What the hectopus?

In the wee hours of this morning, half of our group set out from
Bol'shie Koty on the cutter Kozhov to begin to gather data for our field
experiment. We travelled about a mile offshore, where the Golomyanka
swim up at night to feed. The boys dropped the net off the back of the
boat, and at around 2 A.M. we began to pick tiny Golomyanka and
Macrohectopus out of the net. We caught tons of Macrohectopus, which we
put in tiny containers and preserved (appropriately) with vodka. The
fourth time we brought up the net, we found--complete with a few
delighted squeals--15 golomyanka, including two adults. We stayed out
until 4 A.M.; a few of us got motion sickness, everyone got cold, but I
think we all had a pretty fun time.
Today, we were vistited by Lyudmila Bol'shikova, a park ranger at the
Pribaikalskii National park, who gave an fantastic lecture on the
importance of preserving the Baikal ecosystem. During the talk, we also
learned about Olkhon Island, a sacred island to Buryat shamans who still
practice religious rituals there. Next week, we will be visiting the
island, so we are very much anticipating the magical effect we have been
told we will receive from stepping on such sacred land.

Rebecca and Alexandra