Verena Tunnicliffe’s deep-sea discoveries transformed science

Sphaerotylus verenae is a tiny blob of sponge that will never be the featured attraction at the aquarium. It is, however, part of an ecosystem that was unknown four decades ago. And its discovery has remade our understanding of evolution on Earth, influenced our exploration of the galaxy and accelerated innovation in medical science.

Sphaerotylus verenae, like nine other underwater species, is named in honour of leading marine biologiest Verena Tunnicliffe ’75. She is the Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research at the University of Victoria, an officer of the Order of Canada and a McMaster graduate who nearly flunked out before the end of her first year.

Register for the Lager Lecture on March 22 at 7 p.m. – Discovering the Deep: Life in our last wilderness, with Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe ’75

Tunnicliffe grew up in Deep River, Ont., 600 kilometres from the ocean. When it was time to choose a university, her father steered her toward McMaster because her brother was already there.

“My father mistakenly thought that my brother would make sure I stayed on the straight and narrow,” Tunnicliffe recalls.

Initially more interested in life outside the classroom, she found her scholarly footing in her second year, leading to two summer job offers. She chose the one that would send her to the Bay of Fundy.

At the time, she had never seen the ocean.

“That just changed my life, just seeing the ocean and being given the opportunity to explore science questions that I developed myself,” she says.

Tunnicliffe worked for three summers in the Bay of Fundy, leading to opportunities in Florida and Jamaica, where the SCUBA-certified scientist fell in love with coral reefs.

Yet when she completed her PhD, universities weren’t hiring coral reef specialists. The only postdoctoral offer Tunnicliffe received came from British Columbia. When she arrived, she discovered a submersible sitting in dry dock. “I asked for a ride and fell in love,” she remembers.

Built in Vancouver by a Canadian company contracted by the Soviet Union, the submersible contained technology the U.S. government was uncomfortable selling to its opposing superpower, so Canada purchased the vehicle and, according to Tunnicliffe, “plunked it at the Institute of Ocean Sciences north of Victoria, where I found it seven years later.”

A smelly, wormy treasure trove

Drawing on her SCUBA experience, Tunnicliffe developed novel approaches to conducting research using the submersible.

One day in 1983, while exploring, she met another ship, searching for hydrothermal vents.

“I gave them a couple of rides in the sub [then] they went off to do their dredging. I left the site, but on the way back, they radioed me to say, ‘We just dredged all this smelly, wormy stuff. Do you want it?’”

The stuff gathered from the hydrothermal vents on Juan de Fuca Ridge turned out to be one of the greatest biological discoveries of the last century.

“What came out of it was a realization of how life could have originated on Earth, a whole bunch of discoveries related to microbial communities and new metabolic processes that no one had known about, which go right back to primordial conditions on this planet.”

That discovery also affected how scientists look at the potential for life on other planets, “and that’s what’s driving that mission to Mars, a mission to Europa [one of Jupiter’s moons], that search for life on other planets” she says.

Another insight it offered was into adaptations of life in extreme conditions

“You certainly are dealing with heat, toxic metals — all these things that are poison on this planet — yet life, in terms of animals and microbes, has figured out how to deal with it.”

The discovery also transformed medical science, and continues to do so.

Sequencing DNA, “which fundamentally changed medicine,” came about through discoveries of how bacteria at hydrothermal vents replicate DNA in high-temperature conditions.

And researchers are applying lessons from the biology of giant tubeworms, whose hemoglobin is exceptionally good at grabbing oxygen, to situations where human patients need to take up oxygen more efficiently.

Protecting an unfamiliar ecosystem on the ocean floor

The smelly, wormy stuff from the ocean floor was a revelation. “It’s just a fantastic realization that you have an entire ecosystem … on this planet that is completely outside our imagination,” says Tunnicliffe.

“It resonates in a way that’s not just science. It’s realizing that there are things on this planet that are hugely special, whether that’s at the bottom of the ocean or the top of a mountain, and we’re stewards of that.”

Stewardship is crucial because human beings put these ecosystems at risk. Strategic metals — including nickel and copper — are often found around hydrothermal vents, for example.

That’s why conservation must be part of decisions related to deep-sea mining, Tunnicliffe says, including understanding the distribution and sensitivity of organisms at hydrothermal vents when choosing where to mine.

Sparked in part by Tunnicliffe’s work, Canada has joined a number of nations in protecting vulnerable ocean-floor ecosystems, beginning with the Endeavour Hot Vents Marine Protected Area.

She is also pursuing research and advocacy related to climate change.

“A huge amount of CO2 is going into the oceans and that will continue … for hundreds of years to come, even if the land and air recover more rapidly,” she warns. “That’s a reality that we have to plan for.”

‘Try not to give up’

Tunnicliffe’s best advice for the generations of scientists who will follow in her footsteps is based on her own adventurous path.

“Loving what you’re doing is really important, even if you feel like there’s no future in it because you can’t see where the jobs are,” she says.

“If you’re passionate and keep your eyes open for the opportunities, usually that passion will get you to where you want to be.”

A diverse skill set makes it easier, she adds, as does a strong family life.

“It’s possible to do this stuff and have a good home life. You need relationships in your family that are incredibly supportive,” Tunnicliffe says.

“I do see young women — mostly women — giving up because they just can’t see how to fit a family into that dream. Try not to give up.”