Mission Plan
Mission Plan

View a slide show of images from the expedition

camera icon Click image to view a slide show from the expedition.

Ocean Exploration on the Reefs of Palau

February 19 – March 4, 2011

Marc Slattery
Principal Investigator
University of Mississippi

camera icon Watch video of the dive team conducting biodiversity surveys, water samples and photo transects.

This expedition represents the culmination of ongoing collaboration between National Institute for Undersea Science & Technology- Ocean Biotechnology Center & Repository and University of New Hampshire explorers that use technical diving to characterize deep reef communities and to assess the organisms for their biotechnology potential. Marc Slattery and company have experience working in the twilight zone of the Bahamas and Cayman Islands, and preliminary data from these studies indicate that the deep reef sponges are significantly more bioactive and biodiverse than the surrounding shallow reefs. To date, the Indo-Pacific deep reefs have been relatively unexplored despite the fact that this region encompasses far more biodiversity than the Caribbean.

A diver prepares to enter the water off the stern of the Ocean Hunter I.

A diver prepares to enter the water off the stern of the Ocean Hunter I. Click image for larger view and image credit.

Divers survey the coral community clinging to a coral wall.

Divers survey the coral community clinging to a coral wall. Click image for larger view and image credit.

Technological limitations have restricted our studies of coral reef ecosystems to about the upper 40m of the water column. This corresponds to the physiological/safety limitations of standard recreational SCUBA diving, and the pragmatic limitations of submersible/ROV & research platform costs. As a result, the deep coral reef community has been generally overlooked (in fact, we know less about this habitat than we know about many deep sea habitats), despite the fact that these communities are often biodiversity hotspots, and potential refugia for many important shallow-reef species.

Researchers encountered a small island that has been severely eroded by wave action.

Researchers encountered a small island that has been severely eroded by wave action. Click image for larger view and image credit.

Divers plunge into the warm Pacific waters to begin their deep reef assessment.

Divers plunge into the warm Pacific waters to begin their deep reef assessment. Click image for larger view and image credit.

 

This exploration plan called for placing a technical diving team (divers & tenders) in Peleliu and Ulong, Palau (7° 5'11”N, 134°15'33"E; 7°18'48"N, 134°13'24"E, respectively). The group used rebreathers from a past OE-supported expedition in the Caribbean, from the Ocean Hunter I and their small chase boat to explore the two distinct sites. The objectives of this project were to:

  1. Explore the deep fore-reef communities of Peleliu and Ulong (50-100m)
  2. Survey the biodiversity and distribution patterns of these communities
  3. Assess the associated flora and fauna for drug discovery biotech uses.
The team witnessed a reef shark cruising the midwater zone.

The team witnessed a reef shark cruising the midwater zone. Click image for larger view and image credit.

This expedition will represent the first multidisciplinary bioassessment of Pacific deep reefs (our group includes specialists in sponges & soft corals, hard corals, and fish, and we will coordinate our efforts with regional coral reef managers). The work includes potential applications toward resource management (i.e., deep reef connectivity), and biotechnology. Finally, it focuses on three OE thematic priorities (e.g., new ocean resources, marine life inventories, and habitat characterization), and expands the breadth of our knowledge on deep reefs into the Indo-Pacific.

 

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