Seamounts are underwater mountains that rise from the abyssal plain and create unique hard-bottom habitats supporting diverse marine communities, including sponges, amphipods, and other filter-feeding organisms; these ecosystems are classified as Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) due to their rich biodiversity and susceptibility to fishing activities, making scientific exploration essential for understanding and protecting deep-sea biodiversity.
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DEEP ARCTIC Divestream // 26.05.2026 (Boytsov)Added:
Okay.
Oops.
So for now you want to keep the >> Yeah, just some slack just so we can cover the whole north that should give us enough to turn it Yeah.
>> So, good morning everybody. This is Sergy and An Helena greeting you from the Bits of Seamount in the along the mid o Arctic mid ocean ridge.
Today we are at about 74° north.
>> Can we start recording?
>> Yes, we can start recording.
And we are um at 2,400 m depth >> and the water temperature >> we have just started recording >> again -0.6°.
>> Okay, copy that. We are back on the western side of the ridge >> and we are on one of sort of three in a row known seam mounts here at the southern part of the uh Kipovich ridge.
So when you saw that map in the very beginning when you look at the basmmetry the Arctic mid ocean ridge makes sort of like an angle almost a 90° angle and we are now north of that angle a little bit north and everything north of that angle is the Kipovich ridge until it goes into the Arctic Ocean and becomes the Gutidge of it as well. Yes.
South of that, the one that goes more east west is the Moon's Ridge where we have been earlier this cruise.
So here we are on the highest of um this tri um three uh seamounts up. So we have the Bits of Seamount and now we have started at the bottom of the Bits of Seamount. So we are going to climb it.
Uh so we start now at around 2,400 and the top which we hope to reach later today is at 965 m below sea level.
Nearos are also the Dibner seam mount which reaches 990 m below sea level and the Shea Cove seam mount which also reaches 990 m below sea level. So this reaches like 30 something m higher than those two other seamounts and all of these three seamounts are >> relatively unknown. So, this is going to be um a nice exciting dive for all, I hope.
Um they were discovered in 1972.
That's a long time ago, but uh since then they haven't really been explored.
So, um that's what we're doing today.
>> Mhm. a little bit of an unknown area >> and that's what we can find very often in the deep sea.
>> Most of the deep sea is unknown and >> it's like >> that's part of Yeah, that's where we're going now.
>> Look at that beautiful pink amphipod swimming by >> Are you looking at the sponges already?
>> What else? Yeah, I saw the alphabet, too. So, it's quite muddy. Uh, we just started this dive, one of the deepest we had so far.
>> Yeah. And we are at the start of the mountain. So, it's sort of rising up from the um um abyssal plane in many ways.
And as you can see, the abyssal plane is also full of little life.
It's maybe hard to see the big stunning secrets of it, but when we sample with sleds and stuff here or box course, we find lots of beautiful things as well.
So, don't let this um >> don't look don't let this beige area just fool you.
I think that was another um jellyfish. Yeah, it >> could be clearly.
>> Oh yeah, there's some stopped.
>> This is now right in the middle of the lasers.
>> We are back in the stopped koids areas.
>> See, they have the similar color with the background. It's quite difficult to spot them.
>> But when you start seeing them, you see them all over because they're everybody.
Yes, they are all over the place. These beautiful organisms mostly from deeper waters.
Suddenly to see some rocks too with uh our pretty well known that you see just just beside the the lasers spaghetti light, right?
>> Yeah. And before we started the live stream today, I have to say Sergy already had his first sample of >> Lizard and Doris.
>> Because Sergy, as those of you who have followed us now, you know already that he is a Lissodendor fan.
>> This is a species that is very widespread in this area. And that is strange because it's a brooder.
>> Mhm. So Sergey samples all of these to find the genetic distances between the different populations and to find out if there is a reason why they're so widespread even though as brooders they can't really spread easily because they don't have larae or anything like that floating around in the water.
>> Yeah.
So, we started right at the base of the mountain >> and we're immediately starting our climb >> and I guess we're in for a lot of um slightly sedimented hard bottom cryoid in there. One of these three leading ones.
This is small sponges that you see.
>> Yeah. I was wondering what these white things are.
>> Yeah.
For that we need um >> are they the >> I'm still um out. And this is well I think it's a cop sponge.
>> I put exact or glass sponge. And there is a fish >> indeed >> with a dark head and a lighter tail.
>> I've seen a bunch of them already.
>> Yeah, they are elegant.
They're just standing there waving their tail, right? Here I am.
>> Do you think this is >> just a rock with this color?
>> It might be just a rock.
>> Yeah, >> but I saw Yeah. What do you think?
>> Well, I see amphipods hopping on the ground there, so I am happy.
>> I think it's a rock though.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
Yeah. Continue doing more.
>> But we see this this landscape is already here sort of volcanic, right? old volcanic and Mother.
Now buddy, now I I can stop when he's moving.
>> Okay.
>> What more favor do you choose?
>> Disappear in the moment.
>> Oh, yeah. I just touch.
>> So, we're going right next to the cliff and we have to just move ourself a little bit so we don't crash into it.
>> Good here.
>> Yeah, it's good.
>> You just want me to continue upd?
>> Yes, >> let's do that.
>> Yeah, there'll be other places where we can >> Yes.
>> have a closer look at.
So this region is like a uh really rocky but there's also lots of sediment fine sediment that are removed or like put it into the water column when the ROV gets too close.
>> Yeah. Then we need to use the thrusters a little bit to control that we are not crashing into the seaw wall. And then we disturb the um sedimentation at that little point. And that's what we're seeing now. But we're slowly climbing up and we're seeing that the cloud is going away.
>> Okay. To go again.
So there's some lots of >> rotate a little bit.
>> And sea star.
>> And just to remind you all that the uh lasers, the two red dots are exactly 10 cm apart. So that's how you can decide size of things here.
>> So yesterday we were seeing that in these vertical walls. They were like a um mainly this hodia parva species this round um potato shape or I mean with a greenish um brownish color that were carpeting almost everything. We don't find it now this species but we found Yeah. So, >> so we do see a different fauna than yesterday.
>> Yeah, definitely.
>> Yesterday we didn't see almost any kryinoids and we had completely different or not completely but quite different sponge >> community.
And here we have kryoids on every single ledge.
And um >> just saw this um which is one of these um huge >> um jarl like sponges with the brown color. Oh you you see here >> is that another the big thing there the the thing we have been calling the brown asma >> previously >> I think this is the meatriala >> mega atriala.
>> Okay. half a meter.
>> Oh yeah, beautiful >> huge organism that that one >> and in general really big ones the asynone >> that we find we found >> across all the dives. Some of these organisms can probably be like I don't know 200 years.
>> Yeah. Because how slow do they they they grow really slow, right?
>> Really slow.
>> That's the half >> the general thing here in the very cold waters. burning off.
>> Yeah. Um slower.
>> It's slow.
>> We um >> slower.
>> We have very slow growth. And if we look at the size of offspring, that is also quite often relatively large because they're relatively few.
So those that make if we compare them to more tropical species, uh our the same groups here would be slightly larger but grow super slow and become lots older and have fewer offspring.
Yeah.
So why are we visiting these seamounts um that are unknown? So seamounts in general are listed as areas of vulnerable marine ecosystems because we do know that the seam mounts since they're sticking out of the abyssal plane to some larger or smaller extent >> they are these uh areas of hard enough for the live streaming.
>> Um that can support a lot of filtering animals. And these animals will tend to live more on not only because it's hard bottom but also because it raises off the uh abyssal plane these seamounts and um they are sort of in the way of of the uh general currents that are in the ocean and so they create a lot of extra little eddies and curls and swirls and all of those things. So they get a quite interesting current system with the result of lots of extra access to the available food in the water. So very many filtering organisms will live on these um hard bottom things that stick out of the ocean. So, a seam mount is uh always higher than 1,000 m from where it starts at the abyssal plane and where the top is.
And um so at least if they're recognized and this filtering cesile fauna so fauna that just sits still in one place >> are quite often making habitats for other fauna again.
So these seamounts most often become like little oasis.
And that's not to say that the abyssal plane is a desert because we've talked about that many times. The abyssal plane and the soft uh the soft sediment is full of life.
But it's a different fistic habitat >> on these seamounts.
>> Um and very very rich and full of animals that because they are needing to sit on one place to be set up uh they are quite vulnerable to things like bottom trolling and stuff. Yeah.
>> And the thing about seamounts is that because they have all of this um cesile fauna >> also especially maybe on their tops >> they are uh attracting a lot of fish and stuff. So from a long time before we knew that they were seamounts a lot of fishers would know that there would be extra much fish around these areas. So there would be these places in the ocean where there would be a lot of fish >> and we're now seeing quite often that these have seen under them.
>> Yeah.
>> So they're vulnerable to >> fishing activities and um through that are listed very often as um vulnerable marine ecosystems.
>> So we're going to do Oops.
Once we get stable sampling.
>> Uh-huh.
>> We're just getting just trying to get >> Did you want to get another list of one here and one here?
>> Ah, this one here.
>> So, Sergy is right on the uh sampling.
And this is of course why we are here.
We are here to study the marine biology in this area. to study the ecosystems and to understand them because if we don't study and understand them there is no possibility of making informed choices for anybody. We need to be able to >> tell the people who are making those choices what we need to give them proper scientific basis so that they can hopefully make some good choices. Right.
>> Mhm. It's not just identifying which is the founder which are the names of the different species that occur at different mimetical ranges and in different um seamounts. We are also here to try to identify which are the connectivity patterns how well connect connected or if they're connected or they are isolated in between different mounts these species uh and also across different u biomedical ranges and in order to do that the only way to do that is just collecting a few samples. We are like um uh we have already identified one of these model species that is going to give us some some of the ideas about these connectivity patterns. And uh this very species is uh um this is leis complicated. The one that you see uh right in the middle of the image, the one that that is going to be collected um for further studies in the in the lab, further genetic studies in the lab.
And this will of course give us indications about how species in general can be connected between these >> seamounts.
>> So uh we will do another since we already did one sample before we started. This is the first sample of the live stream >> and it's a surgeon sample. Yeah. and a very bit challenging one.
>> So this one is going to be a slur. We have a tool that you will see in a minute coming to stage that um is going to take this sample and it's going to place it um inside one of these u compartments um so that we can later when the RV comes on deck we can just later grab it and uh preserve it for um um interview purposes.
>> And we've said this many times before and it bears repeating. We have a wonderful team of rough pilots here. So >> because they are so great, I have full trust in us getting nice samples in difficult places.
is actually almost vertical wall. So they're >> they're just flying. Yeah, they're just flying in front of this thing. And look how stable we are.
>> This is amazing.
>> Shooting the pink one.
>> Dunk one.
>> Yeah, fish one.
I think it's about time.
>> Even if you just step away.
>> Yeah, this need to put in a little bit more.
>> So, we strap one.
>> Yeah.
You will see in a minute what I was refing to kind of cooler >> the other one.
>> Yeah. The spaghetti thing.
>> Open it. Leave it. If the very >> you want the I can push the port drawer just to try bring you back a bit. So just ease off forwards.
>> Stand by a second.
>> Okay.
Extend off here.
just uh try pitch down here and you know come down as he uh much as he left and right up the shoulder as he left. Just try and roll the elbow >> here.
>> No, not this one. The other one. The one.
>> Yeah, we're just trying to get him.
We're so close. It's on a vertical wall.
Uh I can bring it forward a we bit there if you want.
Near there. So, the difficult with sampling when we're this close to the um >> when we're this close to a vertical wall is that the pilots don't have very much space to work with >> and um go backwards.
>> It's difficult to pull the >> manipulators this far back. They don't have the possibility like we have to pull the elbow >> behind us in a way. Yeah, it's really changing. Yeah.
>> So, we have to fly a little bit away from the rock >> so that they can move there.
>> I can move close to this and I need to restart this error.
>> Okay.
Okay, here we go.
Not fully in your shoulder. Yeah, I nearly >> now.
>> Right. Doing a re >> now. You think you're in position, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. Shout. You're ready. Left a bit.
Just come back a little touch before you push down. Oh, >> right. Easy. A little touch.
>> Yep.
>> There we went inside. That's it.
Perfect.
>> Slurp number one. Right.
>> Number one. Yeah.
>> Yeah. Thanks, >> Antonio.
>> Do you think you can reach >> think you can reach this one?
>> Just don't know. Do you think you can reach this one or is that too far? Uh 2 seconds.
Where where is it? On your corner there.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Now I'm there.
>> Yeah. It's too far. We love to move position.
>> Okay.
>> Just got the bar now.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Or else we can just go here.
>> Do you think forward?
>> Um Yeah. Do you how many do you need from here?
>> It was just to maximize.
>> Yeah.
>> And you want them all just to No. Yeah. Then definitely on the other slurp >> want to go for the other one.
>> Or this one back.
>> But then we have to move uh horizontally further.
>> You think you can reach it from from here?
>> Yeah. From here. No. No. Okay.
>> Yeah, you probably have to move a little bit.
>> Very close. The RV is like >> Yeah, let's go somewhere else. But it's um >> it's fine.
>> So, we will continue looking.
>> Yeah.
Thank you so much, guys.
That was a challenging device.
>> A beautiful sampling. Thank you. Welcome here. Challenging.
>> It is challenging to sample on a completely vertical wall. We're just hanging there and and flying the or keeping the RV just hanging like that in the water without moving is super impressive.
>> Any chance of moving your >> Yeah, we should be able to get a better picking up slow. Nice and easy.
Thank you.
And what we see is that the um down here at still kind of the bottom of the seamount even though we have been rising almost 80 m already from the start.
>> That's kind of crazy. I have to double check that number.
Uh yeah, we have been rising 70 m since we started. Mhm.
>> Um, it's still sort of sedimented everything, right? So, we're still almost >> connected to the uh to the soft.
>> Mhm.
>> I bet there's going to be a sedimentary area at the very top >> that too.
And this is of course sediments that come drizzling through down through the mount the area of the sea drizzling down through the sea landing on wherever.
>> But it also indicates that there aren't a lot of super fast currents around here.
>> Mhm.
>> Which is strange because we have all of these filtering animals still here.
>> I thought it was something different.
Did you check on the sponge again?
>> No. No. I thought it was like uh How was it? This animal that we saw yesterday with this jelly that was attached.
>> Oh, the Lucaria.
>> Yeah.
I thought it was this.
>> Well, I think we saw one at the seafloor right before we started on the um >> on the mountain.
>> Oh, look at this green sponge. I wonder whether this is the one that uh Julio uh is is looking after.
>> Julio is finding a lot of I would say a lot of new species here.
>> Yeah.
>> Uh Julio is looking at a lot of small encrusting sponges and this is a group that has not been very well studied previously.
And that does not mean it's easy to find these new species. It's just that there might be a lot of new species to discover. It's still a lot of work to find and describe new species. So >> yeah, >> it's not to make Julio's work not sound big because of this. and also he has the very good overview of what is >> existing already in the literature of described sponges. So, so you may believe this is a a low diversity habitat, but u I mean there's like at least 10 of these species that are mega fa organisms that are we've seen here the two or three esconas these white sponges this crusting sponges this blue and Green sponges are kryoids. You see the kryoids in here?
They're like like in a the crash.
They're like a >> Yeah, they're on their own together.
Yeah.
>> But it's interesting. Earlier we have seen them sitting on top of the sponges and here they seem to like to be on their own.
>> Yeah.
Hope I mean not on their own as in not around other khinoids because they stand in groups or lions or whatever, but um they're not standing on top of the sponges as much. But look, they're big and beautiful, aren't they?
>> Yeah, indeed.
>> They look like a sun and we're nearly at the top >> of a small.
>> See? Oh, wow.
>> Hill here. This is the >> Maybe now is a roof.
Yeah.
>> Oh, look at that's beautiful, huh?
>> Look at all those grids.
>> Beautiful.
>> The line.
>> Especially when you Can you stop here a second?
>> Yeah. Probably the anticip we take away the lasers, please.
>> Yeah.
>> Maybe turn off the lasers.
>> Yeah.
>> Thank you.
It's just to have to have this picture also >> the threedimensionality of everything, right? Because right behind us is another wall.
>> Just step back a little bit.
>> So, we've come up this first little part of the hill.
This is indeed really really beautiful.
You can see the the vertical walls that are just falling um from this dep. I don't know.
2,000 or Yeah.
>> Well, right now we are at 2,350 and as I said we started at 2,420.
So all these cryoids here, we will have a closer look at those.
>> Let's make a closer.
>> I was not going to say anything, but this is >> a lyrics.
>> You see the detail of uh >> Oh, yeah. Look at that.
>> These organisms They call skiillies, right?
>> Yeah.
>> And they have multiple um uh legs or what do you call it?
>> Legs. Arms.
>> Arms. Yeah. And each arm has like a structure >> extra space to the side.
>> Yeah. And they are doing this to m maximize the capture of the food.
And here you can also see in that one in the middle of the picture, you can see the the structures that they're using to hold on to the surface below. So the hard surface, >> this white >> Yeah, it's like roots. It's of course not roots because it's not a plant. It's an animal. But they have these structures that they're using to hold on to um >> to the seafloor. And they can willfully let go when they don't think it's a good place to hang out anymore. And then they can use all their very many beautiful arms to swim.
>> Yeah, it's really beautiful when you see them.
>> Yeah, they're very graceful when they're swimming.
>> So they are semisle in a way, right?
They they're sitting for a long time in one place and then they move on to another place >> if that's needed. That was really beautiful. You see the the particles coming from the very deep areas. They stay in there. So to grab these particles um to feed on the feed on them.
>> Yay. Cool.
>> Should we continue a little bit and we can maybe turn on the lasers again?
>> Now we we follow these reach on our left.
>> Yeah.
>> Yes. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> So, we will continue our climb.
Our main idea with this entire transect is to go up on the first little sort of prehill of the um of of the seamount. So, we're going to stay in the around the base, but we are going to climb the lower parts of the seamount in this transect.
>> Mhm.
>> It's another of the >> species that's normally appearing. It's this habitat, the white barrel like sponge that you see there. This roselid >> the roseli. We are back to the roselida.
>> Yay.
>> So, Julie is with us. Yeah, Julio came in to check when when he's supposed to come back and about us. But >> this is that looks like >> this one.
>> Yeah. Has a stem.
>> Oh, the stock the one.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> So, this is the one we call the tulip.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. We called it the tulips.
>> There are two tulips. This is the mysterious one.
>> Really?
>> That our specialist in US don't know what it is. So, Okay. I am >> another to that is a little bit more robust.
>> Yeah. Sorry.
>> The one that we collected before in we >> so since >> the expert calls it the mysterious one.
I am registering it as the mysterious one.
>> Looks like one of those chemistry balls.
>> Oh yeah.
Is it the the thing >> like a cauldron >> sponge will refer?
>> Could we call it the Harry Potter?
>> Okay, I'm here.
>> Okay. Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> See you.
>> See you.
>> How much have you got here? Are you here? But uh give us more after or not just now. Just when we need it.
>> I think in two in one and a half.
They're >> still stuck with us for a little while.
Um, Julio is in the lab working up the sponge specules from previous dives >> and seeing if he can find even more new species.
>> So, we're never just sitting and oh, as long as we are on shift, we're never just sitting and relaxing. Actually, >> here.
>> So, this a beautiful one.
>> Yeah, that's a beautiful tulip sponge, right?
>> And is this the mysterious or is this the not mysterious? is a mysterious because it's like a >> it looks like a cauldron.
>> Yeah.
You see sponge.
>> Yeah. It's a beautiful one.
>> Is exactly it. There's different groups of sponges. One of those exactly glass glass sponges >> though. You you only need a couple of meters in.
>> Yeah. We'll just go one little bit here in deep waters.
>> Not yet. No. Not yet.
>> Okay. Beautiful seconds.
>> So yes, it's like um 30 cm from the ST to the very top.
>> Okay, keep some nice and slow.
>> Okay, just a couple of meters. Okay.
>> Yeah, cool.
>> That's pretty going.
>> But it does not have any pores on its stalk, right? The stalk is only there to get it off the seafloor.
>> Yeah, indeed. So we see all the pores in the in the sponge itself.
>> But the stalk does not have this because >> the collect all the water after this water has been um using this stuff with chambers. They collect the bacteria and other food that gets inside inside the sponge and then it expels the water through this uh hole which is in the sponge jargon. It's called uh oscill >> and behind is more.
>> Yeah. Plenty of this >> plenty. So we don't need to sample all in the first 10 minutes.
>> No.
>> Yeah. We will try to get to a a place where this um it's easier for the pilots to land on the RO.
>> So, what do you think those white balls are?
>> Okay, Antonio, if you can >> for Julio.
>> Oh, and we forgot to ask him. He just left >> us.
Well, I can do it here as long as enough to >> We don't have enough.
>> It's tight, is it?
>> Yeah. And we see some >> some of the kryoids are actually sitting on top of the sponges because it's so full.
>> And question all of those red things.
>> Ah, these are >> Yes. When you just start looking at them, you see them, right?
>> Mhm.
>> So, um, Sergio has been so focused on all the sponges, he didn't see the pulis. Huh.
But look, the whole part of the mountain that is not covered by sponges is covered by suid worms.
>> Yeah, most of those I think they are dead.
>> Is swimming anthropods there.
>> Uh-huh.
>> H. This is a nice little spot.
>> Yeah, we've seen this um microhabitat, which is like a small reef built by um skeletons of um um cellulit. They produce a >> they take off the lasers.
>> So in the middle of the image you see like a um small um worm meal like brown structures. These structures are um the result of um the tubes that the remains of the tubes of these uh worms that they make a substrate where other organisms like the sponges that you see um can use as a place where to settle and and become adults there.
>> And then we see a krenoid cleaning some of his arms.
>> Yeah. Mhm.
>> Maybe they are wanting to just get something.
>> There's a bunch of different things in there.
>> Yeah.
So, this is what happens whenever we zoom in the place, right? We see all these beautiful little details that we fly by when we are on our way.
>> Yeah, this one of the things that we are trying to do in order to describe these um habitats and um provide a list of the species and the communities that they >> So, let's fly on >> and maybe the dinosaurs again.
>> Thank you.
>> Yeah.
So we will continue our rise up the mountain up the lower parts of the mountain and it's called buzzov and we haven't really found out why these three are called bits of digna and >> mhm >> um >> so you've been looking for information about the history >> I am trying Chakov. So it seems to be named from three people >> again couple of meters >> um >> seems to be pretty common surnames.
>> Look this is >> this is amazing.
>> Impressive. Yeah, it's going straight off a little bit away from this, but you can >> Are you there?
>> Identify how big this area is and how uh vertical and despite it's vertical, it's uh it's been colonized by the swatches. You see this one with a really long st. >> Yeah. and and a shrimp sitting >> Yeah.
>> under it.
>> Okay. Do if you need I can give you >> two meters again.
>> Okay. Stand by.
>> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> Okay. Antonio, go for nice and slow.
>> Okay.
>> Of these stock sponges.
>> And then we have those gray and green encrusting sponges, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
And uh yeah, they're quite common. So once you see it, you identify that they are there, >> you can see that they are all over the place.
>> Okay. All they are.
>> Yeah, that's the thing. You just need to train your eyes to see things and then you see them all over.
>> Yeah.
>> Just you will see now where the lasers are. this a convoluted sponge. This is >> foli.
Yeah. Or folto. I cannot remember, but this is one of >> on our list here. It actually says with um >> yeah, >> but it's Yeah, >> quite common also. It's not the most common species that we're going to find, >> but yeah, >> it's still very >> in some cases you have um this um symbiotic life symbiotic life with uh with amphipots, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Inside this bunch.
So this is just super crazy dramatic landscape >> and even though it's been mapped in very general basis in 1972 it hasn't been super well mapped and published yet.
>> So you mean the community is living? No, even the >> pigraphy.
>> Okay, Antonio, if you've got more, just man.
>> Okay.
>> And the geology not really well. We don't we didn't find a lot of publications on this >> at all.
But there is so many places to study, right? So >> um it's quite easy to find an >> unexplored place in the deep sea and that's what makes that's one of the things that makes deep sea examinations interesting is that >> yeah can sponge >> yes isn't it a caniferous sponge >> can we do a complete where where the lasers are happen to >> have passing through places.
>> Would you need one more? One more complete.
>> Okay. Stand by >> detail.
Look at that.
>> Okay. Yeah. Go for it.
>> Okay.
>> Pick up slowly.
>> Coming in.
>> Yeah. I'll give you a shot when you stop.
>> Okay.
>> Or well, obviously you take what you need, but I'll tell you the area.
>> Okay. Okay.
Now, >> now we are at 2,337.
>> Yeah.
So, I can see anonymal.
>> Okay, I am clicking mega.
Antonio.
Is this the mystic troop?
>> Yeah, just carry on as normal. Whatever you need. I think we've covered all the >> Okay. Try to stop there. Like I think there's a shelter.
>> Yes, we would love to have a closer look at these uh tulip sponges.
Oh, but there is also one here.
>> If it's difficult to move, then we can just zoom in on the one in the picture here.
>> Like this one there.
>> There's two in there. And I think there's a shelter.
Come down.
>> Can you see where this one here?
>> Here. It's just >> But I mean, if you bridge. Can we stop for now?
>> You will see this is a really nice wall with this two tulip sponges.
>> Okay, thanks.
>> Are you going to sample this?
>> Maybe. But uh at first it will be like a shot. So can you land here?
You are on the limit. Tilt down. I can tilt the camera down.
>> Is it steep?
>> It is. It is actually.
>> I thought it was not that steep.
We can just stay here and we can just stay still.
>> Let's just wait for these to be clear.
Little bit more clear.
It looks like it's all co.
of eggs.
So, we are standing here to look at the tulip sponges.
>> Yeah. Okay.
>> And are these the mystical ones?
>> I think those are the rare ones.
>> Oh, okay.
>> I like that some sponges are mystical, >> I have to say.
So it's currently >> welcome back.
>> And again we see all of these kinoids sitting on the wall together with these sponges, right?
and >> both along the edge and a little bit placed here and there on sponges. All of them right on those little >> round white balls.
>> Maybe that's what I will do when I grow up. I'll stand around on a little white sponge.
>> The light.
>> The lights.
>> The lights.
>> Okay, let's play a little bit with the lights and see if we can get um Yay.
And we think the dust will land in not too long and then we will have a clearer picture as well.
>> Yeah.
>> But this is again, you know, our pilots are making sure that the ROV is just hanging on this vertical wall.
>> Yeah, >> there's still a little bit of dust coming up. we have done without them. We couldn't have done a thing without >> them.
Really big animals these ones.
>> M.
>> So, are you thinking about sampling them or not?
>> Uh, not yet.
>> No, because it's going to be super difficult. Let's look at them and continue after a while. It's a beautiful shot to look at.
And I see it starts to clear up in that corner. So maybe it will start to clear.
>> Yeah.
Yeah. There's a lot of um sediment, fine sediment.
>> And we need to use thrusters a little bit to hang here. So we need to disturb the um >> water current a little bit just to be able to hang here. But >> screaming.
Yeah, >> this part seems to be >> the upper upper right corner seems to or upper left even better, right?
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> Or maybe not.
>> It's taking a little bit of time.
So, some of those lisandurics in the background >> seem to have thinner spaghetti than others.
>> Yeah.
>> As if they are spaghetti instead of spaghetti.
>> We've seen that uh when collecting smaller specimens.
>> Is it because they are smaller specimens or is it because they are a different group?
>> Yeah, that's a good question. And to answer this question, the only thing that can be done or one of the things that can be done is just study the specules which are the pieces of skeleton of um silly.
>> It's not really cleaning though, is it?
>> Yeah. Just continue with >> Yeah, let's just continue here. Okay.
>> But thank you for hanging here. This was beautiful.
>> Thank you so much.
>> So these are spices. if you study them under the microscopes which is one of the things that uh >> so they were comparing the small ones uh with the big ones and they came to the um thing that apparently they have the same types of specules.
>> Okay. So that means that it's the same species.
It's just a matter of these organisms, the small ones being smaller and having different >> sizes of branches.
>> Can we continue?
>> Turn on the lasers again, please.
>> Continue again.
>> Turn on the lasers.
>> We're just going to swap pilots here like >> because now it's shift time. I'm just holding this. Yeah.
>> So, um yeah, but could it be possible that two near species have the same >> sort of? Yeah, it could be.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Because >> because there are only so many types of spu shapes available or isn't there?
>> Yeah. Well, there's some sponges that didn't have just one type of spu.
There's some others that they have like different sizes and different shapes.
And so there's a different combination of these specules that make a sponge. A species is going to be identified as one sponge and another one with another combination of specules two that you can identify as another species. But in this case, how we're going to have the same So it points to the fact that they might be same species. Look, it's clear now.
>> But I was thinking as long as it is >> I mean >> if we compare it >> all of the mammals, we have a lot of the same >> structures.
>> Yeah.
>> And you go to the genetics.
>> Yeah. Right.
>> So this is a combination.
>> Some Yeah. because you can't only describe on I guess this is what happened previously that we only described on spicules and now >> we're combining the speakers with the genetics.
So this is called the um interative taxonomy, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Where you have >> which we do on all different groups now >> and on my post I have a lot of the same structures on all of them and they are the com for me it's the combination of a lot of things. So I I have to look at a lot of different >> what we call >> thank you >> morphological things to to be able to to get to a species.
It's a combination of morphological characters, genetic characters, but also uh behavioral characters. I mean this what you say may have or not this hero characters but other species may have ecological characters. Distri the distribution of the species really similar but they can some species that just occur in a similar a certain depth or they occur like in a polar regions or something like that.
So, it's like a combination of information that helps you to identify different species.
>> So, it's a little bit like detective work like I I always think about it as detective work.
>> I'm not Sherlock Holmes, but uh it's a little bit, you know, trying to find all the different clues and combining all the clues and finding out exactly >> Yeah, indeed. which species this is and is it one or is it two or is it >> there's a lot of cryptic speciation in in marine habitants.
>> Yeah. And then you have to be very careful when you trying to describe the species or you think that there's a new species because you have to um take a closer look and take a look at the previous studies that uh describe species from the same genus of same area.
>> And with cryptic species, we mean species that look the same but are genetically different. Indeed.
>> And they're difficult. They're very difficult to keep apart, right?
>> You look at them and they look exactly the same and then they have different genetics.
>> And we of course it's still up to debate how large genetic differences are there within the species. And this is not probably a thing that can be said it's exactly this many base pairs of difference or whatever between two species because it depends very much on on the group and also on of course your species concept.
>> Yeah.
>> And now we're getting philosophical, huh?
>> A little bit.
>> Yeah. But species concepts are so much fun.
>> Look at that that huge sponge.
>> Oh, you don't want to discuss species?
>> No, no, no.
He's getting away from the species concept. That's okay. We don't need to be too philosophical too early in the morning. It's stalked as well, right?
>> I think it's a calopus.
>> Focus. Uh, arcticus.
>> Big. Yeah. Disappointed.
>> Did you see any amphipod sitting on it or was it only the shrimp sitting on it?
>> I think a while.
>> Yeah. The shrimp that we see here so far, those big pink things, they are um bizocaris lucis. M.
And uh we were thinking for some time that they were slightly different. You know, they had a little bit extra tooth there in the top of the head or we worked a lot with that and then we took genetics of tons of them to see. We we were really thinking we're going to have lots of new species >> and those same species.
>> So we really tried but so we just what we did then was to show the morphological variations that can exist within a species. And that's of course the other >> way of certy, right? That you have one genetic group and they can have >> a lot of different morphological variabilities. Yeah, that's a lot to be taken into account because I mean you were saying uh this um species definition I mean we've worked with sponges and closely related sponges in some cases and you just even tell which one is one because they're quite similar. They occur in different habitats all seen when in same habitat and we found um few um examples of hybridization which is uh when two relatively close species are able to interbreed in between them. So this makes everything more different >> that messes up our general thinking about species concepts right?
>> Yeah. So that uh easy species concept that we learned at school isn't as it's might be a little bit too clear and simplified compared to how nature really is. But this is what makes it super interesting to study this >> even more interesting than just those species that just >> see he's hanging exactly like we were hanging earlier on this vertical wall.
So you see >> maybe that's who the pilots are learning from these fishes who are just hanging there.
>> I think that was the species. I mean another video for sure that was being captured by one of these squits yesterday's end of the our um dive.
>> Yeah. If you didn't see that, uh, after we're done with this live stream, go back and look at yesterday's the end of yesterday's live stream >> where we had a squid catching or having already caught fish.
>> Yeah, that was the best way of finishing to dive >> bridge.
>> Well, probably not for the fish.
>> Probably for the squid though.
>> Okay, we are ready for the next move.
direction 255 at 0.1 continuous >> 55 at 0.1 continuous >> so I have the time also listed in here with the depth difference we are supposed to cover how long it is like we barely started the >> yeah we have barely started and we have already covered 100 m of um for this. Yeah.
>> Can you bring the speed up to point two?
Sorry.
2 minutes.
>> Yeah. That is because in this dive we're supposed to put 50 >> and 600 m.
>> So five almost 500 m of depth difference in this first transect.
>> And how long is this transect?
um not super long. So, but we can see that the horizontal movement does not need to be very long for the vertical movement to be >> 700 m of structure.
>> 700 m transect on 550 m depth.
>> You can you can make the numbers, right?
>> It's like all the time climbing the the mountain.
So when we are looking at our transect here on the um mapping screen, we see that we haven't moved very far horizontally, but we have >> as we said moved 100 m up.
>> Yeah. We take the time to describe this uh community, different species, >> but this is again a lot more sedimentary.
>> Yeah. So, we are on a place where there aren't that many currents and sediments get the time to land and hang around a little bit before they either are stuck or continue sliding down.
>> Couple of frames in the image.
the um >> easily spotted >> bearis lucis.
>> Mhm.
>> I would say I can't of course see that from here but I >> Yeah, let's >> can I think maybe not the second one but the one in the edge there is definitely >> bitaris has these really wide antennal plates.
So when you see that they go a little bit in front of their head with large wide antennal plates in this area it might be pithakaris and remember most species are kind especially of these kind of animals. So small invertebrates are kind of local or semi local.
>> So we can stop here and sample.
>> Well, you can check with the pilots if they feel like it.
>> Now that it's a little bit more flat.
>> You think it's a little bit more flat?
>> Yeah. Is it >> air rob?
>> See, we have the most wonderful pilots with us.
>> Ah, yeah. Yeah. It's always uh there's barely no time that they say I know if we >> and Sergey is just thinking that everything is possible now because whenever he asks about something, they say, "Oh, will it fix it?" experience that I had so far. Right. We have had so far >> they can make literally anything.
>> Yeah. The impossible can be done.
>> So yeah, the idea is every time that we stop collect two at least organisms so that two um make the more of each of the landings.
>> Yeah. But when we land or hang in front of the wall like this, it's very difficult to use the >> we need to use slurp because we can't open the tray in the front.
>> Yeah, >> that would take us too far away from the um >> just below you.
>> So, where do you want it in slurp two? I >> like two slurp ones. Is it slurp?
>> Yeah.
off >> one in one the other one in the other one.
>> So then it goes >> one or the >> the one.
>> This one.
>> Yeah. And you want it in slurp two.
>> Slurp two and slurp three.
>> Okay.
>> Only with grease. We should have more.
We're trying to position when we pilots are trying to position their ROV so that we can slurp it. We're going to use this uh device that takes the sponge to each of the sponges to a different and separated um um place. What do you call that?
H >> each of the >> chambers >> compartment these chambers.
>> So each of these ones we're going to go into a different chamber >> so so that we can later identify which individual was collected at the each of the depths.
But do you still >> do you still want them? I mean if they are this close you still want them in separate chambers.
>> Yeah because they can break and then it's difficult to identify which one is is the one.
>> So this first one >> this goes to tank number two right?
>> Yeah. Absolutely.
You ready to stop now? Yeah.
>> Yeah. Yeah, we are.
>> That's fine.
>> That's fine. If we just leave some >> the other one in the another tank.
Another chamber.
>> Different chamber.
>> Different one.
Okay. This >> Okay. Ready?
>> Yeah. There you go.
>> Slurpie.
So, there was also a trite.
Good.
>> Stop.
>> Yeah. Thank you so much. So, we can have a a look around now that it's clear to see.
>> Yeah. Let's zoom in a little bit and look because this is a more sedimented.
>> We're going to wait a second to to further on. Yeah. Before.
So >> this is accept but >> I can go I can't go farther than this >> but it have lots of so it has koids and it's um glass sponge.
>> Is there any antibod you see? No, >> don't see them.
The small things here. They are not.
>> Oh, there is another swimming.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> And there is another one. I want another one. They're all swimming around.
>> Oh, look at that.
>> Be hanging around this.
>> Yeah, maybe they want to.
>> Don't you think this is a boat?
>> Maybe. Can we focus differently >> if we This is the focus, right? Focus.
If we do like that and then we Oops.
>> Not entirely sure.
>> Yeah, because look at all those swimmers and they're sort of are they eating from it or there are other anthropods walking on the wall in the background there. Oh, this is an anthropod heaven. Could we suck some of those amphipods into the same last? So the >> just zoom a we bit. Show us where you are.
>> Um there. Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> To the same chamber number three.
>> Yes. We can keep it in chamber number three. That would be lovely.
>> You think this one I mean this is a huge one, right?
>> Yeah. Well huge and huge.
>> Yeah. Define huge, right?
>> But in this area there is but in this area there is lots of amphipods. I mean, if we could slurp some of those, that would be lovely.
>> Not the sponge.
>> No, no.
>> So, I call it another cast. And we right in between this, I mean inside this crevice.
So again, I think we just see this again and again that >> when we zoom in, we see so many things, right?
>> See see one.
>> Okay, >> perfect.
>> Oh, see they coming. No, it's fine.
A bunch of them happy with it, I think.
>> Oh, I love antipots. Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Let's have a look and see whether this white finished for today.
>> Oh, well, you know, I will never stop.
So, it's still there.
>> Still here.
Really?
>> It's hanging on. Yeah.
>> Try one.
Let's see now if it's come.
>> I think all of the small ones must have come.
>> Definitely.
>> Maybe not of all of them, but a lot of because I see even more. It's still hanging there.
>> Yeah, maybe he deserves to hang there then.
>> Is that one right? Is it that one or maybe something that resembles >> that's something else that resembles um >> why this is the strongest amphibot that I've ever seen.
>> Oh, they can hold on. Do you know of the strongest amphipods I would say are the whale lice? They uh are ectoarasites on whales.
>> This is the amph I think it's a sponge.
Yeah.
then we have all the anthropots. But really, I mean, if you're an ectoparasite on a on a whale that dives down to 2,000 m, you need to be strong to hold on, right?
>> Oh, yeah.
>> I would say they might be among the strongest antipods.
>> So, we have something else.
>> Thank you.
>> Keep you busy, too.
>> Yes.
Happy. It will be a long night.
>> It's just a matter of getting closer to them.
>> Yes, it is. All the time getting closer and looking in. So, Okay, >> from our examinations of this type of sand earlier, I would say that many of those white tiny little dots in the sand are u ballshaped white forifra.
>> Yeah, indeed.
>> We have sorted through quite a lot of sand looking exactly like this.
>> We all of us have been >> going through a lot of sand. There is another boat swimming again.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> You're always a good collector, right?
>> Yeah.
>> But it's it's good to see that there are more of them. So, we don't take out all of them, but we do take enough that we can study and see what the community is.
That's our goal, right? We don't want to wipe out anything. We want to have a few specimens that we can examine and describe the community and understand the community >> so that we can make or help decision makers to make good decisions.
>> Y for now. How many tasks?
>> So we have five casts and a little bit more than an hour.
>> Okay. bridge are >> but we have half our slurping at 0.2.
>> Yeah, we do anymore because um >> there's the shift coming in less than an hour in 42.
>> They also need to have some space to sample, >> right?
Look at this rock again. This uh >> I wonder very much. It's the tulips. All of them, right?
>> These are really beautiful. I'm not entirely sure we have seen these before.
>> So, we call them the tulips again.
>> We've seen the other kind of tulip sponge, but not this one.
I think this is >> I may have uh >> not paid uh attention to this before, but it looks crazy.
>> And almost carpets of krenowits. That's crazy.
>> There are so many of them and they are so pretty.
We are really interested in uh in the most common organisms importing in this uh areas so that to your phone make an make us an idea of which are the main builders the engineers of these habitats the species that commonly occur in these habitats and just compare them with other similar areas in order to see whether this these communities are similar.
or they defer um goes watching the world's most wonderful me.
Hello here again.
Yeah, >> if it's um open.
>> Oh, this is mainly sediment here.
>> Do you want to do at some point? Let's just explore a little more.
>> Yes, but if this is flat enough, maybe we could do swish course and stuff here.
So >> that might be a good idea >> is that we could potentially see a place where there's there's a rock with a sponge and then sediment and then we can trigger also the the skin bottles because we're after also use I mean trying to use an approach which is called uh environmental DNA.
this environmental DNA uh it's used to indirectly um describe the communities which are the species that are found in these communities and in in our case we're trying to use three different approaches. So it's going to be push corners mean meaning that we're going to get sediment and out from the sediment we're going to be studying the DNA. It's going to be also uh the sea water the DNA floating uh in the area in the water column is going to be processed also um in order to identify the species and also sponges since they are like um pumping all the time. They're like filters all the time naturally the feeders. So we're going to try to also combine the three different approaches or sediment, water and sponges to the communities to be um described and environmental DNA is possible because all sorts of animals are leaving little pieces of them all the time. If you just consider us for instance, we lose some hairs whenever we walk around if we have hair still. Yeah, >> we lose some um skin cells all the time.
If it's warm, we are sweating. If we have been drinking a lot, we some of that water needs to come out again.
>> Yeah.
>> And all of these things that are leaving our bodies and this is the same for all animals and plants and everything.
We find DNA in that. And this is the leftover DNA that we can sort of >> check it.
in the environment and connect it to the species that have left it. So, it's a it's almost a little bit like forensic um science, right? It's uh it's a little bit like, ooh, there is a hair on this crime scene. Who can it come from? And then say we take this sediment sample and we um check for the DNA what is in there and then we find out lots of different things. And to find out what those lots of different things are, we need to have a library that translates from a DNA um sequence to a species. And that's another thing we're doing with all of the animals that we are collecting. We are building the library of DNA sequences. So without a local or relatively local library of sequences connected to species names.
Uh, our environmental DNA samples can tell us that there are several things, maybe 50, maybe 82, who knows? But we need this library to translate those 82 something to 82 that we understand what it is.
>> 15 sponges, three amphipod species, two worms, all of these things. And also to know which species specifically that's where we need the um that's worm tubes, right?
>> Yeah, I think those are >> probably >> because or probably those are the stalks.
difficult to see now because we have uh I think the background has the same color as the >> Yeah, there's definitely a life on the top of this area >> and everything that swims in the water whenever they're shedding cells or >> changing um exoskeleton or anything like that all of this will land on the seafloor.
or hang out in the water. And this is why we can use water or filters of water or sediment to find out who have been in the area.
And the beautiful thing about using sponges is that you can use the sponges that you collect here to identify the communities. But you can also uh use the sponges that someone collected few years ago.
>> Okay.
>> In the same area or in any area and just study which was the community at that point in this area.
>> Cool. How long time can that how how long can you wait because the DNA um disintegrates after a while, right?
>> Oh yeah. But if you preserve the material well like ethanol and then you put it um >> in cold and dark space >> it can last for a long period because in the end what uh edna targets is small fragments >> and this is what happens to DNA anyway when it grows old it's um fragments >> egg fragments but since we're targeting like a relatively small fragments >> it's I mean the the quality of the of the DNA is not that was crucial in these cases. So like um samples that were collected a while ago presly 96% ethanol and put into the free freezer fridge. They can potentially be uh good to to do this uh approach.
>> So we're not talking about 100 year old museum specimens but we are talking about things that were sampled 10 15 years ago maybe.
>> Oh yeah. Even the ones that were preserved like a long time ago can be used as long as they were preserved in a way that DNA hasn't been damaged dramatically.
>> So not with formal >> not really. Well uh for formalhide is a really good preservative I mean for getting the shape.
>> Yes, it's lovely and it was it has been used quite a lot.
>> Yeah. uh in earlier times especially because it was easier to travel with and um it's cheaper.
>> It is.
>> Yeah. So, it's a quite common preservative, but it does not help the DNA as much as ethanol does. it fragments a lot uh the DNA but there's like um um different kits genetic kits that you can use uh to extract DNA small fragments of DNA and then if you design primers like u specific targets which are like smaller like uh 50 base pairs or something like that you can still work on this information this is more challenging >> we are growing into the super nerdy uh live stream today, huh?
>> Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
>> But that's okay.
>> Information.
>> Well, we are nerds. So, uh kind of proud of it, right?
>> It's good to be a nerd.
>> And I guess at least some of you uh who are watching our live stream are also >> happy nerds.
And that's great. Is that uh >> carnivorous pun? Carnivorous sponge.
A little lone tree.
>> Yeah.
>> Cool. That's beautiful.
I was a little second thinking that those things on the side were not rocks but >> fish, right? But >> yeah, they look like fish.
>> Are they rocks pretending to be fish?
>> No. Are they rocks pretending to be fish or fish pretending to be rock?
I think they're rocks pretending to be fish because they're overgrown by encrusting sponges.
The gray ones, right?
>> Yeah.
Now we had to zoom in so to make sure we're actually we are still climbing this hill and now we are at 2,280ish m and remember we started at 2,4 I think we have potentially >> 2,430.
>> You think we can go faster >> since we are in the sandy area and it's difficult to see all the beauty.
>> Yeah, because it's so small.
>> Yeah.
Go a little bit faster here. Yeah. Yeah.
Okay, please. Thanks.
>> He's so uh Sergy is interested in coming to the next exciting. Uh well uh >> I think sponges like this are kind of exciting as well.
>> Yeah, they are.
>> Rocks like this.
>> So my idea was to try to find one of these rocks with a sponge sponge >> and then use this sponge as a natural sampler and then pick the um edna from the I mean the s from the sediment that fire the skins. But I'm not finding any small rock.
>> Maybe here.
>> This is a small rock. But then we have to ask quickly if it's possible.
>> Can you please stop a second?
>> Yeah.
>> Sorry about that.
>> Change opinion all the time.
>> Look, >> this may be a >> Yeah.
>> Can you go in front of that one? Why?
>> Because this is a rocky >> small rock. Hopefully.
>> Can we stop the movement for now? Or even there is a lizard and right.
>> Yeah. But we need a rock.
>> Yeah.
>> This one.
>> The problem is that we are needing a place where we can do the Would it be possible to do um push court here?
>> Pushcore.
>> Is this a possible place?
>> Possibly. Yeah.
Because then we could get all of the edna samples from one place and that's the beauty we want.
>> Absolutely.
>> And this rock can be easily picked up and put into one of these apartments.
So we will first do push course and then we will do niskin bottles or water sampling bottles.
>> So yeah you will see which is a procedure.
>> So it's a >> number one.
>> Yeah.
>> So >> we we can if it's possible we can do both of the push cores here >> sort of next to each other.
>> Not not Yeah. Not on each other but >> is it fine here?
>> Yeah.
>> You still have half an hour.
>> Half?
>> Yes. 30 minutes.
Julio can't wait to to take over. Huh?
>> Julio is very eager to take over, but he is not super interested in the push course. So, we can do that first.
>> And I will write down all the details for the sampling place.
Yeah.
Can I do the mugs too?
>> Oh, we can do one mug here. Maybe.
>> Yeah, definitely.
>> Can you turn off the laser, please?
Laser.
as far as I can go. Yeah, >> that is a beautiful push car indeed.
Zoom in.
Who's catching it?
>> Yeah. Good job.
Zoom in a touch.
Beautiful. Thank you so much.
That was one of the scores to cover.
>> Oh, you know what? I have um I have the wrong have to find time.
as far as I do.
Okay.
Mhm. Nice.
Zoom. Sure.
That works.
>> Feel the depth is Hard thing to see when you only see things on video.
>> Could we please fire the two Niskkins as well?
So is making sure that uh the two wash.
>> Yeah.
>> We want them to really stick in the holders.
That's beautiful. Thank you.
>> Is that everything with yarn?
>> Um no. If we can pick the sponge.
Do you want to pick it or do you want to scoop it?
>> Where is it? Zoom in.
>> Pick it. Or what if we scoop and then then should >> Can you zoom in on it?
>> It's pretty small, right? I think it got broken.
>> Yes. This rock right in front of No, actually it's right in front of the um >> No, it's further in down. No, >> here. The thing is that it's broken now.
How?
>> Yeah. So, it's the one right in front of the um >> Let me check one second, buddy. Uh I'm going to look uh whether there's any other that one.
>> It's not on a So, you need to take the one that is right in front of the tray.
>> Yeah.
Can you go for this one, buddy?
Um, yeah. How would we want to pick it though? Is it it really attached to rock?
>> I think it's a loose rock.
>> Hopefully that makes it a little more harder.
>> You want to scoop it?
>> Yeah. Yeah. Try scoop.
>> Okay. So then we do that before you do.
Antonio tried before with the arm and it was like a pretty one similar rock heist but I mean up to you.
>> No scoop digging the arm into the sand.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
So then we are done sampling the sediment itself and now we are off >> to the scope >> the >> scope >> the m.
>> Yes. But first we want to sample your scoop up your rock with the >> Yeah.
with the sponge so that you can use that sponge as a um natural sampler in a way.
Not only in a way, properly as a natural sampler >> and we want it to be relatively close to where we have the um sediment samples so that it's very possible to compare things.
>> Yes, indeed.
>> Yeah. Try to do this as by the book as possible. Awesome.
So, in this case, we're going to use a scope in order to get the whole thing. So, Zoom in.
Set up your camera and zoom in.
>> Yeah, zoom >> or zoom.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
>> Oops.
>> No, I think you're right to the left side of it anyway.
>> Oops. Yeah, it's hard this one.
>> Pitch, right?
>> And a little bit more to the right.
>> To the right.
>> Yeah.
>> Up against the stone. See the mesh? The holes in the scoop. They're right parallel to the stone.
>> Yeah. Yeah. On the side of the stone instead of >> the the stone.
>> You want to take the stone as well?
>> I think it's too big.
>> Pushing the RV.
>> Yeah.
>> If it's so big that we're pushing the RV back instead of having the stone, then it's too big stone.
>> Yeah. Don't worry about that.
I'm >> trying to scrape it off.
>> Okay.
>> Zoom in. Heads up soon.
>> Don't worry about it. We thought it was like a loose push.
>> It's fine.
>> Would I try to scrape?
>> Um, no. And you then scoop one of the big ones or >> but scrape that because it's going to be, you know, those others are stuck on the mountain.
But maybe we can scrape those off.
>> That's cool.
>> Well, where do you want me to go?
>> Uh, yes. Right there >> where the big ones are. So, >> a little bit further back. Well, yeah.
If you zoom in on that one, one of those.
>> Yeah. Okay. Let's see what we can do.
Tilt up.
Tilt up the camera.
Zoom in >> like this.
>> And zoom in. Yes. Perfect.
>> Yeah. Oh, no.
That's a difficult one.
Are you full uh stretch?
>> Sorry.
>> Are you full stretch?
>> I don't think so. Not yet.
>> No, you're not full stretch.
>> Okay.
So sometimes sampling is quite much more difficult than it looks because >> manipulating these arms in in an environment.
>> We don't even know the size of it >> the rock they're sitting on.
That's zoom in.
>> It's quite difficult sometimes, huh?
>> Like this is not flux.
>> Oh yeah, but we are touching it.
Maybe we can scrape it in.
No.
>> Okay.
>> The ledge on the bottom right is just >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Uh is it possible to fire the Niskin bottles while we're thinking >> it has all this sediment around them?
>> Oh yeah. So we will wait a little bit until the sediment has landed. That's a very good idea.
>> Later we can use this one. Yeah, this is a bigger one.
>> Just perhap >> pick. I think >> that one pick one.
>> Can you just pick it with your hand?
>> The very >> Yeah. Okay.
>> We will try. But but for now uh thing is we do this uh the mug mug. The mug, right?
>> All right. So, I put the no syrup. So, no.
>> No. I'm going to put away the um Put away the >> way the uh >> Yeah, the scoop.
>> Sorry.
>> Sure.
So this samp is going to keep us busy for a while, right?
>> Yeah, it is.
>> I think here the >> Yes.
>> This is closer to the just one replicate maybe.
>> Yes.
>> Yeah. Thanks. Nice.
>> So any of the mods that you would prefer?
Yeah.
So then you can probably explain which is the purpose of doing this.
>> Oh yes.
>> It's not the purpose of drinking coffee even though of course we do love coffee.
Um and they have good coffee machines on board here. But um >> this is to get a part of the sediment because as we have talked a lot about there are a lot of animals living in this upper part of the sediment.
And so >> this thing that looks like a coffee mug without a bottom. So a bottomless coffee mug. That's kind of cool. But it has a mesh at the bottom there instead. So that >> we gather up, we use it to pick up sediment as you can see.
>> And then we bring back.
>> Oh, that's a full one.
>> A nice full sediment sample back to the lab that we can use some hours to clean and then some more hours to pick through and pick out all of the small, beautiful animals that live in there. And when I say small, I mean really small. It's like some of them that I picked this morning are an average I would say 2 mm long.
>> Really small then.
>> Yeah. Um so you need to develop an eye for that of course. But um there is a lot of biodiversity in the sediment as well.
And to make sure that we don't forget to sample this, we bring coffee mugs along.
>> Mhm.
>> And then we can think about drinking coffee as well, right?
>> Yeah. Probably going to need it.
>> They're waking up so early today.
>> Oh, but I'm a tea drinker.
On land. I drink coffee, but at sea, I drink tea.
Where is that?
>> I think it started when I started going on cruises like this and that's so long ago. We're not talking about that.
>> Is there?
>> I think so.
>> Yes.
>> Blending.
>> And the coffee machines were not as good there now.
>> Yeah.
>> And um the coffee was kind of disgusting. So I just didn't want to drink coffee. And then it just became a thing. I just don't drink coffee on vessels anymore.
Even though I would have to say on Norwegian vessels, most people drink coffee all the time. There is a lot of also in the mug. I think this is going to be good.
>> Yeah, blending.
>> 10 minutes until tape change.
>> Okay.
>> How does it look around the Niskans now?
Is it still muddy around the >> Mins?
You can I'll give you one camera so you can have >> another one cold one.
>> So since we have to move to collect these samples maybe.
>> Yeah, maybe if we move a little bit to collect your sponge samples, we can do the misk instead because we're going to move up a little bit. Just for you to look on this camera on this splitted monitor.
>> The first one is where the N.
>> Yeah, you can see now.
>> Oops.
But we want to when we're sampling, we want to sample the um width of the community. So we're focusing a lot on the sponges when we are talking and when we are sampling.
But sponges are as we have said many times also um habitat for a lot of other animals. So when we look at the sponges we also find the community and then to get the um informal community. So >> inside the bentos in in Benthos we do coffee mugs.
>> Okay. That's it for sampling for the moment.
>> Oh yeah. We're going to move >> like maybe 3 m.
>> Yeah. Somewhere around here to pick this one. This big one. Yeah. And then we will fire the the skins >> if the water is clean.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> And then we'll complete this um sampling.
>> Yeah.
>> Which is a good one. That's going to be a pretty nice one.
>> Yeah.
So, we are going to sample this one and then we're going to fire >> on the line there on the edge.
>> Here line there on >> Well, if you I think you know exactly what you need to do.
>> Oh, yeah. The one that you prefer the most. We have to know where we're going to put the sample then.
>> Um in >> right drawers.
>> Yeah. The RV is pinned up against 32 wall. How do we push out the drawers?
>> No. Then you can't.
>> Oh, we can we can do it.
>> Oh, you can do everything.
>> But it's not a, you know, click the fingers. Just gives you a little time to settle for me.
>> Yeah.
>> Yes.
>> Uh there is still space, a lot space in both drawers. So, whichever drawer is best for you, >> the airport.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Yeah. No worries. We already take the scrunch the next and so this this We can just wait.
You already have one.
>> The one with >> Okay.
>> In the in the um bio boxes we have um coffee cup there and we have uh two lucid dorics there.
But in the slurps we are a little bit more packed.
So we have um Lis and Dorics in one, two, and three.
And in three we also have a quarter.
>> Okay, nice.
>> We had a wall of antipod. That was crazy, man. Yeah. So, you have two um slurs and plenty of space in the bio boxes, but remember that um people coming after us are also going to be allowed to >> Yeah. Yep. And we're at the beginning of the second trans.
>> Oh, we are still at the first trans.
This is a situation.
>> This is the end of the first.
>> Ah, it is. Okay. But it's Sorry, we going to pick this with the jaws. Yeah.
>> Yes, >> I think so.
>> 5 minutes until tape change.
>> But we are >> Are you okay to start something?
>> Yes.
>> Thanks.
>> Um, yes.
Yeah, >> we have been going 150 m up and it's 550 m. So, there's lots to go.
>> Yeah, >> maybe you can check the stairs.
>> Oh, there is a beautiful little >> shrimp behind there. Yes.
>> No, that's another >> he's right there.
>> So, Julio, we have been discussing. Have you looked? There are earlier there were all of these white little balls of sponge.
>> Uhhuh.
>> Yeah. So, >> and so that's um a thing that maybe you can explain to all of the people watching because we couldn't.
>> Well, you have many species actually >> like these white little balls there.
>> Those are potentially little polyia >> front right coming.
But it's a really diverse community. So, we have polymastia, we have food. Yeah, we are right. But we think it's a new species has to be here.
>> I believe it's here.
>> Maybe before >> for that I would need to look into >> Yeah.
>> more detail.
But collecting like that is very useful.
So collecting always a piece of rock is great because then we can check those little >> uh 147.
And then we need the knee skins. How is it?
>> Yes, please.
>> Awesome.
>> Right with firing the bottom one.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. Where is top one too? You want both?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. In case >> Okay, >> thank you so much.
>> Great. So, we collected also the two Niskin bottles at this point for the EDNA from the sea water.
So these fish already and we placed it in BB4, right?
And that was cast number nine. Yeah.
>> Yeah. So, can you put on the laser?
Lasers.
Sorry.
>> Awesome.
>> Okay. And we have approximately 1 minute until >> 1 minute and then we'll change. Yeah.
too much.
So yes, and after the tape change, um, Anelen and Sergey will go and get some lunch and you will have Julio and Py here to take you through the next part of the dive and maybe you will see more of the walls. We've had quite a lot of beautiful walls up till now.
So tape change in 15 seconds. Okay.
1 2 3 stop.
So we take the tape to the dry line.
Yes.
Do we need to tell tell everyone in the dry lab that could tell the dry that we change?
>> Tell the dry lab that we changed.
>> Oh yeah, >> dry lab.
>> Yeah, media has changed.
>> We have to play. Yeah.
>> So, where did you turn to?
>> No, we turn to >> Okay. One, two, three. Recalling.
>> Okay. So, that's it for us.
The boat is moving a little bit as well today, which is >> that's where the fun is when you're trying to sample.
>> Yeah, it feels like you're going down.
>> We don't have a lot of waves, but we do have a little bit of swell today, >> which is impossible to eat. Thank you.
you need to enjoy lunch and all of this after sitting for two hours.
>> Enjoy coming in another six.
Hello.
>> Julio and my friends are >> taking you through the next parts of the diet.
>> So, what's going on?
So still at 3,70.
>> Oh, sorry.
>> You remember fancy how shallow or how big was the >> 500? No, the end. The end.
>> Oh, the end.
>> That's the beginning.
>> Let me check the wise book.
>> Yeah.
So, this should be like climbing mountain like this.
>> Uh, you said the end 1,885.
>> Okay.
>> So, we still have 400 m.
>> Yeah.
>> To go up.
>> That's an asma for >> Yeah. Plenty of endor. So, this is the the old friend community with little and crusts. Umia probably all that stuff.
So it's quite sim different than the communities of yesterday on the unnamed We're also a bit deeper at the moment.
>> Well, deeper. Yeah.
>> But we also changed our position to um a site that is again more to the south uh at the Kipo Ridge but closer to the Mo Ridge where the both uh the two ridges meet and we're more on the western side again in comparison to the unnamed seamount where we were yesterday at the eastern side.
I'm thinking we should at some point collect one of these little rocks >> with the uh round sponges on them >> for the Yeah.
>> And the uncrusting sponges as well.
>> Yeah. No, no, for the encrusting. Maybe we can take a roll with this and some grass. Um let's see.
>> Yep.
>> It's a little bit steep. Okay.
It is.
>> Yeah. So, we're going up this wall at this seamount called the um >> we're now more on the south eastern side of the seamount.
>> Yeah, we're we're at the steepest part, I guess, at the moment here.
Uh-huh.
>> We're going up this um spar to a little uh to a little plateau and then it's also going up but less steep.
So what makes the seamount different to the other ones that we've been before on the let's say on the western part of the rift is that this is not facing immediately after the rift. There are two other sea mounts in between the rift and this mount. Um while boy both and sh bank were right in front of the rift or right in front they they didn't had an extra mountain system in between.
>> So do you think that um that that uh does what to the community that they have more >> mountains? What does it does do to the communities that this is less >> exposed? Could you say or >> Well, I'm not sure but well actually looks very similar. So I'm missing the fan shaped sponges.
>> You remember?
Yeah, maybe that is one. I don't want to move the camera that much, but that looks maybe like a stadium.
But but in the other D they were very diverse and they were creating like little uh gardens.
And there was a I don't know what is >> on a stem. I don't know what that also unknown sponge.
Unidentified sponge.
>> Yeah. One of many.
>> M.
It's really different that the ship is now moving again. I have to get used to it again. And I guess it's different if it's difficult for the rock diver as well.
>> So umbilical goes direct to the vessel to feel the movement of the waves.
Yeah, we were really blessed with super flat water, no swell uh whatsoever for what feels like a very long time.
And now uh we have some swell coming up again.
>> More movement.
>> Is this easy to land here?
>> Uh uphill to to look >> just to look. We can do that >> to collect one of those little rocks.
But uh there's no rush.
>> Okay. Try and get something less steep if you can.
>> Yeah.
>> Bridge.
>> I think we'll find more rocks here.
Can we start removing the >> the fish look very silvery or is it just because of the light?
>> Zero uh at 0.1 please.
>> Sorry.
>> Sorry. Did you hurt bearing 270 at 0.1?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Shows a very uh upright uh sleeping position.
big rock.
>> Very rocky cave.
>> Lots of kryoids enjoying the current >> obsidian and then crusting sponges there. Little >> an pot swimming by >> uh what?
>> Or was it a little shrimp? So the anim and >> a lot of these tube worms.
>> Yeah. And >> Mhm.
>> Meatriala.
>> Yes.
>> Potentially more and see how many grass are there.
These crosss, >> you think they have seen them before?
>> I think. Yeah, I think we did. But they some of them just looked a little bit more brownish and I was wondering like this now looks again whitish.
>> Welcome to my world.
Thank you.
>> Uh yeah. I mean they look like the one that you and me collected some days ago with the with the sweat gun, but >> it's very hard to say.
>> Yeah.
>> Uh we'll be looking for rock grass. The more grass the better. And the smaller the rock, the better. And the flat the area, the better. So they can stop and collect. So that's what I'm looking for now. It's nice here. All the koids on the on the edge.
Let's see. Uh the big No. Is it a big um carnivorous function?
Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Mhm.
>> Yeah. Let's go.
>> Oh, around it.
Thank you.
that you mention before.
>> No, I just pointed the candy sponge that you mention before.
This is a really >> to the blue.
Oh, heat.
Start the arm.
Okay.
Thanks.
Where is it supposed to be?
>> You don't trick me anymore here.
It's going for meat >> and plenty of sponges and it's behind is the the queen.
>> Yeah.
>> Of the banana hole >> and and even beyond that.
>> And even beyond. Yeah. Taking over.
>> Yeah. This not Yeah.
So the banana hall was the area of international waters that we've been in before for example for um the dives at seoid uh and at the moment we left this so-called banana hole which has its name because of um it's banana shaped outline when looked at from be uh above on the map. Uh and uh we're at the moment on uh seabed that is claimed by Norway.
Um and also the water column is in the so-called territorial waters. I want to check the the green one. You remember the green crust?
>> Yeah, you can see here.
>> We sampled the green crust as well at one point.
>> Yeah. Well, we sampled something green.
Yeah, probably is the same, >> I would say.
And there's a crime on top. And do you have a name for the green crust already or it's just green crust?
>> Ahmia.
>> Yes.
>> There are many in the world. It's a super diverse group. That's why it's a little bit difficult to to know the species name.
>> I have the feeling all sponge groups are super diverse. Or are they?
>> Some are mega diverse, I guess.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, some groups are not that much, but most of them are. Yeah.
>> I mean, they had plenty of time to become diverse.
They appear more than 500 million years ago, >> making them presumably the oldest animal on Earth.
>> Yes. Oh, potentially. Yeah. Almost sure.
>> Yeah.
Yeah.
>> Now the discussion is whether they are super old or even a little bit more.
>> Yeah.
And are there some spong sponge species of which you know that they >> they are especially old or they look they look >> still very similar to what they looked like um millions of years ago by >> yeah by fossils or some analysis that you could do.
>> Mhm.
>> Asking tricky questions here. I'm not sure. Probably there is an answer for that because I I do believe that there is a calccarious sponge that has some affinities with a group of sponges that are very common in the in the fossil record.
>> But yeah, there's not much I can tell you about that cuz I never really dig into that.
>> Yeah. Uh but they are all of them are quite old like to me. Uh like like very Yeah.
Like when when you see when you think about the very old landscape, you you're thinking things that look like a sponge, right?
are not very without the the fine shaped without true tissues without symmetry.
All those things were invented related later in the in the history of of life.
>> Can we zoom in on the sediment a bit to see what it's uh >> going to take that one? Okay.
>> Looks like a painting.
>> Yeah.
>> Beautiful. Three sponge crusts of different colors.
>> Yeah.
And here's a long is No, it's a crown, I think. No, I'm missing the top of it on this little stem.
So here we can see the diversity. So all these three things are different.
can tell by the morphology of the holes, by the color, by the texture, by for sure by the genetics.
That's >> all competing for the space. And uh >> they're all No, there was a there was I think a large Yeah.
something on a stem >> was like cranite.
>> Yeah, like a stocked triode, I think.
But I couldn't really see the top of it.
But I think it was just because the sediment hit it a bit.
>> Yeah.
And there are some bigger round sponges.
>> Yes.
>> But it's really hard to to tell you know how in the sample. Look at that one.
Yeah.
But we see quite nicely here that all the space that is not um that is not sedimented that is still rock substrate is populated by yeah by mostly sponges either uncrusting sponges or um sponges that grow in other forms. But yeah, this rock >> surface is really popular.
>> Can we change the bearing again to 260, please?
And here's also coming up in the top left corner a stock sponge. One of the tulip like sponges.
>> Yeah, >> more of them. Looks like an amphithe.
>> Is it?
>> I think so.
>> Ah, like this when I >> Yeah, presumably that one because >> I have a nice fan over there >> or I haven't seen that for a while. if it's okay.
>> Uh, was that the one that had this more transparent >> outline?
Is one that, uh, if you remember, we saw it with little triangular parts on the edges >> and sometimes it has a little bit of a color like oranges or yellowish.
Oh, we see some fish here.
Heat. Heat.
So, we have done about 200 m of transit.
>> Going further uphill here and we're at 2,200 >> something.
Yes, thank you.
>> We already covered 200 m.
Can we increase the speed to 0.2 please?
>> Also, not only length but also height.
>> Yeah, >> that's what you meant in the first place.
>> Well, it's probably more than 200 because it's also up. So 200 in in >> no.
No, probably not. Or just about.
>> Okay.
>> To get there.
>> So, how how does it look like?
>> Okay.
>> And we just climbed this.
>> Yeah, that was the rocky area. Okay.
>> So, maybe here. And now we're going sloping.
>> The slope is sloping.
So, we still have 400 m to climb up until the end of the transit.
>> I wonder if there is a reach at the very top as we have seen in some other dives reach with all the filter failings lined.
>> We're here to find out.
>> Yeah, that will be something because then the second transet follows that ridge. So if that happens, yeah, then it will be Mhm.
>> Right.
>> Yeah. So, we're climbing up the slope to the ridge, >> then we're following uh the ridge.
And in comparison to the slopes that we crawled up yesterday and the day before, now we have a which were very rocky.
>> We now have more of a sedimented slope.
Sediment.
>> Yeah.
You see still some rocks out.
But a lot of them seem to have been buried in this darker shade. Could this be our for minifera again?
>> It looks like pretty much to me. Yes.
>> Yeah.
>> So there's bunch of them.
>> Yeah. So little um it's little organisms um are glutenated.
>> Yeah. Well, if you are single cellled, >> yeah, >> but I think that those are maybe together individuals.
>> A good friend of mine studies the for >> they were always very present.
>> Is that friend watching? Maybe >> I don't know.
>> If so, please comment.
>> Greetings to you. 55. That's the trans.
>> Can we change the bearing to 255?
>> 255.
>> What are the little >> Thank you. darkish. Yeah.
>> That looks like a rock.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Two rocks colonized by little spots.
>> Ah, yeah. Yeah, that's it.
Of course, they're colonized.
Okay.
Okay.
>> Mhm.
>> A fish over there >> on the right side.
>> A small one. Yeah.
>> Yeah. That's perfect.
Good. Yes, that's good.
>> Great job.
>> You also probably just have a rope that is encrusted already.
>> Thank you.
And the dark patches are all little rock pieces.
Or could some of them like yesterday we also had some dark anemies.
>> This one here.
>> Just wondering if it's uh it's all rock pieces.
So the two lasers run 10 cm, right?
That's it.
>> Yes.
>> Try that.
Go ahead, Charlie.
>> Just a heads up that at 2:00 we will break this line and go to the school district for an hour.
>> They copy.
>> It happened to me that every time that the samples are on deck, they are bigger than what I thought.
>> No, >> maybe it's me. Maybe the illusion. And so here we are seeing things a little bit amplified.
>> Mhm.
>> Oh, there's a rocky outcrop on the right.
>> Broke is coming.
It's going for and yeah our community of interesting sponges.
>> Yeah.
They all settled on the area that is not covered by sediment. Can you see on the rock that you have an blackish part from to the right?
>> Just very few are sitting on the sedimented part.
>> Yeah, that's more for other organisms to occupy the sedimentary areas.
>> That looks like a para to me. Oh yeah, we haven't seen that yet.
>> You see >> the potato sponge?
>> That one. Yeah. So that's interesting.
And uh yeah, muscle aroperus. Sorry.
So 2,200. You remember on the first dives that the shi has always appeared at this >> at this mark and it was starting to get very um yeah very distinct.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. We had a numerous dives now where at 2,200 at which depth we are also right now we first began to saw to see these sponges these yeah potato sponges of Jodia and we don't know if that happened on the name because we we never went that deep.
>> True.
>> Yeah. Uh, so were there but we don't know if that line of the 2,200 applies as well but on the boat and on the shoes apparently. Yes.
Another genius. Oh yeah.
And this one can be stopped for a while.
No need to collect. Just want to have a look.
>> Jeremy, can we slow down to 0.1, please?
>> Yeah. Let's see if we can get just fancy. It looks different that ones than the other ones with the stand. This more looks more like something that we have already seen. It's more irregular. the the main body, the head.
>> Yeah, it looks like the it's hanging its head also.
>> I wonder if Felo is watching us cuz he's the one that knows about these guys.
>> Let's check.
>> Could correct all the silly things that I say.
Oops.
So I wonder because it has the stem to be more further away from the sediment but then it doesn't grow >> more upright but it goes down towards the sediment. It doesn't seem so >> well I guess >> can we stop this movement please?
>> I guess it depends on the shape of the the rock. I mean it tries to it tries to go out with the rock.
>> Yeah.
>> So rain back.
>> Yeah. That's what probably depends on where the currents are hitting.
>> They always find the the cool and rearrange their body >> so they get the more food now possible.
And those things that I just here on the rock at the beginning I thought it was a kind of a weird lizard but it doesn't look like a more fluffy and small. So I don't know what is that. Never seen it so far.
>> But we've also seen that some lizardics are more fluffy than others but this yeah seems too fluffy.
>> We don't know what what Yeah. like this.
If you >> look at this, it doesn't look so much.
>> This seems like the way is to me, >> but if you can see that the the color and the morphology is different so much.
>> Yeah. Yeah. That's the thing with the sponges. And you see all the little balls.
>> Yep. The cutless >> those are sponges.
>> Calcario sponges. So those are a different group, very separated from the other ones. This had the spicles made of calcium carbonate instead of silica. The very little ones with the stems which are more grayish.
>> Yeah, Svin took a very nice picture of one of those.
>> Oh yeah, I have to check it out.
>> Yeah, >> Svin is our underwater photographer on board and marine biologist and he's doing in the lab also photos of the samples we take. You can see super common the calc.
>> I'm good. Yeah.
>> Okay. Okay. Move forward.
That's a very green crust, >> green yellow crust.
>> And more the the biggest one or big those kind of friendship. And here we have another mysterious attack.
Very nice.
But this is like a really really sponge dominated community.
>> Yeah. Lip seed sponge realm.
>> I mean now more cryoids come into play but >> probably there's not that much food here. M >> we don't see on this wall also not many not at all any at the moment anemmones >> no well they well we saw we spot a couple before yeah >> three nights >> but the sponges always >> always bridge >> can movement 255 0.1 please >> zooming movement 25 and 0.2 0.1 please.
>> Copy 0.1.
>> I mean those little encrusting sponges, they don't need that much.
>> There was a big spider. I wasn't there.
>> I don't know.
>> Too late. But looked like this or yellow red one.
>> But sorry you >> No, I was saying that these little sponges, they don't need that much food.
The the grass because they may look um kind of big at least in the area that they cover. But if you measure how much tissue is in there, it's nothing. It's like half a gram. So the strategy then is to cover a lot of surface. So that so so they so if there is not much food in the water, they can still capture some uh because they they have more surface exposed to the water and the food on the water. But but they are not that big.
They are just point five gram.
>> So this is not a place with a lot of food probably.
Uh and that's why we find these kind of communities.
>> It's oligotrophic. That's the the the >> nutrient poor water >> presumably.
>> Presumably. Yeah. Yeah. This is just guessing.
still very diverse. You know, take one of those rocks and we start finding more and more species.
>> Yeah.
>> Also in the sediment there's a lot that we cannot see of of worms and mollisks and um yeah bacteria etc. Yes. All playing their roles in the nutrient cycling.
Australia. Yeah.
>> Oh, yeah. More of them coming. We're also Yeah. at about 2,200 still.
What I also found interesting what I think you told me the other day about the microbial dominated sponges or and the ones that are not like the ones that are just made up to a large extent of their body mass out of not of sponge but microbes.
>> So there are two type of sponges and these are two categories that we have invented. they are not real categories in terms of phytogenetic um terms but some sponges they have a lot of bacteria uh in their tissue that means that if we take a piece of the tissue and we wait that piece of tissue and then we remove somehow the bacteria and we wait the tissue again uh we'll see that probably about half of the biomass is bacteria and also in terms of diversity there's a huge diversity of bacteria living inside one sponge one while while there is another group of sponges that have much less uh amounts and diversity of bacteria. So the first one are called sponges and the second one are called um low microbial abundance so LMA sponges.
So high mial abundance and low microbial abundance sponges and they play different roles in the ecosystems.
Um the low microbial abundance sponges tend to eat larger food than the high microbial abundance sponges.
Um you tend to filter a little bit more of water.
So yeah, different different roles and different um strategies to survive.
But for most of the sponges, we don't know what they are because we haven't checked. So >> So you're checking Oh, >> hey fish.
Whoops.
So the thruster of the ROV um that are used also for navigating etc. they have some power but luckily these sponges are very good at regenerating >> their body parts or their whole body.
Yeah.
>> I don't think we haven't broke any sponge.
>> I I don't think they I think we we don't have we haven't broke any sponge now.
I saw a piece of leudendorics, our favorite very popular sponge.
>> The ones with the stem, they are very strong.
>> They're very rooted.
>> They're quite resilient to the roots.
Yeah.
>> How they do they grow and attach themselves? Do they have mucus at the stem or uh that serves as a glue?
>> Those are enzymes. So those are proteins that uh dig into the rock.
So in the shallow waters there are sponges that are adapted to grow inside rocks.
Uh, and then you have if you collect the rock, it's completely >> Oh, the is coming.
>> Hello.
>> Hello. Where is >> the chef that is um that is tempering us with a lot of nice food every day, multiple times a day, is paying us a visit.
So, we're still climbing, right? 2,171.
Yeah.
Sorry.
Have a look at the transits we're doing at the moment.
So I think that we have monias there.
You see the right there is a really huge encrusting sponge over there.
>> Oh yeah. And also some green crusts >> just around competing with it.
Streetia little polyia right into shrimp.
>> That's a big shrimp, huh?
>> Yeah.
>> See how big that one cm?
number.
So now this is beautiful. All these rocks.
>> Yeah, they have good structures here.
pinnacles and outcrops and the organisms, the filter feeding or suspension feeding ones, they like it as well.
>> Shrimps. It's plenty of shrimps. You see, >> they also get some nice food here.
It's always funny how they like walk through the water.
>> So, the big ball with the stem. I've seen uh little ones. I don't know if it's the same, if it's something different.
>> It's a baby or >> uh Yeah, I'm tempted to Well, this is too steep to stop, but flatter or some kind of platform.
>> Yeah, >> maybe we can ask.
>> We can always ask.
>> You see this one here and this one? They look different to me.
Yeah. And maybe that little one was next to the shrimp was also here. Little amphipods. Can we see them? Like this.
Let me see again.
>> Oh, the fan shaped one just below.
>> This one when we collect it, uh, it has a lot of mucus.
>> And we are interested in sponsors with mucus because we can study the natural products.
>> So, very slimy ones. I just had to check this.
>> It works. It changed this uh screen.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, no. It's good. Yeah. Okay.
>> So, with Paco, we collect some of these in in cold. We freeze them and we will potentially study them in the University of molecules uh with some potentials like uh in biio medicine. For instance, sponges are the most important group of marine animals in terms of how many new molecules we found per year.
Uh so they are like a big reservoir of resources as well for the humans.
>> 0.2 Please, >> we can uh >> thank you >> be inspired in the structure of those molecules to then create uh new drugs.
>> Uh so >> ant bacterial or anti- viral anti-cancerous >> anti-cancerous yeah many different >> applications. So the the biological diversity that we see here uh is matched with the biological with the chemical diversity.
And this is also a reason to uh study these kind of environments to put a name on the species to collect some of them uh and also to protect them.
Is this >> Is this a little jodia?
>> Yeah, it looks like looks like to me >> little potato.
>> So, you see the small one that I told you before, the one in the center that looks different than this one. You see it's more regular. It's more like a bowl.
>> I feel like there's this ball and then there's a ball with um >> with a cylinder on the top.
>> Yep. And then there's one that is just more irregular shape or like cauliflower.
>> Yeah. Or cauliflower.
>> Yeah. Cauliflower like so potentially I see three morphologies, you know, maybe it's all the same. Um but maybe not.
>> You have a little sketchbook for for the different sponges. I saw you drawing the spicules at least today when you were sitting at the microscope to like >> see which uh >> I draw a lot when when the samples come >> to so if we collect the rock with many brass I I try to to draw the the rock and then to make take notes on it and to take a picture on that because I want to match what I see on the video with what I have on my hands >> on the lamp >> like that then you can strap the ID notifications with the with the videos >> and you don't need to collect that much.
Just collect one or once or twice and then you can put the name on what you see and with a little bit more of confidence.
Uh this one.
>> So this also a fan. Uh not a fan. A stem with a um with a weird shape like the one that we saw before that was like a melting was like melting down.
>> Not over there.
>> Oh, we see the the cameras and the lights of our our >> some technical excursion.
So >> yeah, that looks more like the regular like the cauliflower one that I was showing you before.
>> Yeah, >> it still has a stem.
>> Yeah, but it's like Yeah, it looks like melted.
>> Yeah, but it's not round.
Then here you have the >> Yep.
>> the ball shaped one with the cylinder.
And there lot of mother cauliflower.
>> Yeah. So these are two different things.
Sure.
>> Let me see if I find the the third one.
The small bowl.
>> So it's one, two, and then there's potentially a third one.
>> And how do you call them?
>> Just stem.
>> Yeah. I mean those are glasses sponges.
They are not my fields. Uh we've been calling we've been using the name something here. We've been using um aella kafakus sometimes but yeah with not much confidence at least for my part. I'm more of a demo sponge guy which is all the rest you see. But those big ones with the stem, those are exactly like sponges and they are very different to the other ones. So you need to specialize only in that group in order to understand them.
>> It's always crazy on how much you can specialize. You can specialize on first marine biology, then deep sea biology, then sponges, and then glass sponges or Yeah. Just endless.
Oh, that's beautiful.
>> Oh, hey, there we have a nice escalator.
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. Plenty.
>> Yeah. Yeah. They really like the food.
So, I think that as every time that we have a rocky oak crop, the audience are there >> and a lot of the like glass bunches. Oh, yeah.
Feel power paying us a visit as well.
Gathering some food.
>> Can I change the bearing to 25, please?
>> 5 0 and 0.2. Okay, >> thank you.
Um, no. I thought this was a soft coral, but it was as those are really big. I think >> Mhm.
So, at some point we may try to collect one of those when the train is a bit easier.
>> Yeah. to see if we can send it to our colleague that is a specialist.
>> Is that colleague also in oops or somewhere else?
>> No. So he was in Portugal but at the moment I'm not sure if he because he's from it's from Brazil I think.
>> So it's back home.
>> Oh yeah.
>> I'm not sure.
And we have a little jellyfish.
>> Yeah.
>> No chance to stop in any of those places.
>> Stopping is one thing for >> for collecting.
>> But we can collect with the with the T4 >> with the with the unit.
>> But we have to have space to open the tra.
What's the push?
>> I think it's going to be a little bit harder to all the sediment coming than others.
>> No, no, no. Push.
>> No, I'm not saying to to stop now.
>> Yeah.
>> Ask it if it's okay to stop at some point.
This is one of the small ones. Yeah, exactly.
>> Oh, there are more coming up. The small stem sponges.
>> So, I don't know if those are maybe whatever the other one or different species.
>> Mhm.
>> Bridge are we can we change to 0.1 species?
quite well.
>> Unfortunately, the current is pushing us into the wall.
>> Yeah, let's Yeah, let's carry on then.
>> Yeah. Yeah, I know. So, >> possible with the settlement. It's not so easy.
>> Mhm. getting more >> there. You see >> uh Yeah, >> probably.
Yeah, >> with a cryoid on top.
>> Yeah, we see it from the side.
>> Yeah.
Like a little palm tree out of two organisms.
Yeah. More and more jodas there, there, there.
Now it's 2,128.
>> We can land here if you want. We can Where where are the samples going to go >> to the bios?
>> Yeah. Which portal started?
The wine you prefer.
>> If you want them in the starboard side, I can turn my head to pork and get out.
And if you want pork side, I turn my head to starboard to get it out.
>> You're saying because of the the sponges >> it can be both.
So the one >> it doesn't matter which where you want them sort of thing cuz at the moment I think there's one in the port side after >> and there.
>> So you tell me where you want me to rest area.
>> We want to collect one of the balls. One of these. Yeah. One of those.
>> Okay.
Bridge, can we have a movement of 180 for 20 m at 0.1 and then stop, please?
>> 180 20 m at.1. Okay, >> thank you.
That one that is in front of interesting sponges that we want to look further on in the lab what exactly they are >> and how they differ from each other.
>> So we're coming now to a halt. Um, and it it's a little bit tricky terrain because of the slope and all the fine sediment that is sitting on top of the rock that is now being resuspended.
Um, but yeah, we'll try.
>> Yeah. Yeah. She's taking some because it's in front of the Yeah.
So, what do you think of this?
I'm not sure. It's really cool.
>> If it's a juvenile one or just a grown one of a different sort of >> Yeah.
The pores of that one definitely look different.
>> They look different.
>> And I mean in addition also to its shape.
>> But yeah, super large.
>> Yes. Yes.
>> Very spongy.
Can we remove the lasers for a second?
Sorry.
>> Can we turn off the lasers? Turn off the lasers. Yeah.
>> Thank you.
>> Sorry. Can't get it. It's too too risky.
>> Okay.
>> Yep. No problem. Yeah, no problem.
>> The swell is a little bit big.
>> Yeah, we feel it as well.
>> No problem. No problem.
>> Thank you.
>> No, if we change if we turn our hand or we just probably at the top it's also >> books. It would be good to >> Yeah, but don't worry. We can later.
>> If we turn we have the yellow behind us like this. We have >> I would just say to move forward.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
So we're going to move forward um as the uh umbilical the line with which the ROV is connected to the ship uh and all this well is um something we always have to look out for and that makes it even more difficult at the moment to sample at this point. Um, but we're pretty sure that we can find these sponges also more later on.
>> Um, when the train is more easy, makes it more eas in in about 2 minutes so that we can go live on schools.
>> Okay, thank you.
So yeah, we're going we're we heard that um the stream is now stopping soon.
We're coming to an end uh because we're also doing some uh educational work with the school for which uh we will also need the bandwidth.
>> Um yeah, but we've just found a interesting rock structure here.
>> So we're going to continue exploring here. Um and we will probably meet you later on uh in the next dive next dive stream and we can talk more about what we've encountered then um also what the lab processing etc has brought up.
So, thanks a lot for tuning in. Um, and we hope to Yeah. to have you have you soon again.
>> Thank you.
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