**NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION**

**RESEARCH EXPEDITION**

**FLORIDA COAST DEEP CORALS 2005**

**Unless otherwise indicated, all video clips are courtesy of Brooke et
al., NOAA-OE, HBOI**

**"Logs" referenced below are available at
[www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov](http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/)**

**Select "Florida Coast Deep Corals" exploration. Logs are posted on the
right side of this page.**

**SCRIPT FOR CANAVERAL CORAL COMMUNITY VIDEO CLIP, NOV. 8 LOG:**

These images are from video footage taken by a camera mounted on the
Johnson-Sea-Link submersible. Shown are: Bamboo coral (*Keratoisis
sp.*), pencil urchin (*Stylocidaris sp.*), *Anthomastus sp.* octocoral
(the red coral), bamboo corals, encrusting colonial organisms growing on
dead coral, and a variety of glass sponges (Hexactinellid), including
one sponge with several small brittle stars (Ophiuroids). Note the
codling fish (family Moridae) and the octocoral tentacles being "blown"
in the current, which was running at about ¾ of a knot.

**SCRIPT FOR "BURIED BOMB" VIDEO CLIP, NOV. 9 LOG:**

Scientist John Reed: "We have something that's about a foot tall stuck
in the bottom. It's blue, it has 4 fins on the tail of it, and sort
of......I don't know what it is."

Submersible Pilot Tim Askew, Jr.: "The chart wasn't lying about the
ordnance!"

John Reed: "Let's get away from that."

Some of the ship's and science crew believe this to be a "dummy bomb."
Others from our mission are not sure what it is.

**CAPTION FOR "MYSTERY CREATURE & FEATHER STAR" VIDEO CLIP, NOV. 10
LOG:**

The "fuzzy trees" mystery creatures living on recently-dead *Lophelia*
coral at about 2,500 feet in depth off Canaveral Pinnacle #151. They are
being "blown" by a current that was running at about ¾ of a knot. The
second part of this video second part of this video clip shows a feather
star, also known as an unstalked crinoid, on *Lophelia* coral.

**CAPTIONS FOR 3 VIDEOS, NOV. 11 LOG:**

**Mola mola video:**

*Johnson-Sea-Link* Submersible Pilot Don Liberatore: "Wow, look at this,
an ocean sunfish. Oh my God, cool! We got a *Mola mola* here in front of
us."

This ocean sunfish was about 5' long and probably weighed 300-500
pounds. The white patches are where its skin has been taken off by
unknown means, revealing the white cartilage beneath.

**Crab and Shark video:**

Scientist Grant Gilmore filmed this interaction between a 10-12" golden
crab and an 8" roughtail catshark. He commented that this scene reminded
him of the "War of the Worlds."

**Deep Sea Fish -- Cocoa Pinnacle video:**

A rattail, codling, and roughtail catsharks. The two green laser
measuring points are 25 cm. apart.

**SCRIPT FOR BIOLUMINESCING BAMBOO CORAL VIDEO, NOV. 12 LOG:**

Scientist Valerie Paul: "This you have to give it some damage. I'm
rubbing it with my thumbnail to get it do that, but it can do it over
and over again."

**CAPTION FOR AMPHIPOD IN SPONGE DISCOVERY VIDEO, NOV. 13 LOG:**

Dr. Jim Thomas shows pieces of the just-collected Hexactinellid sponge
to Dr. Jerry Harasewych, who photographs it. Dr. Thomas discovered a
tiny amphipod inside the sponge.

Audio portion:

Dr. Valerie Paul: "Oh, I see, they live in there, like a ship in a
bottle."

Dr. Jim Thomas: "Yeah, right here."

Dr. Paul: "Oh, and these lock in. Cool!"

Dr. Thomas: "So what I'm trying to do is separate this chamber out and
then go over and take a picture."

**CAPTION FOR TEACHERS AT SEA NOV. 14 LOG VIDEO:**

Amidst the "hub bub" of a dozen members of the science crew (background
audio):

Teachers Tracy Griffin and Elisabeth Jacobi discuss with Chief Scientist
Dr. Sandra Brooke what was seen during Elisabeth's submersible dive.

Elisabeth studies a small specimen of a recently collected coral.

Elisabeth and Dr. Charles Messing looking for brittle seastars in a
coral specimen.

Tracy and Elisabeth labeling specimens with Dr. Brooke.

**CAPTION FOR DEEP SEA SUBMERSIBLE DIVE NOV. 16 LOG VIDEO**

Submersible pilot Phil Santos and scientist Dr. Jerry Harasewych during
the launch and first 207 feet of deployment of the *Johnson-Sea-Link*
sub. Note the "depth" reading in the top left corner of the data
overlay.

**CAPTIONS FOR NOV. 18 LOG VIDEOS:**

**[Deep Predators of Miami Terrace Video:]{.underline}**

A conger eel poking its head out in front of a golden soft coral. Up to
a dozen conger eels were seen during this dive.

A red alfonsino fish and a wreckfish.

A small school of barrelfish and a slightly larger wreckfish (on the
left) swim upslope onto the crest of the feature to investigate the
submersible.

An impressively-sized wreckfish. The size of its belly led to
speculation that it is a female full of eggs.

Two different sand tiger sharks. The first, which was the larger of the
2, had apparently sustained scrapes on its nose from unknown causes.

**[Mackerel School of Miami Terrace Video:]{.underline}**

A large school of mackerel which appeared to follow the submersible for
almost half an hour around the deep coral reef.

**CAPTIONS FOR NOV. 19 LOG VIDEOS:**

**[Slit-Shell Snail Search:]{.underline}**

Submersible Pilot Don Liberatore: "It's on a little section of almost
vertical wall. Again, there are a few sponges around............ This
one is sitting on top of a sponge. I don't know it it's eating it or
not."

The last segment depicts collection of one of the snails with the
submersible's suction tube and placing the snail in one of the
collection buckets which are kept in front of the submersible's sphere.

**[Milking Slit-Shell Snails:]{.underline} *video courtesy of Joe
Bruncsak/Brooke et al., NOAA-OE, HBOI***

Dr. Jerry Harasewych, Curator of Marine Mollusca at the Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History, uses a pipette to "milk," or extract
a thick white liquid, from the slit-shell snail......................
(genus species)

Dr. Melany Puglisi, of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft. Pierce,
collects the fluid in small jars which she and others at the Marine
Station will analyze.

A dozen specimens of slit-shell snails collected in the day's
submersible dive await milking.

**[Chemical Analysis Plans for Slit-Shell "Milk":]{.underline} *video
courtesy of Joe Bruncsak/Brooke et al., NOAA-OE, HBOI***

Marine chemical ecology research technician Raphael Ritson-Williams of
Ft. Pierce, Florida:

"We're going to take this (the slit-shell snail "millk") back to our lab
and do chemical analysis on it to look for different types of compounds
that are in it, do extractions, and then hopefully isolate some
compounds. We hope to get a chance to come back and test them (the
isolated compounds) against crabs and other things to see if they don't
taste good so crabs wouldn't eat them. Or they might be pheromones to
find other snails with, so you set a little trap out and see if other
snails aggregate around it and test it like that. But right now we're
just going to look at the chemistry (of the "milk")."

**CAPTION FOR NOV. 20 LOG, MIAMI TERRACE DEEP CORAL DIVERSITY VIDEO:**

The beauty and diversity of the deep-sea coral reefs of Miami Terrace:

*Lophelia pertusa* corals were particularly abundant along the top edge
of the terrace escarpment's west ridge.

Just below the ridge edge, *Lophelia* coral grew lushly, hanging down
from the underside of the ledge. Growing in this fashion may allow the
corals to take advantage of food-laden currents, as well as to avoid
burial by sediments drifting down from above.

The top of the terrace was covered with lacy octocorals and white
sponges, as well as galatheid crabs a exhibiting their classic "claws
up" posture.