Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

MBARI is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center. Our mission is to achieve and maintain a position as a world center for advanced research and education in ocean science and technology.

[mbari-blog]

Serving some major squeeee 😱🥹🥰⁠

This adorable baby is the eryoneicus larval stage of a deep-sea lobster. These fuzzy globs of cute float and feed in the water column until they're ready to change into juvenile lobsters and settle on the seafloor. During this stage, they are covered with thousands of tiny hairs, which they eventually lose as they develop into adults. This larva is about five centimeters (two inches) long. You're welcome. 😍

[mbari-blog]

Let's hear it for the worms! 🙌🏽⁠

Named for their acorn-shaped front end, enteropneusts are actually more closely related to humans than to worms. They have a rudimentary nerve cord that is similar to ours, and they breathe oxygen using structures similar to a fish's gills.⁠

Acorn worms are also connected to humans through the carbon cycle. They play a significant role in the redistribution of sediment and nutrients in deep-sea communities. ⁠

Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere mixes into the ocean at the surface. Tiny plant-like plankton transform carbon dioxide into organic material and are then eaten by larger animals. As these animals eat, poop, and die, they create a flurry of organic material known as marine snow. The sinking snow moves nutrients and carbon all the way down to the deep seafloor, where bottom-dwelling animals, like acorn worms, enjoy a bountiful feast. This cycle is known as the biological pump.

As they do their part to help regulate climate, we can do our part by drastically reducing our carbon dioxide emissions. The ocean is a powerful ally that has buffered us from the impacts of climate change—now it is our turn to act on climate change to safeguard the future of the ocean and its inhabitants.⁠

[mbari-blog]

Two teams, one deep-sea mission 🌊🚢🌊

Earlier this month, a team of @montereybayaquarium biologists completed an expedition to Guide Seamount aboard MBARI’s flagship research vessel David Packard to explore the seamount’s rocky ridges. 

Located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) offshore of Davenport, California, Guide Seamount is an underwater mountain made up of four parallel volcanic ridges.

Previous MBARI surveys documented the community of marine life that lives on the seamount and in the waters above its summit. After studying this seamount, the team conducted midwater surveys in Monterey Bay and Ascension Canyon. 

With the support of MBARI’s marine operations team, including R/V David Packard crew and ROV Doc Ricketts pilots, the expedition team successfully collected several animals for exhibit at the Aquarium, some species on public display for the first time anywhere in the world.

MBARI and the Monterey Bay Aquarium have a rich history of collaboration. Together, we’re working to raise awareness about life in the deep sea. Learn more on our website.

[mbari-blog]

This spectacular squid is the robust clubhook squid, Onykia robusta, one of the largest species of squid in the ocean. This juvenile measured about 60 centimeters (two feet) long, but adults can grow to over three meters (almost 10 feet). 🦑💫⁠ ⁠ Large body size has many benefits, including protection from predators. But growing big is a challenge, particularly for squid. By virtue of their molluscan heritage, squids possess a set of traits—including high energy demand, energetically costly locomotion, and low blood-oxygen-carrying capacity—that presumably restrict most species to smaller adult body sizes. But clearly, there are exceptions.⁠ ⁠ The deep sea remains one of Earth’s least explored habitats, and extraordinary animals like the robust clubhook squid remind us how much there is still to discover. Questions about how and why some deep-sea species grow to such impressive sizes continue to inspire research, fueling new discoveries about life in the ocean’s depths.⁠

[mbari-blog]

These denizens of the deep have super senses 👃💫

Ghost sharks (Hydrolagus spp.) root around the seafloor searching for a meal. They maneuver back and forth with broad fins, sometimes hovering in place, and have an oily liver to boost their buoyancy, conserving their energy. Receptors in their heads detect the electrical signals of invertebrates buried in the mud, while a keen sense of smell helps them sniff out rotting carrion. Their tooth plates can nip pieces of dead fish or crush hard-bodied prey. And a sharp, venomous spine on their dorsal fins offers protection from large sharks and other predators that prowl these same waters.

Ghost sharks live deep underwater, but our actions on land loom large for their future. Some species are caught as accidental bycatch in commercial fisheries, while others are at risk from seafloor mining. The deep sea is closer than you think. Our everyday choices can make a difference for ghost sharks and other denizens of the deep. Together, we can ensure these ancient animals continue to thrive for countless generations to come. Learn more about these amazing animals of the deep on our website.

[mbari-blog]

Pretty, pink, and surprisingly fierce 🌸🍴🪸⁠

Tritonia tetraquetra is a relatively large sea slug or nudibranch that can grow to 21 centimeters (over eight inches) in length. The two horn-like structures on Tritonia’s head are rhinophores that allow the sea slug to “smell” chemical signals dissolved in seawater and help find its prey—deep-sea corals. They crawl onto corals and eat the soft polyps with a rasp-like tongue called a radula. These perfectly pink predators get that rosy hue from the color of their prey.

[mbari-blog]

Here it is, your Monday morning moment of zen 🪼〰️⁠⁠

This stunning spider-legged jelly (Octogonade sp.) was observed at 238 meters (781 feet). ⁠ ⁠ Using underwater robots, we can observe these delicate deep-sea drifters without damaging them or disrupting their behaviors. We now know that jellies are some of the dominant predators in the ocean’s inky depths. They are also a food source for many animals and offer shelter in an endless expanse of open water.⁠ ⁠ Human actions, such as fishing, pollution, mining, and climate change, threaten to unravel the complex web of life that thrives below the ocean’s surface. Our everyday actions impact the deep ocean. Choosing sustainable seafood, avoiding single-use plastic, and reducing your carbon footprint can all help our ocean. Together, we can grow a community of ocean champions committed to protecting the deep sea and its inhabitants.

[mbari-blog]

In our latest episode of deep-sea animals that can dance better than you worm we give you a ribbon worm with smooth moves. 💃🏻⁠

Nemerteans are neither worms nor fish, although they look a bit like both. They are unique enough to belong in their own phylum. Most nemerteans burrow in sediments or between crevices in rocks, shells, and other seafloor habitats, but some, like this one, live in the open ocean, never touching the seafloor. Nemerteans range in length from a few millimeters to 30 meters when stretched (nearly 100 feet); most species measure about 20 centimeters (about eight inches) or less.⁠ ⁠

This ribbon worm (Phallonemertes sp.) was observed at 1,630 meters (5,348 feet).

[mbari-blog]

This deep-sea fish has one of the best strategies for hiding in the deep-sea 🖤✨️

The California slickhead (Alepocephalus sp.) is often found below 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet). Their name was inspired by the lack of scales on the fish's head. Those large eyes give the slickhead an edge in an environment where food can be scarce. It can glimpse even the faintest flickers of bioluminescence—the “living light” produced by deep-sea animals.

Deep-sea animals have a variety of remarkable adaptations to help them hide in the midnight zone, but this species uses the shade of their skin to hide from predators and prey in this dark expanse. Ultra-black fishes have unique structures in their skin that very efficiently trap and absorb light. Melanin—the same pigment found in human skin—is densely packed into super-thin layers on the outermost surface of their skin. While most light photons are immediately absorbed, the specific shape, size, and configuration of these melanin layers scatter any missed photons into neighboring skin cells, where they are subsequently absorbed. Ultimately, ultra-black skin absorbs 99.5 percent (or more) of the visible light with virtually none reflected.

[mbari-blog]

Adding a little drama to the deep seafloor ❤️💫

This brightly-colored anemone, in the order Actiniaria, was captured on camera at 586 meters (1,922 feet). Along the muddy seafloor, these amazingly adaptable animals often serve as shelter for shrimp, amphipods, and even some fish species. ⁠ ⁠ The flat ocean floor—known as the abyssal plain—is one of this planet's largest and least known habitats. These muddy plains support a dazzling diversity of life, including sponges, anemones, crabs, and sea stars (all of which appear in this video). This captivating cast of characters depends on the organic matter that falls from the ocean's surface above or drifts by in the currents. Far from the isolated, stable ecosystems most people imagine when they think of the deep seafloor, the landscape of this vast ecosystem is diverse and dynamic.

[mbari-blog]

Why are so many deep-sea animals red?⁠❤️

Red is the first wavelength of color to be lost as light decreases with depth, so red things essentially disappear in the deep pelagic zone. Animals that are red, like this Periphyllopsis jelly, appear black and remain camouflaged from their predators and prey. ⁠ ⁠ The only light in the midnight zone is the bioluminescence, or “living light,” produced by the animals that live there. Most bioluminescence is usually blue or green. Red skin absorbs these wavelengths of light, keeping this crimson jelly and its ruby-colored relatives hidden from any lurking predators searching for their next meal.

[mbari-blog]

Fellowship of the deep 🪄

Most of the deep seafloor is an endless expanse of mud inhabited by animals living in, on, and just above the sediment. Corals and sponges need hard substrate for attachment, so seamounts, rocky ridges, and submarine canyons are hotspots for these sessile invertebrates. Moreover, these geologic features alter the currents that stream along the deep seafloor. The currents carry plankton and tiny particles of food called “marine snow” (a mix of dead plankton, mucus, poop, and other organic matter). Corals have tiny, tentacled polyps that snatch food from the surrounding seawater, while sponges feed by filtering particles of food from the water.

Deep-sea coral and sponge communities don’t receive as much attention as their shallow-water counterparts, but their roles in deep-sea ecosystems are equally important and, unfortunately, they are just as vulnerable to human impacts, including trawling, mining, and pollution. Because deep-sea corals and sponges provide vital habitat for so many other animals, MBARI researchers are trying to understand their biology to determine how resilient they are to environmental change and how populations might recover. Our work is answering fundamental questions about the changing ocean to help inform ocean management and policy.

[mbari-blog]

Just some cute snailfish hangs 🐌🐟️⁠

Snailfishes (family Liparidae) are a diverse and thriving group of fishes with over 400 described species. They have tadpole-like bodies with broad pectoral fins and tiny tail fins. Their pelvic fins are modified to form a suction cup, allowing them to fasten onto rocks, corals, or research equipment and hold tight in strong currents. They have been observed clinging to crabs where they may lay eggs inside the gill cavity of their host.⁠ ⁠ Snailfishes are found globally in all ocean basins, from shallow intertidal waters to the deepest depths of the ocean. They are among the most common fishes living in deep-sea trenches. In fact, the Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) holds the record for the deepest-dwelling seafloor fish (down to 8,178 meters or 26,800 feet).⁠

[mbari-blog]

Strawberry, but make it deep sea 🍓✨️

Histioteuthis heteropsis, also known as strawberry squid, get their common name from the berry-like appearance of their bright-red bodies speckled with small light organs called photophores. These clever cephalopods use their crimson coloration and luminescent photophores to mask their silhouettes and hide from predators like sperm whales, dolphins, tunas, swordfish, and sharks that may be prowling the waters below.

In their natural habitat, strawberry squid are almost always observed in an oblique position with the larger eye facing slightly upward and the smaller eye facing downward. The big left eye looks upward to spot shadows cast by prey in the dimly lit waters above. The squid’s right eye searches for flashes of bioluminescence produced by prey or predators lurking in the dark depths. This squid is sometimes called the cockeyed squid for the remarkable difference in size between the two eyes.

[mbari-blog]

Lessons on how to go with the flow, from a stalked tunicate. 〰️⁠

Culeolus barryi is a species of tunicate (sea squirt) discovered by researchers at MBARI. Unlike most tunicates, they live suspended a little above the seafloor so that they can capture particles of food from water currents that flow through them. Named in honor of Benthic Ecologist and Senior Scientist James P. Barry, who has contributed enormously to the study of deep-sea ecosystems.

[mbari-blog]

Siphonophores—taking teamwork to the next level 🙌⁠

Siphonophores (pronounced “sigh-fawn-oh-fours”) are colonial creatures made up of specialized segments (called zooids) that work together as one. The zooids are structurally similar to other solitary animals, but they are attached rather than living independently. Most siphonophores follow a similar body plan—a gas-filled float provides buoyancy, swimming bells propel the colony, and a central stem bears specialized parts for feeding, defense, and reproduction. ⁠ ⁠ This species, likely Craseoa lathetica, is typically observed between 175 and 925 meters (575 and 3,035 feet) deep, although we have had some sightings as deep as 3,075 meters (10,090 feet)! ⁠ ⁠ Siphonophores are incredibly fragile and difficult to study. Many species of siphonophore can cast off their body parts, similar to a lizard separating from its tail when threatened. With the help of deep-diving robots, MBARI scientists are shedding new light on these remarkable residents of the midnight zone and improving our understanding of life in the ocean’s mysterious depths.

[mbari-blog]

Tentacles for days and days⁠ 🪼💫⁠

Pandea rubra is also known as the red paper lantern jelly. This tiny drifter has a bell that measures up to eight centimeters (about three inches), but its tentacles can be much longer, as seen in this video clip. These cosmopolitan jellies can be found worldwide from the surface to 3,300 meters (about 10,000 feet) deep and feed on even tinier krill and copepods.