ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Alejandro Damian-Serrano is an author on ‘ Colonial architecture modulates the speed and efficiency of multi-jet swimming in salp colonies’, published in JEB. Alejandro conducted the research described in this article while a postdoc in Kelly R. Sutherland's lab at the University of Oregon, USA. Alejandro is a comparative naturalist interested in the differences in functional morphology, ecology and natural history between species.
Alejandro Damian-Serrano
How did you become interested in biology?
I have always been an avid naturalist for the weird and underappreciated creatures of the world. As a teenager, I started SCUBA diving and discovered the astonishing oddity and diversity of marine invertebrates, which soon became my passion. I became fascinated by the diversity of forms and behaviors among open-ocean invertebrates. While marine vertebrates are fast, smart, robust and successful as torpedoes with a frontal mouth, there are many equally successful animals that are weak, slow, small, soft and delicate – living in the daunting, vast, structureless void of the midwater. I decided to become a biologist to study how evolution has produced these extremely creative and fascinating ways of surviving in this environment.
Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus
During my undergraduate years at Universidad Católica de Valencia, Spain, I worked on a project focused on jeweled squid beak morphometrics that took me to presenting at my first scientific conference. For my senior thesis, I applied for a Mundus scholarship to travel to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA, for a 6 month internship working in the Haddock Lab on my first broadly comparative research project on the evolution of body plans and prey-capture strategies in ctenophores. Here, I was exposed for the first time to deep midwater exploration technology such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and I learned the basics of working with phylogenies. After a couple years back in Spain working as a post-bac on deep-sea zooplankton identification and imaging, I applied for a Fulbright scholarship to carry out my PhD with Dr Casey Dunn at Yale University, USA, on the evolution of siphonophore tentacle morphology and predatory specialization. This research involved many field trips of blue water scientific diving and ROV dives off Hawaii and California. After graduating from Yale, I joined the Sutherland Lab at the University of Oregon to apply my comparative focus to a different swathe of fascinating functional diversity among gelatinous zooplankton, focusing on salp colonial architecture and locomotion. I worked on several papers detailing the development, evolution and biomechanical underpinnings of this diversity, through long hours of imaging and experiments in the field following blue water and blackwater (nocturnal) open ocean scientific diving off Hawaii.
How would you explain the main findings of your paper to a member of the public?
Our research explored the impact of the arrangement of salp colonies on their swimming speed and efficiency. Salps form colonies made up of multiple jet-propelled individuals with specific shapes, such as linear, spiral and clustered arrangements. Our study revealed that linear colonies can move more quickly through the water while using less energy. These findings highlight the importance of propeller arrangement for underwater vehicle design and soft robotics. We hope our research on the diversity of salp colony shapes may inspire future engineering efforts.
Alejandro Damian-Serrano during a nocturnal scientific SCUBA dive off the coast of Kona (HI), facing a mature solitary salp oozooid of the species Thetys vagina brooding a developing blastozooid colony. The usual size of the jars utilized to collect specimens underwater was no match for the sheer sizer of this gelatinous giant.
Alejandro Damian-Serrano during a nocturnal scientific SCUBA dive off the coast of Kona (HI), facing a mature solitary salp oozooid of the species Thetys vagina brooding a developing blastozooid colony. The usual size of the jars utilized to collect specimens underwater was no match for the sheer sizer of this gelatinous giant.
What do you enjoy most about research, and why?
My favorite part about research is the exploration and discovery phase, meeting the animals I am studying down in their habitat via SCUBA diving or watching the live feed of a remotely operated submersible, letting my observations of their natural history drive the questions that will later become papers. I enjoy working with live and preserved animals, both in the field and in a museum setting. I thrive in the wet lab and microscopy work, and the whole journey that leads to the first preliminary answers to satiate my curiosity.
What is your favourite animal, and why?
I have many favorite animals that make it hard to choose from, all denizens of the open ocean midwater. If I had to pick just one group, I think it would be hyperiid amphipods. These crustaceans not only have extraordinarily developed eyes but their life histories almost always involve riding (and/or consuming) each of my other favorite animal groups – gelatinous zooplankters such as salps, ctenophores, siphonophores and medusae. They are like the astronauts on the biological spaceships that roam in the inner space of the ocean.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I love to practice nomadic-style archery, an ancient martial art derived from horseback archery from the Hun, Mongol and Magyar traditions. The focus is much more centered on versatility and speed, being able to shoot forward, backwards and sideways while running. I craft and repair my own arrows too. I also enjoy reading fiction – especially LitRPG novels, playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends, hiking, tubing down rivers, dancing salsa, singing karaoke and playing musical instruments such as piano and ukulele.
Alejandro Damian-Serrano's contact details: Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 473 Onyx Bridge, 5289 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5289, USA.
E-mail: [email protected]
