How do Bobtail Squid choose their glowing bacterial partner?

Hi Jennifer, You can still donate but you have to actually mail a check to our lab because our crowdfunding campaign ended September 16. The adopt-a-squid program is still in effect too, so just e-mail me your details at sarahj.mack@gmail.com and I can let you know what to do if you're still interested :) Thanks! Sarah

Hi Lisa, Thanks so much :) Look for an email shortly on naming. We have international stamps too so we will most certainly ship to Canada :)

LOL yes you can! Thanks Cera!

I can certainly send one out when we publish! It might take a while though, the scientific process takes time :)

Will do!

Thanks!

Sounds good! Good luck on your exam!

Hi Codie, Would you please email me an address where we can send your squid adoption card? My e-mail is sarahj.mack@gmail.com. Thanks!

We haven't stopped yet! Trying to get that number as high as we can to maximize the amount of squid research we can fund from this campaign :)

Thanks Julianna! What would you like to name your squid? And where can I send the "squid adoption card"? (You can fb message me your address) We have international stamps all ready to go :)

you got it!

Thanks Erin! :)

Thanks, we appreciate every donation!

No problem, thanks!

Thanks Kathy!

Thank you!

Thank you! And don't lose faith in a marine bio related career!

No problem, just send you an email regarding this. :)

Thank you :)

Also, can I name my little squid Jupi? =)

Nice! My cat's name is Rupert :)

Thanks :D

Thank you! I always remember seeing my first cephalopod in the wild (Caribbean Reef Squid), it's great to see them in their natural habitat. :)

You got it!

You got it!

You got it! We have been taking pictures of our juveniles this week, so you'll get a picture via e-mail within the next few days :)

I'm going to respond to this in an e-mail if that's ok :)

You sure can! Thanks!

Hi Alex! E-mail me at Sarah.mcanulty@uconn.edu and we can set up a time that Andrea and I can show you around. Come with any questions that you have about our research and we can talk to you about whatever you'd like to know, show you the lab, and of course all the squid!

Thanks :D

Thank you!

Thanks!

Hey Allison and Drew, thank you! I don't know if you remember but I actually visited your lab for grad recruitment last year. We appreciate the support from a fellow symbiosis lab!

you got it!

Thank you! That's actually how I first learned about the symbiosis as well!

Hi Sarah! -Sparkeface will live for about 9 months to a year. That's the full life expectancy of Hawaiian bobtail squid. -Sure, we'd love to send you an adult picture of Sparkleface! Just remind us in a couple months and we'll send one over. - We're not totally sure yet, it will depend on how big sparkleface is, and the type of data I acquire between now and when he's big enough to participate. I'm sure I'll be taking some of his immune cells, but I don't know if they will go through the flow cytometer, get tagged with fluorescent proteins and photographed on the microscope, or introduced to various strains of bacteria and then observed (also under a microscope). Sorry it took so long to get back to you! The semester just started so it's been a crazy time in squidland :)

Oh and I would like to name the squiddo Kwaken Moonshine fon Ramen (also would be great if you could mention in the note that this one's a squid for Milly. Since I can't gift my friend a real marine animal, I can at least gift her a squid that exists somewhere on this planet and is named just for her). Thanks ^^

Thanks Kat! We wish you the best in your future scientific endeavors!

Sure thing, thank you!

Thank you!

Wow thanks! E-mail us an address where we can send you the print. My email is Sarah.mcanulty@uconn.edu

sure, you got it!

You got it!

I just watched that line from Finding Nemo on youtube three times in a row, thank you for reminding me of that, lol

Thank you!

We will! Thank you :)

Any day I'm studying squid is a fun day! Thanks for your help!

Thank you! We like to think it's pretty cool too :)

Thanks! We think so too :) What would you like to name your squid?

We get our some of squid from Hawaii on collecting trips about twice a year and some we raise here in the lab. Some squid are used more than once for experiments and some are only used once, it depends on the experiment we're doing that day. Many of the females we have live their whole lives out in our squid facility because another project in our lab focuses on the reproductive system and we need a fresh supply of eggs for those experiments. Those lady squid are just there to hang out, enjoy the shrimp buffet and lay eggs to their hearts content. Some experiments will require that we sacrifice the squid, but we follow humane practices as laid out by the EU's guidelines for humane treatment (there are no guidelines here in the United States for invertebrates). Squid are fully anesthetized for all procedures done here in the lab. I can post a video of the anesthetic process if you're interested!

Thanks!

You got it :)

Thank you!

Cool, that sounds like an awesome experience! Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you! We hope to apply what we learn about how squid "choose" their partner to how our own bodies "choose" the hundreds of bacteria that they do.

Got it! Thank you!

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with :)

We greatly appreciate every contribution. Thank you!

Thanks!

Thank you! We can't wait to send out the pictures!

Thanks!

Thanks Jill! What would you like to name your adult squid?

Moonbeam it is. Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you! That does sound like an awesome tour. Keep the squid-based pranks going!

Thank you! Nice choice.

And I want to name my squid Squidboots!

Thanks!

Thank you!

I call them squeegee all the time (when talking to my experimental animals...). Love it! Thanks for your support!

Thanks Julie! What would you like to name your squid?

Thanks Gavan! What would you like to name your squid?

cute name!

Lol! Nobody's taken Squilliam, it's all yours!

Thanks for your support, Cathy! I most certainly am the scientist. What would you like to name your squid?

That's awesome! Thanks Sue!

Squids forever! What would you like to name your adult squid?