Current project: Jumbo squid dispersal
Oceanic squid tend to have longitudinally stretched transoceanic ranges. Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) are unusual in occupying a latitudinally stretched range limited to the eastern Pacific—a range that has been expanding north in recent years. The range of a species is determined by dispersal of individuals, and an ongoing project is our lab is focused on studying adult dispersal with the use of electronic tags. I aim to complement this work by approaching the question of dispersal from two additional angles: dispersal of early life stages, and population genetics.
Baby squid are too small to be tagged, but their swimming abilities and muscular structure can be studied and compared to those of adults. I will use my results from these studies to answer the question of how far and fast early life stages of Humboldt squid can disperse. I am also analyzing a large data set of molecular information on this species. Population genetics allows me to answer questions about long-term dispersal, placing our knowledge about the movement of individuals in an historical context.
Long-term interests: How do you make a fish out of a snail?
I’m fascinated by the evolutionary history of cephalopods, which have been described as “the molluscan fish.” Starting from the basic mollusc body plan, they show remarkable convergence with marine vertebrates. My work with embryos and hatchlings of Dosidicus gigas has led me to be particularly interested in pursuing the evolution of cephalopods through developmental biology. Other molluscs pass through trochophore and veliger larval stages. Cephalopods show no residue of these stages, instead hatching as “paralarvae” that look similar to adults and undergo no cataclysmic metamorphosis. What makes a molluscan embryo turn into a squid rather than a snail? Can the answer to this question give us clues about the origin of my favorite taxon?
Publications
Staaf, D.J., Camarillo-Coop, S., Haddock, S.H.D., Nyack, A.C., Payne, J., Salinas-Zavala, C.A., Seibel, B.A., Trueblood, L., Widmer, C., Gilly, W.F., 2008. Natural egg mass deposition by the Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the Gulf of California and characteristics of paralarvae. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 88: 759-770.
Shulman, D.J. and F.G. Hochberg. 2007. Dicyemida. In: The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon, 4th edition (ed. James Carlton). University of California Press.
Hochberg, F.G. and D.J. Shulman. 2007. Cephalopoda. In: The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon, 4th edition (ed. James Carlton). University of California Press.
Moltschaniwskyj, N.A., K. Hall, M.R. Lipinski, J.E.A.R. Marian, M. Nishiguchi, M. Sakai, D.J. Shulman, B. Sinclair, D.L. Sinn, M. Staudinger, R. Van Gelderen, R. Villanueva, K. Warnke. 2007. Ethical considerations when using cephalopods as experimental animals. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 17: 455-476.
The Illustrated Guide to Making Squid Babies
The Cephalopodiatrist
