Brittle Star Gymnastics and More Deep Sea Animal Behavior
Our Corps of Exploration loves witnessing the lives of different animals as we explore the seafloor, especially when these animals display their fascinating (and sometimes amusing) behavior. In this highlight video, watch the critters of our NA153 expedition to the ancient seamounts of the Central Pacific near Johnston Atoll put their ecological roles into action. First up is a grenadier rattail fish foraging for food with its barbels in the sediment. Follow a Parapagurid hermit crab with its zoanthid “backpack” and peek at a sea star seemingly grazing on epifauna along a dead sponge. Lastly, we have brittle star “gymnastics” as ROV Hercules records the invertebrate gracefully falling off of some delicate coral and leaving behind one of its arms (don’t worry, it will likely regenerate!)
The deep ocean waters in and around the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument remain mostly unexplored, particularly towards the northern boundary of the Johnston Unit, where we have been focusing our efforts during this expedition. Further exploration in these areas is urgently needed to address deep-water habitat scientific knowledge gaps, as a management plan is under development now for the region.
Deep Sea Biodiversity & Ancient Seamount Exploration near Johnston Atoll
In August 2023, we will return to the Central Pacific for 27 days of exploration within the Johnston Atoll Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM), starting and ending in Honolulu.
