Dive Into Your Imagination

How I became interested in marine biology

As a child my family would vacation along the New Jersey Shore. Our house backed up against a lagoon that fed into the Barnegat Bay, and the ocean was four blocks away. There I learned to catch, observe, and appreciate marine animals of all kinds. I’d spend every waking moment crabbing, fishing and swimming if I could. When I learned about the profession of marine biologist, I knew that’s what I’d be one day. This remained my goal despite the discouraging words of various Career-day “advisors” in high school who said I should forget that job because it doesn’t pay well.

How I came to work on cephalopods:

Tidepooling on Rurutu, Austral Islands, French Polynesia © Crissy Huffard

During my undergraduate education at Southampton College (Long Island University) I decided I wanted to study marine invertebrates. Although they fascinate me, octopuses are not my favourite animals (that would be frogs). I ended up researching them serendipitously. My undergraduate major required an internship, which I wanted to spend studying squid. However that semester Clyde Roper would be out of town searching for Architeuthis, and could not take an intern. He suggested instead that I contact Eric Hochberg at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. I ended up spending a semester there learning octopus taxonomy, and haven’t looked back since. Eric and the Smithsonian’s “Squid Squad” welcomed me into the world of cephalopod biology, and introduced me to my graduate advisor, Roy Caldwell. From Roy I learned how to study animal behaviour and navigate the South Pacific. I am currently working on jumbo squids, but plan to return to octopus work after my current position ends.

Science has opened many doors for me- the doors of classrooms, planes, trains, and boats. With a lot of hard work, enthusiasm, and help of colleagues I have seen octopuses walk, change color, mimic animals, fight, and just live their lives. I have caught four-foot long squids, and snorkelled with 1 inch long squids. Far-off lands seem like home, while home sometimes is a distant dream. Friends are scattered around the globe, and wild adventure stories are normal dinner conversation. Regardless of what science means to you, or what type of scientist you might want to be one thing is for sure- every day is different!

When was your first experience with the ocean?

When I was a baby so I don't remember - we used to vacation in New Jersey every summer since I was a child.

What is the first scientific study you participated in?

My sister and I were very active in science fairs growing up (my sister was Grand champion in our area one year), and we always had fun with our science assignments in school, so it's hard to think of where it began

What makes you come alive?

Seeing if our hypotheses are supported by our data. If they're not, that's just as exciting because it makes us re-think the problem.

What does a scientist do? What happened in your life to make you want to pursue a career as a scientist?

A scientist comes up with ideas based on what is already known, and gathers data in an objective way to test those ideas.

How did you meet Annie? What is it like working with her?

I met Annie while working on a study of cephalopods in Indonesia. Working together was always fun because we learned something new on every dive.

If we dived into your imagination, can you share with us something you believe...

Don't underestimate the value of creativity and pure curiosity to science!

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