Edit: we're done! Thank you so much for talking with us!

The Antarctic continental shelf is one of the most remote and understudied marine ecosystems on earth. The seafloor here is teeming with invertebrate life: worm species large and small, microscopic molluscs, sea spiders, sea stars, and sea cucumbers, all together on the vast muddy bottom.

Most invertebrates in the Southern Ocean are unknown to science, and every expedition uncovers troves of new species and unique body types. Using new DNA sequencing technologies, scientists are also trying to piece together the unique evolutionary history of Antarctic ecosystems, and understand how polar invertebrates may be related to species in other ocean regions.

Join me and a dream team of invertebrate taxonomists and evolutionary biologists searching for new species around Eastern Antarctica. We'll start at 2pm US Eastern Time and answer your questions for the rest of the day, or until we get too tired.

• Real-time updates via WhatsApp throughout our journey: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BZwq4D7FF847sUsxTGTgHY
• Folks who answered questions today: Virginia (running this AMA- all answers are from me unless signed with someone else's name), Holly (my best friend and a neat scientist, who thought of doing an AMA), Candace, Jake, Alejandro, Andy, Nick, Emily, Chandler, Jessica, Ken, Kevin, Kyle, Will, and Victoria
• Scientist roster: https://www.icyinverts.com/participants1.html

Proof: Here's my proof!