Shrimp Slips from Slurp to Stay on Stalked Sponge

Studying associates - or animals that closely interact with each other - is an important insight into deep-sea ecology going beyond understanding one animal at a time. In this video, our Corps of Exploration came across a pair of Lebbeus shrimp perched high on a Caulophacus sp. sponge while diving on an unnamed seamount east of Ailinglaplap Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Join in as the team attempts to collect shrimp samples for one our collaborating scientists on shore with the slurp tool on ROV Hercules, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Still, our high-resolution video footage of this previously unexplored region of the ocean will better help scientists understand the intricacies of life in the deep sea. 

The NA174 expedition exploring the deep sea of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.