"I’m Flávia Masumoto. I am a master’s degree student at Oceanography at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. During my undergraduate studies, I joined the Laboratory of Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution of Fishes (DEEP Lab), coordinated by Prof. Dr. Marcelo Melo, where I still work today. I had the opportunity to participate in two expeditions of the DEEP-OCEAN project, whose main objective was to improve knowledge about deep-sea fishes in Brazilian waters, using bottom trawl nets
and fish traps for sampling."
(Image: Flávia grinning while holding some sort of puffer fish. She’s outside on a boat and wearing an orange safety vest while others behind her look off the side of the boat.)
"It was my first time on a research vessel and a huge opportunity that started guiding my path toward deep-sea research. During the expeditions, I observed many different and unique species of fish and invertebrates, such as deep-sea corals, ophiuroids, and anemones, including new and rare ones."
(Image: Flávia smiling and holding the side of a CTD instrument. She’s accompanied by three other smiling scientists, one of them being another 17DSBS conference support awardee (Heloísa de Cia Caixeta). Everyone is on the deck of a boat and wearing orange safety vests and hard hats.)
"I also gained valuable experience working in the field, performing practical tasks such as sorting specimens, collecting tissue samples for molecular analysis, sampling water for #eDNA, and more. This experience helped me discover how much I enjoy working on board and engaging in hands-on activities!"
(Image: Flávia presenting at 17DSBS in an auditorium. There are three projector screens: one with the 17DSBS logo, the central one showcasing a slide (selected deep-sea species from her Material and Methods) of Flávia’s presentation, and the final screen (presumably) listing the 17DSBS presentation schedule. )
"Despite all the biodiversity we sampled, what shocked me the most was the amount of macro-litter found among the organisms and the biodiversity associated with it, which captured my attention. One of my biggest surprises was discovering that there were no publications about deep-sea litter sampling in the southwestern Atlantic!
During the second expedition, now more experienced and having read up on the subject, I was more meticulous. As a result, we published an article reporting with the first report and characterization of litter sampled in the area (DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4467286), and more publications are on the way.
For my master’s degree, I was encouraged to continue this work, but now with a focus on the impacts of litter. This led me into the world of microplastics, where I am now investigating their presence in the fish sampled during these expeditions."
(Image: A white plastic tray lying on a green floor on the outside deck of a boat, filled with deep-sea litter mixed with deep-sea fishes and invertebrates. The largest is a metal canister labeled “chemical products, 25 litres”. )
Our final #17DSBS support feature, for the final day of #17DSBS!
Meet Flávia Tiemi Masumoto, a master’s student at the University of São Paulo studying #DeepSea biodiversity and litter and now researching the impacts of #microplastics in #DeepSeaFishes collected from the DEEP-OCEAN expeditions.
