight Alliance, and an editor of the NYHS year book. Cezanne intends to pursue a degree in marine restoration genetics. We wish Cézanne all the best in the years to come.

Cézanne Bies and Zain Khalid in the 2016 NYCSEF competition. They were recogized by NOASS and RICOH copany for the best project in ocean sustainable and restoration science.
Cézanne Bies and Zain Khalid in the 2016 NYCSEF competition. They were recognized by NOAA and the RICOH Company for the best project in ocean sustainability and restoration science.

Marine Genetics at the New York Harbor School!

Marine Biology Research scholars Isabella Torres, Jared Vittore, and Seth Rivera extracting DNA from their algae samples.
Marine Biology Research scholars Isabella Torres, Jared Vittore, and Seth Rivera, class of ’18,  extracting DNA from their algae samples.

On February 6, 2016, a team of five Marine Biology Research scholars set out to sequence the genetic barcodes of marine organisms from the Hudson-Raritan Estuary in order to monitor its biodiversity. Part of our larger CIVITAS project (see previous post), these scholars have collected samples of algae and invertebrates from our Harlem River expeditions to create a baseline of what’s living there today. This type of work requires tedious pipetting, labeling on tiny vials, centrifuging, vortexing, and other crucial steps just to be able to extract the DNA from the organisms’ cells. During our next lab, these scholars will amplify the DNA and run it through a gel electrophoresis in order to prepare for genetic sequencing. The last step will be to identify the species using bioinformatics. You can see their research proposals here. A big thanks to our sponsor organization The Urban Barcode Project and Dr. Christine Marizzi from Cold Spring Harbor Lab for her and her team’s support.

Marine Biology Research scholars Zen Mena-Rodriguez and Nailea Rodriguez extracting the gonads of their marine invertebrate samples.
Marine Biology Research scholars Zen Mena-Rodriguez and Nailea Rodriguez, class of ’18, extracting the gonads from their marine invertebrate samples.