Lanna Cheng
On the open ocean lives an insect that
spends its entire life striding across the sea surface. A Scripps scientist,
Lanna Cheng, studies these elusive insects, being one of the first to pursue
this field in detail.
Cheng, an associate research biologist with the Marine Biology Research Division, started investigating the marine insects known as Halobates when she came to Scripps in 1970. She was the first scientist to capture Halobates alive at sea and bring them back for study in a laboratory.
"I knew that there were these insects in the open ocean, but very few people had investigated their lives, so, being at Scripps I was in an ideal position to begin studying them. Since one couldn't easily go out and collect samples at sea, I had to depend largely on specimens collected and sent to me by colleagues at Scripps as well as at other institutions in the United States and abroad. I suppose I helped to promote an interest in marine entomology. Before I came to Scripps the field was virtually unknown."
Although she has been collecting data on Halobates for more than 20 years, Cheng says there is still a lot to learn about their adaptations, their ability to live their entire lives on the ocean surface, and what controls their distributions. Recently, a new species found along the Australian coast was named for her by a Danish colleague-Halobates lannae.
Beyond her interest in marine entomology, Cheng is involved in studying the symbiotic relationship between an alga, Prochloron, and its marine hosts. She is also interested in applied phycology-how algae can be applied to biotechnological needs. She has published numerous articles on Halobates and other ocean surface animals, and edited Marine Insects, the only book on the subject.
Cheng has been married to Scripps marine biologist Ralph A. Lewin since 1969. When she first came to the institution it required an extra effort to establish herself as an independent scientist under her own name.
"They wanted me to use the name Lewin. I said no. Since I had published under the name Cheng, I wanted to use Cheng; although they said legally I had become Mrs. Lewin. I said, no, I'm not Dr. Lewin, in science I'm still Dr. Cheng." And finally, as the women's independence movement grew more influential, she was accepted officially as Dr. Cheng.
Cheng and her husband walk almost daily to work along the sandy beach from their nearby home to the Scripps campus. Traveling, snorkeling, and baroque music are among her other interests.
© 1995