Dinner Time On the Seafloor Below 12,000 Feet with Sea Cucumbers and Sea Spiders! | Nautilus Live

While exploring the slopes of unnamed seamounts near Johnston Atoll we encountered some rare and exciting wildlife. Some of the stars of this compilation video are the semi-transparent sea cucumbers with their digestive tracts on full view to our control van team. Enjoy this glimpse of the sea floor that also includes a rather large sea spider predating a bamboo coral.

Finding a meal at the bottom of the ocean is never easy since without sunlight, photosynthesis is impossible. Instead, most animals (like these sea cucumbers) that reside this far down consume detritus from the surface waters as their primary source of food. Others are predators, like the sea spider, that will make a meal of the filter-feeders, thus creating a unique deep ocean food web.

Learn more about this expedition to explore the ocean floor in and around Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute: https://nautl.us/3Hx5pZE

E/V Nautilus is exploring unknown regions of the ocean seeking out new discoveries in biology, geology, and archaeology. Join us 24/7 for live video from the seafloor and to ask questions of our explorers currently aboard Nautilus: www.nautiluslive.org.

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