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mbari-blog · 3 days
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These deep-dwelling fish can see through their own foreheads.⁠
Even in a world full of adaptations for seeing in near-total darkness, the barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) stands out as one of the most bizarre. Two small indentations where eyes might normally appear on a fish are actually the barreleye’s olfactory organs, and its eyes are two glowing green orbs behind its face that gaze up towards the top of its head.⁠ ⁠ In 2009, MBARI researchers showed that the fish can rotate its eyes towards the front to see its food when eating. Before that, scientists believed that the barreleye’s gaze was fixed looking straight up. Researchers think that the fish hovers below a siphonophore’s tentacles to steal food.⁠
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mbari-blog · 13 days
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Spectacular seafloor finds. 💜
This is Psychropotes longicauda, one of the sea cucumber species commonly observed at MBARI’s research site Station M. These sea cucumbers grow from 75 to 150 millimeters (three to six inches) long and feed on detritus that drifts down from surface waters. This group of sea cucumbers is found worldwide in very deep waters ranging from 2,000 to 6,000 meters (6,560 to 19,685 feet). Although they have the ability to swim, researchers aren’t exactly sure what the large fin is used for in this species.
Long-term studies at Station M have revealed that this species of sea cucumber seems to prefer eating older detritus that has been partially decomposed by bacteria. The observations made over the last three decades of research at Station M provide a glimpse into the dynamics of life on the ocean floor.
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mbari-blog · 14 days
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Meet MBARI: The Video Lab is the team at the heart of our stunning deep-sea video
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In 36 years of deep-sea discoveries, MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles have completed more than 7,300 successful dives and recorded approximately 29,000 hours of deep-sea footage. The MBARI Video Lab team is at the heart of this treasure trove of visual data. This video archive includes more than 10 million observations about what we see on video—animals, behaviors, interactions, geological features, marine debris, and more—along with location, depth, and surrounding habitat characteristics.
Video is a powerful tool for studying the ocean. Cameras on MBARI’s advanced underwater robots help our scientists discover remarkable new species, describe communities, and assess ocean health. We’ve amassed a unique archive of deep-sea video that’s essential for research groups across the institute and beyond. The Video Lab’s deep-sea experts comb through thousands of hours of footage with eagle eyes to identify and label animals and objects we film.
MBARI’s video library is a rich repository for education and outreach too. The Video Lab works closely with the Science Communication Team to produce videos and create other content that utilizes these invaluable archives to tell compelling stories about our research.
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mbari-blog · 21 days
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One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish
This deep-sea anglerfish is Chaunacops coloratus, related to one of the new species recently found in Chile on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s #SEPacificSeamounts expedition. In 2012 MBARI researchers were the first to publish observations of these rare fish in their natural, deep-sea habitat. In addition to documenting these fish walking on the seafloor and fishing with their built-in lures, the researchers discovered that the fish change color from blue to red as they get older.
C. coloratus was first described from a single specimen collected off the coast of Panama during an expedition in 1891. However, for over 100 years, marine researchers collected deep-sea fish using trawl nets and dredges, so this anglerfish was never seen alive. That changed in 2002, when researchers from MBARI, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary used the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Tiburon to explore Davidson Seamount—an extinct volcano off the coast of Central California.
As a result of MBARI’s ROV observations, researchers also learned that C. coloratus can live as deep as 3,300 meters (11,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface. Given the great depths these fish inhabit, it is no surprise that they had never before been seen alive. It is a testament to the usefulness of ROVs, which have provided marine scientists with a new window into the deep sea. MBARI has pioneered the use of ROVs to study animals, discover new species, document previously unknown behaviors, and collect individuals in their native habitat.
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mbari-blog · 22 days
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I spy with my little eye something giant floating in the deep.⁠
The bell of this deep-sea denizen is more than one meter (3.3 feet) across and trails four ribbon-like arms that can grow more than 10 meters (33 feet) in length. Their depth range is the surface to 6,700 meters (4 miles) deep. MBARI’s ROVs have logged thousands of dives, yet we have only seen this spectacular species nine times. ⁠ ⁠
The giant phantom jelly was first collected in 1899. Since then, scientists have only encountered this animal about 100 times. It appears to have a worldwide distribution and has been recorded in all ocean basins except for the Arctic. The challenges of accessing its deep-water habitat contribute to the relative scarcity of sightings for such a large and broadly distributed species.
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mbari-blog · 24 days
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This curious critter is a worm like no other: The pigbutt worm
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Bobbing along in ocean currents a half mile below the surface is a worm like no other. Our team first spotted the unusual pigbutt worm (Chaetopterus pugaporcinus) in 2001 and had a tough time determining how to categorize such a curious critter. Working closely with our collaborators, DNA analysis eventually confirmed we had encountered a new species of bristle worm that drifts through the midwater instead of living on the seafloor.
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Over the last two decades, these worms have only been observed in Monterey Bay and a few near the Channel Islands off the southern California coast. This little worm is about the size of a hazelnut, and even using our high-resolution cameras, it took the eagle eyes of our expert biologists to spot these miniature orbs in the massive ocean. Our skilled submersible pilots were able to gently sample them and transport them back to the ship alive for detailed examination.
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Chaetopterus pugaporcinus casts out a web of snot to capture bits of organic material called marine snow to eat. Mucus is a useful substance for snaring food in the deep sea where it may be sparse. Numerous other animals get their nutrition this way too. Animals of all shapes and sizes in the ocean perform an essential climate service by taking up excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and transporting it deep in the ocean. These assorted midwater mucous-feeders help repackage carbon to sink more rapidly to hungry seafloor communities.
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mbari-blog · 26 days
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Ready to embrace the sea-crets of the deep?
Uncover your enchanting aquatic alter ego by taking our new deep-sea personality quiz here!
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Thank you MBARI for the deep-sea footage!
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mbari-blog · 1 month
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Meet Helicocranchia, the piglet squid.
This species is found throughout the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans and, in the Atlantic Ocean, in north temperate waters. Their mantle reaches a maximum size of 10 centimeters (nearly four inches). Like other glass squids, they covered in tiny pigment sacs called chromatophores. They often keep their chromatophores closed so their skin is basically see through. This invisibility cloak hides them from both predators and prey.
Glass squids have a large internal cavity they fill with ammonium, a chemical that is lighter than seawater. Building a more buoyant body means the squid does not have to swim as hard to stay afloat. They maneuver slowly through the midwater with their fins, constantly on the lookout for danger or a delicious meal.
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mbari-blog · 1 month
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Red siphonophore (Marrus claudanielis)
Meet Marrus claudanielis, the red siphonophore. These siphonophores have a maximum size of 30cm (12in). Like many siphonophores, Marrus live their entire lives swimming and never touching the seafloor. They are found between 500m (1,640ft) and 1,500m (4,920ft) deep.
Red siphonophores capture prey with a curtain of potent stinging cells. They are ethereal and delicate organisms, readily jettisoning body parts when threatened. The cast-off swimming bells are bioluminescent and likely function to confuse predators, but this trait also makes them particularly challenging to study. This species was first described by MBARI researchers and their collaborators using ROV video observations and careful collections.
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mbari-blog · 1 month
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What's not to love about the bloody-belly comb jelly?
Its crimson colors and dazzling diffraction have us swooning all year long. 😍😍😍
🎥: Deepest thanks to our research partners @mbari_news for the deep-sea footage!
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mbari-blog · 1 month
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Our love for the ocean runs deep. ❤️
Bloody-belly comb jellies are ctenophores. Like other comb jellies they navigate through the water by beating their shimmering hair like cilia. The sparkling display we see in this video clip comes from light diffracting from these tiny transparent cilia.
At the depths where this comb jelly lives it’s nearly invisible to predators and prey because the color red appears black and allows the animal to blend into the dark background. These twilight zone treasures are found in the North Pacific Ocean and measure about 6 inches across. You can see one for yourself on display @montereybayaquarium .
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mbari-blog · 1 month
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Meet the salp chain
Salps are gelatinous animals that live in the open ocean, but are closely related to the "sea squirts" (tunicates) seen in tidepools. Colonial salps often form long chains, with new animals budding off from others in the chain. They can reach up to 15m long and are one of the fastest-growing animals on the planet. Salps rhythmically contract their bodies to propel themselves through the ocean and pump water through their guts, filtering out microscopic algae and other tiny organisms for food. They play an essential role in mitigating climate change as their fecal pellets are full of carbon and sink rapidly to the sea floor, sequestering that carbon for decades or even centuries to come.
The salp chain  you see here is the rarely observed, Helicosalpa virgula. It was captured on camera by our remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts 282 meters (925 feet) deep.
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mbari-blog · 2 months
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Deep-sea siphonophore
Siphonophores are gelatinous animals composed of specialized parts growing together in a chain. Each part (zooid) is structurally similar to other solitary animals, but the zooids are all attached to each other rather than living independently.
This siphonophore, Erenna richardi, can be identified by the massive clusters of tentilla (the side branches of the tentacle) at the end of the tail (siphosome). In Monterey Bay, this species has been observed at average depths of about 1,100 meters (3,600 feet). These siphonophores are armed with a battery of powerful stinging tentacles and researchers have seen them ensnaring fish just above the seafloor.⁠ ⁠ Historically, gelatinous animals have been challenging to study. Their delicate nature makes them difficult to collect, especially from the ocean’s depths. By using deep-diving robots—remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs—MBARI and our collaborators are revealing the dazzling diversity of delicate drifters that lies beneath the surface.
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mbari-blog · 2 months
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On Wednesdays we wear pink
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mbari-blog · 2 months
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Giants lurk in the ocean’s mysterious midwaters.
While surveying the Gumdrop Seamount off the central California coast in 1998, MBARI staff spotted an unusual—and exceptionally large—jelly. This crimson creature was a full meter across. Unlike jellies that dwell near the ocean’s surface, this one didn’t have tentacles. Instead, a cluster of finger-like oral arms dangled beneath its bulky bell.
A closer look confirmed this was a new species—and one that had actually eluded our scientists five years earlier. Detailed video observations captured by our robotic submersibles helped MBARI researcher George Matsumoto and his colleagues in California and Japan formally describe this unusual jelly. They named it Tiburonia granrojo in honor of MBARI’s now-retired remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Tiburon, which was instrumental in documenting this delicate drifter in its natural environment.
Scientists have since spotted this jelly across the Pacific Ocean, from Baja California to Hawaii to Japan. That something so big remained undiscovered for so long shows how little we’ve explored the deep sea—and what more must be out there waiting to be found.
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mbari-blog · 2 months
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You’ve heard of the itsy bitsy spider, now meet the giant sea spider. 🕷️
Like spiders on land, sea spiders—also known as pycnogonids—come in a range of sizes and appearances. They’re widespread and occur across a variety of ocean environments. The deep sea is home to the giant sea spider (Colossendeis sp.), which can grow larger than a dinner plate. This spindly spider lumbers along the seafloor on jointed, stilt-like legs.
Instead of spinning a delicate web of silk to trap prey, a giant sea spider uses an elongate, tube-like proboscis to slurp up its prey. While studying the unique communities that form around decomposing whale carcasses on the deep seafloor, MBARI researchers observed a giant sea spider crouched over and clinging to the fleshy tentacle of a pom-pom anemone (Liponema brevicorne). Upon closer inspection, the sea spider was actually sucking out the juices inside the tentacle. Another sea spider was even observed clipping a couple of tentacles and taking its dinner to go!
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mbari-blog · 2 months
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Deep-sea mom life
For decades, marine biologists assumed that all squids laid their eggs in clusters on the seafloor, where the eggs developed and hatched without any help from their parents. However, MBARI scientists discovered that some female deep-sea squid, like this Gonatus onyx, brood their eggs by carrying them between their arms until the young hatch and swim away. ⁠ ⁠ Gonatus females will have approximately 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in a sheath between their arms for as long as nine months. During this time they are unable to feed and must rely on stored fats from previous meals. This observation of the first known parental care behavior by squid was also an important discovery made possible by the use of MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles.
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