2021 Faculty in the Field: Skin Care
Chelsea Bennice, Ph.D., Assistant to the Director of the ASCEND Program,
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Octopuses, dubbed as masters of disguise, can change their skin color and skin texture in a blink of an eye! But, what else may this smart skin be important for? Current research at FAU鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences is taking a deep dive in examining the bacterial community (aka microbiome) of the octopus鈥檚 skin. Scientific SCUBA dives are conducted in FAU鈥檚 backyard (Lake Worth Lagoon) to temporarily bring octopuses on board the floating lab, swab their skin for a bacteria sample, and release them back to sea. This unique set of bacteria could play an important role in keeping octopuses, a key player in many marine food webs, healthy.
