Malinda Fitzgerald and Trey Brown visited the Gulf Coast Research Lab, located in Ocean Springs, MS, near Biloxi. While there, they collected plankton and trawl samples. The biota in marine environments is much richer than freshwater environments. Among the phyla that are found in marine habitats is the Ctenophora, or sea walnuts. These creatures are abundant in the estuary near the Gulf Coast, and many are bioluminescent.
All ctenophores are predators, and most are nearly transparent.
Ctenophores can be major predators upon larval fish and other zooplankton, at times playing major roles in estuarine ecology. Biology of the Invertebrates, fourth edition, McGraw Hill Higher Education. When the group returned from the Gulf Coast Research Lab, Dr. Fitzgerald discovered a bottle containing some live ctenophores, one of which is shown below. Research has demonstrated that students with specific personality styles tend to choose particular professions. Research has demonstrated that students with specific personality styles tend to choose particular professions.