Karen Miller
Invertebrate Taxonomist [organisation: University of Tasmania]
What is your job title?
Lecturer/Research Fellow
What do you study and why is it important?
My
research area is ecological genetics of marine invertebrates. What
this really means is that I try to understand the relationship
between patterns of genetic diversity in a species (e.g. in their
DNA) and aspects of the biology of that species and how it interacts
with its environment. This is an exciting area of research because
it adds another dimension to classical ecological research and
enables us to understand a lot more about how species work and
how they are evolving. For example, for marine species such as
corals that have microscopic planktonic larvae, looking at how
related coral populations are to each other based on their genetics,
allows us to estimate whether larvae might disperse between populations
or across ocean depths – something we wouldn’t be able
to do otherwise as the larvae are too small to either tag or track
to observe where they actually go.
What will you be doing on the voyage?
On this voyage I will be collecting samples of deep-sea corals
for genetic analysis. We hope to be able to compare the genetic
diversity of corals on different seamounts in the Tasman Seamounts
reserve and understand the level of larval dispersal (or connectivity)
between different seamounts in the reserve, and also whether larvae
might disperse outside of the reserve to unprotected areas (known
as spill-over)
Where were you educated?
I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Queensland,
and my PhD at James Cook University.
How did you become interested in the ocean?
I
always had a keen interest in nature and animals specifically,
and when I was 14 I decided I was going to become a marine biologist.
I’m not really sure anymore why I made that decision – perhaps
because I’d grown up by the beach and spent so much time
swimming – but somehow I stuck to the plan and here I am!
Do you get seasick? And if so, any tips on how not to?
Not
usually – but I like to be prepared! Ginger tablets
and paw paw are supposed to be good natural antidotes.
What do you enjoy about your work?
Discovery.
Whether it be finding a new species, or working out a new way of
doing things in the lab, or working out that a species is reproducing
in a completely different way to what we’d
always thought. So little is known about so many of our marine
species - its exciting to be part of the learning adventure.
What are some of the challenges you face?
Probably
the same challenges that most scientists face – ever
dwindling resources, but an increasing demand to do things.
What have you learned/discovered? What do you hope to
learn?
I’ve learned that corals are some of the most difficult
animals to study, because they don’t seem to do anything
we’d expect them to – but that’s also what makes
them so interesting. I’m hoping that the data that we collect
on this trip will enable us to better understand the relationship
between populations on seamounts so that we are able to properly
manage and protect these amazing deep sea communities.
How do you spend your spare time?
When not doing science, my partner and I run a small vineyard – so
we don’t have much spare time at all!
