Research and Interests
My research is on the taxonomy, feeding behavior, ecology, and distributions of surface to deep-water medusae. I am interested the behavior and ecology of this elusive and little understood group. The mid to deep-water oceanic environment is one of the least understood ecosystems on the planet. With the advent of submersibles and ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles), researchers of the past few decades have finally been able to see these animals in their own habitat. Previously, most of what was known about deep-sea organisms was the result of nets, trawls and inference, yet most of the organisms of this realm are soft-bodied and disintegrate with the truculence of the net. It is only In Situ (in its original environment) that these delicate and beautiful organisms can be understood and their role in the complex food webs of the oceanic environments resolved. Using laboratory studies, submersibles and ROVs, I look at the distribution, behaviors, and ecology of the midwater medusae all over the globe.
National Geographic, NPR, and many others have interviewed me regarding various jellies. Here is a report on a new species that was discovered.
Past Projects:
"The Hidden Ocean"- NOAA funded deep-sea ROV exploration under the Arctic ice. Summer 2002 and Summer 2005
Ecology and distributions of the Medusae of Monterey Bay California- In collaboration with MBARI.
Publications
Dawson, M.N., Alldredge, A.L., Madin, L.P., Martin, L.E., Matsumoto, G.I., Morris, A.K., Raskoff, K.A., Robison, B.H. (2024) William (Bill) M. Hamner (1939–2024). Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin. Obituary and celebration of the life of Bill Hamner.
Bentlage, B., Osborn, K., Lindsay, D., Hopcroft, R., Raskoff, K., Collins, A. (2018) Loss of metagenesis and evolution of a parasitic lifestyle in a group of open ocean jellyfish. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 124, July 2018, Pages 50-59.
Raskoff, K. A., and G. I. Matsumoto. (2015) Caveat Lector: The Perils of Critical Thinking for Today’s Students. California Classroom Science 27, No. 6.
Raskoff, K.A. (2010) Bathykorus bouilloni: a new genus and species of deep-sea jellyfish from the Arctic Ocean (Hydrozoa, Narcomedusae, Aeginidae). Zootaxa.
Raskoff, K.A., Hopcroft, R.R., Kosobokova, K.N., Purcell, J.E., Youngbluth, M. (2010) Jellies under ice: ROV observations from the Arctic 2005 Hidden Ocean Expedition. Deep Sea Research.
Raskoff, K.A., Robison, B.H. (2005) A novel mutualistic relationship between a doliolid and a cnidarian, Bythotiara dolioeques sp. nov. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
Robison, B.H., Raskoff, K.A., Sherlock, R.E. (2005) Adaptations for living deep: a new bathypelagic doliolid from the eastern North Pacific. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
Robison, B.H., Raskoff, K.A., Sherlock, R.E. (2005) Ecological substrate in midwater: Doliolula equus, a new, mesopelagic tunicate. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
Raskoff, K. A., Purcell, J. E., & Hopcroft, R. R. (2005). Gelatinous zooplankton of the Arctic Ocean: in situ observations under the ice. Polar Biology, 28, 207-217.
Hopcroft, R. R., Clarke, C., Nelson, R. J., & Raskoff, K. A. (2005). Zooplankton Communities of the Arctic's Canada Basin: the contribution by smaller taxa. Polar Biology, 28, 198-206.
Raskoff, K. A., & Matsumoto, G. I. (2004). Stellamedusa ventana, a new mesopelagic scyphomedusae from the eastern Pacific representing a new subfamily, the Stellamedusinae. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 84(4274), 1-6.
Matsumoto, G. I., Raskoff, K. A., & Lindsay, D. J. (2003). Tiburonia granrojo, n. sp., a mesopelagic scyphomedusa from the Pacific Ocean representing the type of a new subfamily (class Scyphozoa: order Semaeostomeae: family Ulmaridae: subfamily Tiburoniinae subfam. nov.). Marine Biology, 143, 73-77.
Raskoff, K. A., Sommer, F. A., Hamner, W. M., & Cross, K. (2003). Collection and Culture Techniques for Gelatinous Zooplankton. Biological Bulletin, 204, 68-80.
Raskoff, K. A. (2002). Foraging, prey capture, and gut contents of the mesopelagic narcomedusa, Solmissus spp. (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa). Marine Biology., 141, 1088-1107.
Raskoff, K. A. (2001). The impact of El Nino events on populations of mesopelagic hydromedusae. Hydrobiologia, 451, 121-129.
Raskoff, K. A. (2001). The ecology of the mesopelagic hydromedusae in Monterey Bay, California. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
Purcell, J. E., Breitburg, D. L., Decker, M. B., Graham, W. M., Youngbluth, M. J., & Raskoff, K. A. (2001). Pelagic cnidarians and ctenophores in low dissolved oxygen environments. In N. N. Rabalais & R. E. Turner (Eds.), Coastal hypoxia: consequences for living resources and ecosystems (Vol. 58, pp. 77-100). Washington, D. C.: American Geophysical Union.
Jacobs, D. K., Lee, S. E., Dawson, M. N., Staton, J. L., & Raskoff, K. A. (1998). The history of development through the evolution of molecules: gene trees, hearts, eyes and dorsoventral inversion. In R. DeSalle & B. Schierwater (Eds.), Molecular approaches to ecology and evolution (pp. 323–357). Boston: Birkhauser.
In the news:
Sept. 1, 2009: The BBC featured my photography and research in an article.
NPR featured some of my photography in 2010 here
You can here a good NPR All Things Considered radio interview with me about the Arctic Cruise here.
