Staff Profile

Johanna Weston in the Alvin submersible hatch waving

Johanna Weston

Preferred Name: Johanna Weston

Marine Ecologist and Invertebrate Biologist

Guest Investigator

Biology

Email: johanna.weston@whoi.edu

Phone: 508 289 3902

Office: Remote 

Address:
 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,   Mail Stop 33
266 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543

Education

  • Ph.D. in Marine Science, Newcastle University (UK), 2021

  • M.S. in Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2011

  • B.S. in Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Dallas, 2008

Research Statement

Johanna Weston is a deep-ocean ecologist whose research focuses on the biodiversity, connectivity, and functioning of “island-like” ecosystems, from submarine canyons to trenches deeper than 6,000 meters. She is passionate about telling research-driven stories about benthic invertebrates with outsized ecological roles, focusing on how life persists in extreme environments, how processes link the surface ocean to the deep seafloor, and how these unique ecosystems contribute to planetary resilience. Thus far, she has participated in eight international research expeditions and described nine new species to science, including organisms from hadal depths. During her time as postdoc investigator, she collaborated at WHOI’s DeepTech and led the invention of a novel sampler to collect larvae from any ocean depth (and lovingly named it DeepZoo). Her work integrates field discovery, genomics, and engineering to build foundational knowledge of deep-ocean ecosystems, make deep-ocean science more accessible, and inform conservation and responsible ocean stewardship.

Five Favorite Papers. For all papers check out my Google Scholar.

  1. Description of Eurythenes plasticus: Weston JNJ, Carrillo-Barragan P, Linley TD, Reid WDK, Jamieson AJ. (2020) New species of Eurythenes from hadal depths of the Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Zootaxa. 4748(1): 163-181. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4748.1.9
  2. Non-subduction hadal depth features can host hadal communities: Weston JNJ, Peart RA, Stewart HA, Ritchie H, Piertney SB, Linley TD, Jamieson AJ. (2021) Scavenging amphipods from the Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone: Extending the hadal paradigm beyond subduction trenches. Marine Biology 168(1): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03798-4
  3. Species at hadal features are on separate evolutionary trajectories: Weston JNJ, Jensen EL, Hasoon MR, Kitson JNJ, Stewart HA, Jamieson AJJ. (2022) Barriers to gene flow in the deepest ocean ecosystem: Evidence from global population genomics of a cosmopolitan amphipod. Science Advances 8 (43): 1- 14. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo6672
  4. How an isopod specializes on Sargassum sunken 6000 m: Peoples LM=, Gerringer ME=, Weston JNJ=, Leon-Zayas R, Sekarore A, Sheehan G, Church MJ, Michel APM, Soule SA, Shank TM. (2024) A deep-sea isopod that consumes Sargassum sinking from the ocean’s surface. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 291(2030). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0823
  5. Inactive hydrothermal vents host unique and endemic invertebrate communities: Mullineaux LM, Beaulieu SE, Mills SW, Jones R, Weston JNJ, Best AC, Zúñiga Mouret R, Meneses MJ, Tivey MK, Harris MJ, Achberger AM, Sylvan JB. (2025) Unique gastropod community dominates fauna on inactive vent sulfide features in the eastern Pacific. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 219, 104475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2025.104475

Deep-Ocean Engagement

Research in the Media

Blog Posts