Schmidt Ocean 🌊

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¡Qué lindo! Every bit of this south wall in the #MarDelPlataCanyon is vibrant and alive. More than 3,000 meters beneath surface waters, these animals have found the perfect place to make a home. In the Ocean, many animals, such as anemones, corals, and sponges are sessile, meaning they permanently attach themselves to rocky surfaces and canyon walls. But how do they pick their forever homes? Imagine you’re a deep-sea sponge. OK, technically, you’re not really a sponge — yet. Imagine you are a future sponge. You are a larva. Your sponge parents ejected the ingredients that came together to form you: an egg, some sperm, and here you are, becoming. For just a few glorious days you experience mobility. The water swirls around you, supporting and propelling your tiny larval body along. In this free-swimming phase, you’re equipped with cilia; these tiny hairlike structures help you swim and drift through the deep Ocean. You are searching for a place suited to the life you will live once your metamorphosis is complete, once you are a sponge. A canyon wall or a rocky outcrop just like this would be ideal because the solid, uneven surface offers something to hold on to, unlike the seafloor, which is composed of layers of fluffy soft sediment. Scientists believe that larvae like you respond to chemical cues from both the environment and from adults who have thrived in the waters you’re exploring. The last, and most important thing immobile animals need is an exceptional meal delivery service. You’re going to want to live in a current with lots of nutrients delivered right to you so you can grow over the hundreds of years you will live in your new, stationary life. ¡Qué lindo, mesmo! #schmidtocean #schmidt #robotsubmarino #deepsea

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Crab Hatter! 🦀 Your parents probably told you not to play with your food, but what did they say about wearing your snack as camouflage? While we’re not sure if this crab is actually eating the animal — they may be nibbling on something else in the sediment — crabs have been known to snack on anemones. There are also many species of crabs that live in symbiosis with anemones, which belong to a group of predatory marine invertebrates related to corals and jellyfish. One species adorns its shells with anemones — their stinging cells (called nematocysts) are an excellent deterrent against hungry octopuses. Another, the pom-pom crab, holds a venomous anemone in each claw like boxing gloves! ROV pilots filmed this seafloor scene at 140 meters, in subantarctic waters, 151 nautical miles southeast of Montevideo during the first dive of #UruguaySUB200. The #DeepWaterUruguay science team is undertaking the first effort to systematically collect samples and footage from benthic communities off Uruguay’s coast using state-of-the-art technologies available on R/V Falkor (too). Video credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute #schmidtocean #robotsubmarino #schmidt

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Elegimos en @sobreciencia.uy los cuatro pulpos más lindos que se han visto en lo que va de la campaña oceánica #UruguaySUB200 Y te contamos cuáles son... ¿Elegiste tu favorito? Créditos de las imágenes: @schmidtocean / ROV SuBastian