25 Hidden Deep Sea Ecosystems Found Off Trinidad And Tobago

Marine scientists have completed the first locally led and most comprehensive deep-sea survey of the islands’ surrounding ocean during a month-long expedition in July aboard the R/V Falkor (too).

The team located more than 25 active cold seeps, discovered 20 suspected new species and mapped approximately 13% of the country’s marine territory.

The potential new species include an octopus first discovered during a 2014 expedition involving Chief Scientist Dr. Diva Amon. Scientists lacked the required data to confirm it then but can now use the latest findings to determine whether it is a new species.

More than 700 specimens were collected, including corals, carnivorous sponges and squat lobsters. They will be housed at the Zoology Museum at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, increasing its deep-sea collection twelve-fold.

More than 11,335 square kilometers of uncharted seafloor were mapped, revealing 219 bubble streams indicating possible cold-seep sites. Using the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian, scientists confirmed 25 cold seep ecosystems.

The largest measured half an acre and was covered with mussels and tubeworms. At least 54 species never before observed in the country’s waters were seen, including ghost sharks and zombie worms.

The expedition also documented a rare manta ray fall, a black swallower with a distended stomach and human-made trash in the deep sea.

More than 86 species of deep-water sponges, corals and sea cucumbers had tissues cryopreserved. Scientists also engaged more than 2,000 people through Ship-to-Shore activities and over 1,000 through school and university visits.