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鈥業t should be Cephalopod Week鈥�: 56 questions with Heather Judkins

By JOHN TIPTON / USF Advancement

WITH A MIND AS AGILE as the creatures she studies, Heather Judkins, PhD 鈥�09, dives deep during our 56-question interview. An associate professor of integrative biology at USF St. Petersburg, Judkins is a marine biologist and an expert in cephalopods 鈥� octopus, squid and other sea creatures with big heads and tentacle-bejeweled arms. In 2019, she made headlines and history as part of a research team that caught a giant squid on camera in U.S. waters for the first time. It was in her back yard 鈥� the Gulf of Mexico.

Move over, 鈥淪hark Week,鈥� it鈥檚 time to shine a light on cephalopods.

Here鈥檚 an edited excerpt, or you can fully .

Q: What鈥檚 the most surprising new species you鈥檝e discovered?
Judkins: The most surprising was this deep sea squid, Bathyteuthis, a deep maroon squid. We thought we had one new species, but we found out we had three new species.

Q: What do you find most challenging during an expedition?
Judkins: We go out to sea for a couple of weeks at a time. Weather is obviously a challenge. We sometimes have to skirt around storms and hurricanes.

Q: What鈥檚 the most fascinating thing you鈥檝e seen in the deep?
Judkins: We have lots of really cool biodiversity. We collect fishes, jellyfish, squids, octopus, crustaceans, and we鈥檙e looking at the biodiversity. Who鈥檚 found in the water column? Where? What are they eating? Are there contaminants impacting these groups?

Q: What do you hope to change while studying biodiversity in the Gulf?
Judkins: We鈥檝e been doing this project since the BP oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexicoin 2010. We鈥檙e hoping our work is going to better inform what goes on the next time an oil spill occurs.

Q: What鈥檚 the best way people can help the ocean?
Judkins: There is a lot of evidence that what we鈥檙e doing on land is actually translating to what goes on in the ocean. Anything that could be done to reduce pollution, reduce plastics, reduce trash going into landfills.

Q: What is one thing you experienced recently that you found motivating?
Judkins: I got the chance to see Jane Goodall. This woman is 89 years old and she stood there and talked to us for two hours about her work. I looked at my friend and I was like, 鈥業 hope when I鈥檓 89 my passion is still so great.鈥�

Q: Advice for aspiring marine scientists?
Judkins: Whether they are a third-grader, a high-schooler, an undergraduate, I would tell them to get out and explore. Volunteer or intern somewhere. The broader their experiences, the better they鈥檒l be able to hone in on what they鈥檙e truly passionate about.

Q: Tell us about your first experience examining a squid.
Judkins: It was actually an octopus, which are notoriously difficult to identify. Mike Vecchione, my co-advisor, is sitting over my shoulder. I鈥檓 looking at this key and I cannot identify this octopus. I鈥檓 like, 鈥榃hat the heck? Who wrote the key?鈥� And Mike says very casually behind me, 鈥業 wrote this whole book.鈥� So that was embarrassing. He was very cool and casual about it like, 鈥榊ep. They鈥檙e really difficult to identify.鈥�

Q: How many octopus and squid have you examined?
Judkins: It鈥檚 literally 20,000ish. I have about 13,000 cephalopods I have studied as part of my work with the DEEPEND Consortium.

Q: This or that. Would you rather live in the past or the future?
Judkins: I am going say live in the past.

Q: Who would you want to meet in the past?
Judkins: Historical oceanography folks. Ones that built the first collection bottles, who discovered the deep sea first.

Q: Capt. Nemo or Capt. Jack Sparrow?
Judkins: I鈥檓 going Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Q: Summer or winter?
Judkins: Neither in 91社区. Fall in New England.

Q: Between the book and the movie, 鈥�20,000 Leagues Under the Sea鈥�?
Judkins: The book. Of course.

Q. First thing that comes to mind. Your favorite book?
Judkins: 鈥淥ld Man and the Sea鈥� by Ernest Hemingway.

Q: 鈥淪hark Week鈥�?
Judkins: I think it should be 鈥淐ephalopod Week.鈥�

Q: While at sea, what鈥檚 your go-to snack?
Judkins: A granola bar. We have to get up at really weird times, so at 2 a.m. a granola bar usually hits the spot. With a Diet Coke.

Q: Favorite childhood toy?
Judkins: My bike. You could go explore anywhere.

Q: Childhood celebrity crush?
Judkins: Andre Agassi.

Q: All-time favorite movie?
Judkins: 鈥淪pace Balls.鈥� In honor of my brother. It鈥檚 our favorite movie.

Q: Favorite deep-sea creature?
Judkins: The giant squid. Let鈥檚 go for obvious.

Q: When you鈥檙e on a research cruise, what do you do to kill time?
Judkins: We sleep! Our shifts are six hours on, six hours off for two weeks. So when the nets go down, I am taking a nap.

Q: What鈥檚 your favorite movie in which there鈥檚 a boat involved?
Judkins: 鈥淛aws.鈥�

Q: What is the most random sea life fact you know?
Judkins: An adult parrotfish poops one ton of sand per year.

Q: If you could be any sea creature, what would you be?
Judkins: A tuna, because I can go in deep and shallow water and I can cross oceans.

Q: What鈥檚 one thing you do daily that makes you happy?
Judkins: Come to work at USF St. Pete.

Q: What did you want to be growing up?
Judkins: A marine biologist. I thought I was going to work with Jacques Cousteau.

Q: Do you eat seafood yourself?
Judkins: I do eat seafood.

Q: What鈥檚 your favorite seafood dish?
Judkins: It might be calamari actually, which is squid. As long as it鈥檚 cooked properly, it鈥檚 delicious.