[1] Following his graduation, Bussing obtained an Inter-American Cultural Convention scholarship and travelled to Costa Rica to carry out research on the ecology of fishes of the Río Puerto Viejo, Sarapiquí in Costa Rica.
One result of this research was the description of a new species, Phallichthys tico in his first paper published in 1963, the first of over 90 publications.
He taught a course in ichthyology at the Universidad de Costa Rica in 1962 and from 1963 and 1965 he worked towards his Masters on the bathypelagic fishes found off the coasts of Peru and Chile.
He undertook most expeditions with his wife, Myrna López, published some works with her too, and dedicated species to her and their children, Ilse and Erick.
[1] [2] [2] Bussing died in San Jose, Costa Rica, on November 17, 2014, of injuries sustained in a car accident.