I get paid to study jellyfish? How lucky is that? I think very. I work like crazy, but set my own hours. I get to travel and see things that have never been seen before. More importantly, I am able to fulfill a responsibility to set down onto paper what I have learned, thereby increasing knowledge of the natural world. It is always a great feeling to see a paper that I have worked on published. I know that there must be some mistakes in them (we're only human after all). But, I also feel an enormous sense of accomplishment. I feel that I have become part of what I like to call the "giant head" representing all that we know.

So, how did I come to this place? A rather convoluted path has brought me to the wonderful position I have with the National Systematics Lab of NOAA's Fisheries Service and the Invertebrate Zoology department of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. (Wow, that's a mouthful.) My first job was actually as an economist, after getting a bachelors degree in Mathematics and Economics from Amherst College. Eventually a night course (thanks Liz!) put me on the path to becoming an evolutionary biologist. I applied to get a PhD at the University of California Berkeley and was super lucky to wind up working with the amazing Jim Valentine, a specialist on the origin and early evolution of animals. My present research focuses on the biodiversity of relatively simple animals -- cnidarians, (jellyfishes, corals, etc.), placozoans (aka Trichoplax), and sponges. With many awesome colleagues, I generate and use evolutionary trees (phylogenetic hypotheses) to better understand how the amazing biodiversity of these groups (in terms of morphology, life history, and genetics) has come to be.

How did I get involved in naming this exciting new species of box jellyfish? Let me start at the beginning and give you a brief glimpse on how I got where I am right now: in graduate school pursuing my PhD to ultimately become a professional scientist. I've always been the kid that would bring all sorts of bugs, beetles, worms and alike home to figure out what they are. So from a very early age on I knew that I wanted to become a scientist. After finishing high-school I thus went on to study biology at a few different universities in my home country Germany. I was fortunate enough to be able to explore many different areas of the biological sciences during my studies, but was always drawn to the marine environment and its inhabitants.

My interest in jellyfishes was sparked by my current co-advisor Allen whom I met while he was working as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Hannover. In a nutshell, jellies are beautiful and true art forms of nature, ecologically important for the functioning of marine ecosystems and one of the oldest groups of animals. Yet we know very little about them and there is so much to learn, which makes studying these critters incredibly exciting to me. Box jellyfishes in particular caught my attention and I am not sure if I can explain exactly why. One reason for sure is that they can be found in beautiful tropical places all over the world and the hunt for them has driven me to some wonderful places I may otherwise never have had the chance to visit.

I first became interested in the banded box jelly from Bonaire after discovering a photo of it on the internet. After I got to know that Allen and Bud established contact and were able to capture the animal I was very excited to take a look at it in order to study and document its characteristics and, ultimately, understand its relationship to the other box jellies. Part of my PhD thesis involves unraveling the evolutionary relationships of box jellies. The discovery of new and undescribed species is a side effect of this work; it simply shows how much there is still out there that we haven't discovered. Putting a scientific name on these new species and placing them into the right bin with its closest relatives enables us to properly communicate about biodiversity and discuss evolutionary relationships.

Once I started to collect info, pics, videos, and emails, it was clear this animal was special and more unique then I originally thought. Some people were really afraid of it. When I went around to dive masters, resorts, and medical staff with pictures on Bonaire, some were really excited. Some posted pictures. The whole thing was really interesting. Others wanted to keep it quiet. Since I was already involved in animal sting studies and an educator, I knew word had to get out. It wasn't going to affect tourism, jellies don't do that. But in the first couple of years none of the experts I contacted from around the world had ever seen. One former Smithsonian Cnidarian expert thought it was a whole new genus! Of course, actually swimming with one at Andrea II was a highlight and a very special event for me. They are fast. They turn on a dime. They use their tentacles in unique ways including locomotion. In a word, it is awesome to watch.

Having my scientific buddies at The Smithsonian really made the difference. It has been terrific to be part of a team and see the process of science in action. It was funny to show them the first video (by V Carr, 2001) and watch their eyes pop out. They were glued to the TV screen watching BBBJ swim. The hunt was on. They were hooked like a nematocyst spears its prey. What was this? How can we get one? What is it related to? They would have to wait a whole year to get one specimen. But the lights were already lit.

Sometimes science take time. Nature doesn't give up its details and patterns and secrets easily. Sometimes science is like peeling bananas. Sometimes it is like peeling coconuts. It takes tools, energy, strategies, thought, and good documentation. But everytime I go in the water I try to see something I've never seen before. This usually happens. The sea still has more to reveal than it already has. Like just the other day my friend sent me a pic of another jelly we had never seen. It was magnificent. It was another box jelly, but I don't have a clue as what it is. So next month I will try to find out, again, under the waters off Bonaire. Science has a way of repeating itself...

A key part of these whole process has been the numerous individuals (38 at last count) who have seen and documented their BBBJ sighting. They write with incredible interest and glad to participate in this science endeavor. "I saw one! I saw one! See attached". Hopefully you're hooked too and will help come up with a great name for this worthy creature, even if it is almost all water and transparent gel!

I grew up in Sydney, Australia, so I had my fair share of going to the beach and exploring the aquatic world. That was probably where my interest in marine science began, leading me to major in Marine Biology at the University of Maryland. I knew that I wanted to study invertebrate animals, but wasn't sure on which specific one...until I started working with Allen and Basti on jellyfish! After seeing the many different types of jellyfish that they had in their lab, I was hooked. So I would have to thank both of them for introducing me to these amazing animals.I am also studying to become a Biology teacher so I can educate the next generation about science and it's importance. I'm hoping that my enthusiasm for biology will inspire them to become future scientists (fingers crossed).