Dr Cindy Lee Van Dover
Dr. Cindy Lee Van Dover is a deep-sea biologist who has been studying and writing about the deep-sea since 1980. Her work has ranged from studies on whether eyeless deep-sea shrimp can detect light from the vents to ecological questions such as:
- What is the community structure associated with mussels?
- How are these communities distributed in relation to each other and to vents?
- How similar are communities in different areas of the ocean?
An associate professor of biology at the College of William and Mary (in Virginia), she has long been fascinated by the effect disease can have on populations and biological communities.
Discovering disease in South Pacific mussels
On a recent expedition (May 2005) near Fiji in the Pacific ocean (see map), Dr. Van Dover and her students unexpectedly collected a sample of mussels that looked strange. Although the mussel bed appeared normal, when the mussels were opened on the ship, the team observed a large number of mussels with black or brown-spotted tissue. Normal mussels have a creamy white color. These "blackbody" mussels had firm tissue and were clearly alive although they did not smell of sulfide (as deep-sea mussels normally do). Approximately 55% of the mussels collected in that area that day were black, or brown-spotted (see pictures, right). Dr. Van Dover and her students suspected that these mussels were diseased.
Fungal pathogen
Realizing that they had found an important biological phenomenon, the team collected and preserved a sample of mussels for study back in their lab in Virginia. There they would be able to conduct standard histological studies to identify the pathogen, using equipment not available on the ship.
Within days of their return, they were able to determine that the disease agent was a fungus. They collaborated with Dr. Ryan Carnegie at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to identify the type of fungus using genetic sequencing.
The team of scientists is currently trying to answer questions such as:.
- What the fungus is doing to mussel tissue?
- How is the mussel affected by the fungus (e.g., is reproduction affected)?
- How virulent is the fungus (i.e., does it kill or just weaken the mussel)?
Just the beginning of the investigation
At this point, Dr. Van Dover and her students are excited about all of the fascinating questions they have regarding this disease. For instance, they want to know:
- Is the fungus is a specialist or generalist pathogen (i.e., is it found only in mussels or does it also infect other vent organisms)?
- How does the disease spread? Are other populations of mussels also infected?
- Does the disease kill the mussels? If so, will other species (e.g., snails) take the mussel's place in the community?
This is the excitement of science - one new discovery leading to so many more questions!
Dr Van Dover's books on the deep sea
Dr Van Dover has authored two books:
- Deep-Ocean Journeys, discovering new life at the bottom of the sea is written for general readers;it describes the natural history of the deep-sea and Dr Van Dover's experiences studying it.
- The Ecology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents is a text for students that distills much of the current research on hydrothermal vents
Both books are available on-line. If you want to get a feel for what it's like around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, we recommend reading Deep-Ocean Journeys.
