Picture of the month: September 2020

Our picture of the month shows a special moment of the 532nd expedition of the POSEIDON, during which the submersible JAGO was also in operation at night to observe the open water ecosystem in the Atlantic Ocean. One goal of the expedition was to learn more about gelatinous organisms. Since they are damaged by being caught with nets, their role in the ecosystem and their diversity have hardly been studied so far. The researchers were particularly interested in their role in carbon transport to the deep ocean. But the spreading of living organisms in the deep sea has also been studied and documented. Since many plankton organisms live at different depths at night than during the day, the team studied the underwater world around the clock.
Besides JAGO, the OFOS and PELAGIOS camera systems were also used. They are towed behind the ship, OFOS directly above the seafloor and PELAGIOS in the open water down to 1000m depth. So the research team could see exactly what is happening in these areas. In addition, water samples were filtered from different depths to find DNA traces of animals, which are rather difficult to observe. In this way, conclusions can be drawn about the biodiversity in the deep sea and the occurrence of certain species without direct observation.
JAGO undertook several dives to catch the sensitive organisms individually. With success: For the first time, several intact specimens of a multi-borster of the genus Poeobius could be collected. These are now being studied and described in detail.