Fifteen minutes. That’s all the time they have to collect their data at 500 feet. Dressed like “aquanauts,” they are the first divers to ever visit these deep coral reefs. After documenting the habitat, conducting fish surveys, and collecting potential new species, they begin their ascent. It will take six hours of decompression before being able to surface. Diving to these depths took years of preparation for Ichthyology Graduate Researcher, Tyler Phelps and his team. Each dive takes hours of preparation and extensive safety precautions to mitigate the risks in conducting their research. Join SFDI on Wednesday, June 2, at 7:30, as we take a “dive” with Tyler and hear what it’s like to explore the Twilight Zone, and learn the latest discoveries that he and his team have made in these remarkable communities.
Photo Credit: Luiz Rocha 2016 California Academy of Sciences
About Tyler Phelps
When Tyler Phelps’ parents took him for stroller walks along the Long Beach, CA peninsula, they had no idea that someday he would be diving deep below the surface. Inspired by family trips to the aquarium and his elementary school teachers, he has dreamed of becoming a marine biologist since the age of eight.
During Tyler’s college career, he balanced his love of science and scuba diving while earning a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science from the University of Hawai'i at Hilo. He created his training company, Balanced Divers, to offer private instruction as a NAUI Course Director, Technical Diving Instructor, Rebreather Instructor and DAN Instructor Trainer. Tyler has won several awards from NAUI and is a co-author of the current NAUI Master Scuba Diver and NAUI Leadership and Instruction textbooks.
While still an undergraduate student at UH Hilo, Tyler joined the Academy's dive team in 2016 and has researched coral reef fish ecology in 15 countries across 25 scientific expeditions. For his Master of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology from San Francisco State University, he investigated how community structure and ecology of fishes change across depth gradients in Micronesian coral reefs.
Today, Tyler is an Ichthyology Graduate Researcher with Cal Academy (based in San Francisco, CA), co-author of seven scientific peer-reviewed publications (including five new species descriptions) and On-Call Dive Officer for Steinhart Aquarium. Tyler's research focuses on how fish communities change and have evolved across depth gradients. He plans to pursue a Ph.D.
Tyler remains active in the diving community by co-chairing the NAUI Citizen Science Diver and NAUI Technical Rebreather training committees. He is happy to be a mentor and resource for early career marine biologists and divers. He can be contacted at tphelps@calacademy.org.