1 00:00:04,671 --> 00:00:08,575 >>NARRATOR: Sharks have fascinated mankind 2 00:00:08,575 --> 00:00:12,312 and held it in awe for centuries. 3 00:00:12,312 --> 00:00:16,917 However, most people only know the few species 4 00:00:16,917 --> 00:00:21,722 that sometimes come in contact with humans. 5 00:00:24,458 --> 00:00:27,160 >>Most of the living species of sharks on the planet 6 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,496 live in the deep sea. 7 00:00:29,496 --> 00:00:31,832 Of the, say, 500 species of sharks living 8 00:00:31,832 --> 00:00:34,434 that we know of now, 9 00:00:34,434 --> 00:00:36,370 between 55% and 60% of them 10 00:00:36,370 --> 00:00:39,373 live their whole lives deeper than 700 feet deep. 11 00:00:39,373 --> 00:00:42,976 >>It's a totally, totally different environment. 12 00:00:42,976 --> 00:00:44,845 >>The information that we have 13 00:00:44,845 --> 00:00:49,683 for a lot of these deepwater species has been restricted 14 00:00:49,683 --> 00:00:54,054 historically to a handful of specimens that exist in museums. 15 00:00:54,054 --> 00:00:56,924 If you compare what we know about deep sea sharks 16 00:00:56,924 --> 00:00:58,258 to these coastal species, 17 00:00:58,258 --> 00:01:01,695 we're years behind them and we're still playing catch-up. 18 00:01:01,695 --> 00:01:03,096 >>NARRATOR: These rarely seen animals 19 00:01:03,096 --> 00:01:05,332 range from the very large 20 00:01:05,332 --> 00:01:08,869 and prehistoric-looking bluntnose sixgill shark... 21 00:01:08,869 --> 00:01:11,038 >>They're just so cool. 22 00:01:11,038 --> 00:01:14,541 These sharks have these big, shiny, emerald-colored eyes; 23 00:01:14,541 --> 00:01:15,876 they're just gorgeous. 24 00:01:15,876 --> 00:01:18,378 >>NARRATOR: ...to the small and bioluminescent 25 00:01:18,378 --> 00:01:20,447 green lanternshark. 26 00:01:20,447 --> 00:01:23,517 >>That is such a cool little dude. 27 00:01:23,517 --> 00:01:26,653 >>NARRATOR: Until now, relatively little research 28 00:01:26,653 --> 00:01:29,489 has been conducted on the sharks of the deep, 29 00:01:29,489 --> 00:01:33,193 leaving many questions unanswered. 30 00:01:33,193 --> 00:01:36,663 >>That's the last domain in shark research. 31 00:01:36,663 --> 00:01:38,365 It's just wide open. 32 00:02:03,724 --> 00:02:06,860 >>Major funding for this program was provided 33 00:02:06,860 --> 00:02:11,198 by the Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people to preserve 34 00:02:11,198 --> 00:02:15,035 and protect America's underwater resources. 35 00:02:17,671 --> 00:02:19,873 And by Divers Direct, 36 00:02:19,873 --> 00:02:24,144 inspiring the pursuit of tropical adventure scuba diving. 37 00:02:45,399 --> 00:02:49,136 >>NARRATOR: On a sunny day in October, a team of scientists 38 00:02:49,136 --> 00:02:52,439 is busy loading up the R.V. Weatherbird 39 00:02:52,439 --> 00:02:54,875 for a ten-day research cruise. 40 00:02:54,875 --> 00:03:00,013 Their destination: the northern Gulf of Mexico. 41 00:03:01,448 --> 00:03:05,952 The goal: to find out if the BP oil spill 42 00:03:05,952 --> 00:03:10,057 has impacted the bottom-dwelling sharks and other fishes 43 00:03:10,057 --> 00:03:12,359 in the deep sea. 44 00:03:18,231 --> 00:03:21,301 >>One of the real unfortunate parts 45 00:03:21,301 --> 00:03:23,136 about the Deepwater Horizon blowout 46 00:03:23,136 --> 00:03:25,939 was that after it happened, everybody said, 47 00:03:25,939 --> 00:03:28,041 "Well, all right, this thing occurred at a mile deep. 48 00:03:28,041 --> 00:03:30,644 Well, what ecosystems are being affected?" 49 00:03:30,644 --> 00:03:33,113 And for the most part, we had to say we don't know 50 00:03:33,113 --> 00:03:35,449 because so little of it had been studied. 51 00:03:36,349 --> 00:03:38,885 I think the primary reason 52 00:03:38,885 --> 00:03:40,921 that this work hasn't been done before is just the expense. 53 00:03:40,921 --> 00:03:43,957 It's logistically difficult to work in the deep sea, 54 00:03:43,957 --> 00:03:45,592 especially with big animals. 55 00:03:49,162 --> 00:03:52,933 >>NARRATOR: In April of 2010, 56 00:03:52,933 --> 00:03:56,636 the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig 57 00:03:56,636 --> 00:03:59,973 set off the largest accidental marine oil spill 58 00:03:59,973 --> 00:04:02,809 in the history of the petroleum industry. 59 00:04:07,581 --> 00:04:09,983 Over the course of nearly three months, 60 00:04:09,983 --> 00:04:13,653 roughly 4.9 million barrels of crude oil 61 00:04:13,653 --> 00:04:18,058 gushed out of the well and into the Gulf of Mexico. 62 00:04:18,058 --> 00:04:20,927 Never before had an oil spill occurred at such depth, 63 00:04:20,927 --> 00:04:27,901 leaving many to ponder the long- term impacts of the spill. 64 00:04:30,737 --> 00:04:34,941 To better understand what fishes live in the deep waters 65 00:04:34,941 --> 00:04:38,512 of the northern Gulf and how they may have been impacted, 66 00:04:38,512 --> 00:04:42,649 Dr. Dean Grubbs, together with a team of scientists, 67 00:04:42,649 --> 00:04:47,420 began regular research trips shortly after the spill. 68 00:04:54,294 --> 00:04:56,763 To capture a variety of animals, 69 00:04:56,763 --> 00:05:01,535 the scientists use a combination of traps and long lines. 70 00:05:03,637 --> 00:05:05,172 >>We're setting out a long line. 71 00:05:05,172 --> 00:05:07,774 It's designed to basically allow us to pinpoint habitats 72 00:05:07,774 --> 00:05:09,042 at different depths. 73 00:05:09,042 --> 00:05:12,345 So, we've got five different hook sizes, 74 00:05:12,345 --> 00:05:14,981 and that allows us to catch relatively small fishes 75 00:05:14,981 --> 00:05:17,918 all the way up to 15-, 16-foot sharks, 76 00:05:17,918 --> 00:05:19,386 sometimes on the same line. 77 00:05:19,386 --> 00:05:22,189 And then, we also have interspersed along here 78 00:05:22,189 --> 00:05:24,691 three different types of traps. 79 00:05:24,691 --> 00:05:27,961 The idea of the traps is, they'll catch some fish 80 00:05:27,961 --> 00:05:30,297 that won't get caught on the hooks, and they'll also catch 81 00:05:30,297 --> 00:05:31,798 some of the invertebrates that we want 82 00:05:31,798 --> 00:05:34,968 that are lower down on the food chain. 83 00:05:34,968 --> 00:05:38,505 We'll let this stay out there for about four or five hours, 84 00:05:38,505 --> 00:05:40,106 and we'll come back and haul it. 85 00:05:40,106 --> 00:05:42,442 So, we're going to set three of these back to back, 86 00:05:42,442 --> 00:05:46,046 going from shallower to deeper until we've set the third one; 87 00:05:46,046 --> 00:05:49,349 we'll return to the first one and pick it up. 88 00:05:51,818 --> 00:05:53,587 >>NARRATOR: The experts begin their work 89 00:05:53,587 --> 00:05:56,656 on the eastern slope of the Continental Shelf 90 00:05:56,656 --> 00:06:01,561 in an area that is thought to be less impacted by the oil. 91 00:06:01,561 --> 00:06:05,098 From here, they will slowly work their way southwest 92 00:06:05,098 --> 00:06:08,802 into the deeper waters of the DeSoto Canyon. 93 00:06:08,802 --> 00:06:11,605 The Desoto Canyon is an erosional valle 94 00:06:11,605 --> 00:06:14,975 that cuts through the broad Continental Shelf 95 00:06:14,975 --> 00:06:17,944 in the northern part of the Gulf. 96 00:06:17,944 --> 00:06:22,949 The oil spill occurred in the southwest portion of the canyon. 97 00:06:22,949 --> 00:06:26,052 >>And, of course, the currents and the wind took the oil 98 00:06:26,052 --> 00:06:28,722 north into the Louisiana, Mississippi region 99 00:06:28,722 --> 00:06:30,090 and everything. 100 00:06:30,090 --> 00:06:33,560 And so, basically, it blew it right up the DeSoto Canyon. 101 00:06:44,804 --> 00:06:49,442 >>NARRATOR: After a few hours, it's time for the scientists 102 00:06:49,442 --> 00:06:52,879 to start hauling the lines and traps back onto the boat. 103 00:06:52,879 --> 00:06:55,215 And it doesn't take long before they have a nearly 15-foot 104 00:06:55,215 --> 00:07:00,153 bluntnose sixgill shark on the line. 105 00:07:00,153 --> 00:07:02,222 >>No matter what book you look in, 106 00:07:02,222 --> 00:07:04,991 they'll tell you it's a rare large deepwater shark. 107 00:07:04,991 --> 00:07:07,494 Well, everywhere I've gone and tried to catch them, 108 00:07:07,494 --> 00:07:08,595 I've caught them. 109 00:07:08,595 --> 00:07:09,829 I don't think they're that rare. 110 00:07:09,829 --> 00:07:12,532 They seem to be quite common worldwide in tropical 111 00:07:12,532 --> 00:07:18,004 to subtropical oceans at 200 to maybe 1,000 meters deep. 112 00:07:22,342 --> 00:07:23,643 They're definitely exciting; 113 00:07:23,643 --> 00:07:25,211 they're the biggest sharks we catch. 114 00:07:25,211 --> 00:07:27,447 We've caught probably a dozen or more that are over 15 feet long 115 00:07:27,447 --> 00:07:32,852 in the Gulf of Mexico, up to 17 feet long. 116 00:07:32,852 --> 00:07:35,288 >>They only have one dorsal fin, and their jaw structure 117 00:07:35,288 --> 00:07:37,724 is a little different than some of the other sharks-- 118 00:07:37,724 --> 00:07:39,125 huge, sawblade-like teeth. 119 00:07:40,660 --> 00:07:46,066 If you look for a tooth that resembles a living shark species 120 00:07:46,066 --> 00:07:48,368 in a fossil record from 200 million years ago, 121 00:07:48,368 --> 00:07:50,804 it looks just like the sixgills from today. 122 00:07:50,804 --> 00:07:52,906 And so, that shark that we're looking at 123 00:07:52,906 --> 00:07:55,842 out on the deck of the boat likely looks exactly like 124 00:07:55,842 --> 00:07:58,511 the shark that was swimming around 200 million years ago 125 00:07:58,511 --> 00:08:00,513 before most of the dinosaurs were on the scene. 126 00:08:00,513 --> 00:08:04,317 So, the first one I caught, to me, you know, 127 00:08:04,317 --> 00:08:06,219 that's as if I just pulled up a T-rex, 128 00:08:06,219 --> 00:08:08,288 brontosaurus or something. 129 00:08:12,359 --> 00:08:13,994 >>NARRATOR: After taking some basic measurements 130 00:08:13,994 --> 00:08:18,131 and a tissue sample, the shark is tagged... 131 00:08:18,131 --> 00:08:19,632 >>4-3-0-5, p-zero-zero-4. 132 00:08:19,632 --> 00:08:21,668 >>NARRATOR: ...and let go. 133 00:08:27,941 --> 00:08:33,480 Early on, the experts also catch a lot of other fish, 134 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,083 including a small shark species known as the Cuban dogfish. 135 00:08:37,083 --> 00:08:41,721 While the scientists do release large sharks like the sixgill, 136 00:08:41,721 --> 00:08:45,558 most of the other fish can't be let go. 137 00:08:45,558 --> 00:08:47,127 >>It would be great if all of our research, 138 00:08:47,127 --> 00:08:48,828 we could just tag and release everything, 139 00:08:48,828 --> 00:08:50,797 get all the information we needed from that. 140 00:08:50,797 --> 00:08:53,967 Unfortunately, that's not the way it is. 141 00:08:53,967 --> 00:08:57,270 >>NARRATOR: Since so little is known about the life histories 142 00:08:57,270 --> 00:08:59,472 of many of these fishes and how they may have been impacted 143 00:08:59,472 --> 00:09:00,940 by the oil spill, 144 00:09:00,940 --> 00:09:05,311 scientists need to collect and dissect specimens. 145 00:09:05,311 --> 00:09:09,382 >>These are the dorsal fin spines from this Cuban dogfish, 146 00:09:09,382 --> 00:09:11,217 Squalus cubensis. 147 00:09:11,217 --> 00:09:14,054 This is the first dorsal spine, this is the second. 148 00:09:14,054 --> 00:09:16,356 >>Most people probably don't realize that some sharks 149 00:09:16,356 --> 00:09:18,158 have spines on their dorsal fins. 150 00:09:18,158 --> 00:09:19,559 Most sharks don't. 151 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:20,693 >>NARRATOR: The shark species 152 00:09:20,693 --> 00:09:23,797 that have spines in front of their fins 153 00:09:23,797 --> 00:09:27,333 record growth bands on these spines, 154 00:09:27,333 --> 00:09:30,537 similar to the growth rings on a tree. 155 00:09:30,537 --> 00:09:36,242 Counting these bands allows scientists to age the animals. 156 00:09:36,242 --> 00:09:37,777 >>Age information is important 157 00:09:37,777 --> 00:09:41,781 for determining the maximum age of the species 158 00:09:41,781 --> 00:09:44,717 and also determining age at maturity. 159 00:09:44,717 --> 00:09:47,053 This is important in a management context; 160 00:09:47,053 --> 00:09:49,389 we need to know what age they are 161 00:09:49,389 --> 00:09:50,824 when they first start reproducing 162 00:09:50,824 --> 00:09:52,425 and also for population level estimates. 163 00:09:55,128 --> 00:09:57,730 >>NARRATOR: At some of the study sites, 164 00:09:57,730 --> 00:10:01,768 the animals come up ravaged by isopods, 165 00:10:01,768 --> 00:10:06,172 scavengers that attack dead and dying animals in the sea. 166 00:10:06,172 --> 00:10:08,241 >>They make quick work of a carcass. 167 00:10:08,241 --> 00:10:11,177 It's a bony fish; there'll be nothing but a skeleton left 168 00:10:11,177 --> 00:10:13,046 if you leave it down there too long. 169 00:10:13,046 --> 00:10:16,616 And if it's a shark, a lot of times it'll be just 170 00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:19,085 an empty skin sack with no tissue, no meat, no muscle left. 171 00:10:19,085 --> 00:10:20,420 They're efficient. 172 00:10:26,626 --> 00:10:29,596 >>NARRATOR: As the scientists move their lines and traps 173 00:10:29,596 --> 00:10:34,801 into deeper water, the species they catch start to change. 174 00:10:34,801 --> 00:10:37,403 >>So, that's what we are calling Squalus mitsukurii, 175 00:10:37,403 --> 00:10:41,541 and it's really similar to the little Cuban dogfish, 176 00:10:41,541 --> 00:10:44,410 Squalus cubensis, we were catching earlier in the trip. 177 00:10:44,410 --> 00:10:45,879 >>NARRATOR: These two types of sharks, 178 00:10:45,879 --> 00:10:50,750 as well as certain bony fishes, are among the primary species 179 00:10:50,750 --> 00:10:53,653 for the oil-spill related studies. 180 00:10:53,653 --> 00:10:56,589 They make for good sentinels because they are caught 181 00:10:56,589 --> 00:10:59,859 in large quantities and in areas that are thought to be 182 00:10:59,859 --> 00:11:02,562 more or less affected by the spill. 183 00:11:02,562 --> 00:11:05,532 >>That's one of the two species of hakes we get 184 00:11:05,532 --> 00:11:07,267 that are really common. 185 00:11:07,267 --> 00:11:09,702 There is a shallow water hake, Urophycis floridana, 186 00:11:09,702 --> 00:11:11,638 that we get predominantly between 200 187 00:11:11,638 --> 00:11:12,972 and about 400 meters or so 188 00:11:12,972 --> 00:11:17,677 and then about 400 meters, we start getting Urophycis cirrata. 189 00:11:17,677 --> 00:11:20,446 And so, those are two of our sentinel species 190 00:11:20,446 --> 00:11:23,283 that we are using sort of to look for spatiall 191 00:11:23,283 --> 00:11:27,954 and depth-mediated differences in exposure to oil and mercur 192 00:11:27,954 --> 00:11:29,822 and all those kinds of things. 193 00:11:35,361 --> 00:11:39,599 >>NARRATOR: To study the potential impacts of the oil, 194 00:11:39,599 --> 00:11:44,337 the scientists analyze the animals for signs of exposure 195 00:11:44,337 --> 00:11:48,208 to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. 196 00:11:48,208 --> 00:11:52,278 PAHs are not only some of the most toxic components of oil, 197 00:11:52,278 --> 00:11:57,083 but they also take a long time to break down. 198 00:11:57,083 --> 00:11:59,152 >>So, this is Urophycis cirrata. 199 00:11:59,152 --> 00:12:01,487 We are going to take a couple of different samples on it. 200 00:12:01,487 --> 00:12:03,122 First, it's going to be blood. 201 00:12:03,122 --> 00:12:05,892 We are looking at the effects of the oil spill 202 00:12:05,892 --> 00:12:09,395 or any toxicity in general. 203 00:12:09,395 --> 00:12:12,031 So now, I'm going to go after the bile and liver. 204 00:12:12,031 --> 00:12:16,636 We are using those again for metabolites of toxins. 205 00:12:16,636 --> 00:12:21,975 So, that was the liver there... this large pink. 206 00:12:21,975 --> 00:12:24,377 And associated with the liver 207 00:12:24,377 --> 00:12:27,013 is the gallbladder, which is usually... 208 00:12:27,013 --> 00:12:29,349 in this fish, it's kind of bulbous. 209 00:12:29,349 --> 00:12:31,017 It's almost always green or brown, 210 00:12:31,017 --> 00:12:34,487 and it has almost a neon green tint to it, 211 00:12:34,487 --> 00:12:37,690 the bile within the gallbladder does. 212 00:12:37,690 --> 00:12:42,128 And it's time- and light-sensitive, 213 00:12:42,128 --> 00:12:45,331 so we try to get it as quickly as possible 214 00:12:45,331 --> 00:12:47,166 and put it in a light-sensitive container 215 00:12:47,166 --> 00:12:48,635 and then it goes immediately on ice. 216 00:12:48,635 --> 00:12:52,538 Then it goes for the rest of its processing. 217 00:12:52,538 --> 00:12:55,708 >>NARRATOR: All the toxicology samples taken from the animals 218 00:12:55,708 --> 00:12:59,679 are worked up in a lab at the University of North Florida. 219 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:01,080 >>Looking to see if, one: 220 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,250 Is there evidence that the PAHs have been taken up 221 00:13:04,250 --> 00:13:06,686 in the food chain of these animals? 222 00:13:06,686 --> 00:13:07,754 Then second: 223 00:13:07,754 --> 00:13:09,589 Are they just getting sequestered in the liver 224 00:13:09,589 --> 00:13:12,992 and disappearing, or are they actually being metabolized? 225 00:13:12,992 --> 00:13:15,561 And then, if they are being metabolized, the next step is 226 00:13:15,561 --> 00:13:18,765 to start looking at sublethal effects, chromosome damage, 227 00:13:18,765 --> 00:13:20,833 things like that from the PAHs. 228 00:13:20,833 --> 00:13:22,969 What we have seen so far is that, yes, 229 00:13:22,969 --> 00:13:26,239 the closer you get to the oil spill site, 230 00:13:26,239 --> 00:13:32,478 the higher the rate of occurrence of these PAHs. 231 00:13:32,478 --> 00:13:36,549 We also see increases in rates of metabolism 232 00:13:36,549 --> 00:13:40,219 as you get closer to the site. 233 00:13:40,219 --> 00:13:42,155 And there's also some real preliminary evidence 234 00:13:42,155 --> 00:13:43,890 that the deeper you go into DeSoto Canyon, 235 00:13:43,890 --> 00:13:49,128 the higher the prevalence of exposure to these PAHs. 236 00:13:49,128 --> 00:13:52,432 But even so far, with the ones 237 00:13:52,432 --> 00:13:56,436 that University of North Florida folks have analyzed to date, 238 00:13:56,436 --> 00:13:59,072 the levels of metabolism still seem pretty low. 239 00:13:59,072 --> 00:14:02,408 They're not at a level that is shocking for most of these taxa. 240 00:14:02,408 --> 00:14:06,112 And so, it's hard to draw too many conclusions at this point 241 00:14:06,112 --> 00:14:09,048 about what the overall effect of this exposure will be. 242 00:14:09,048 --> 00:14:12,452 You also have to understand that with these deep sea fishes, 243 00:14:12,452 --> 00:14:14,821 their metabolism is so slow anyway. 244 00:14:14,821 --> 00:14:17,557 So, it will take some time to see 245 00:14:17,557 --> 00:14:19,425 if this cycles through the food web 246 00:14:19,425 --> 00:14:21,661 and see if there are any kind of sublethal effects 247 00:14:21,661 --> 00:14:24,464 on reproductive success or any of those kinds of things. 248 00:14:24,464 --> 00:14:26,766 >>Brenda just passed me a Urophycis cirrata, 249 00:14:26,766 --> 00:14:29,135 so it's my turn to take samples from it. 250 00:14:29,135 --> 00:14:32,939 So, I'll take a fin clip to look at the animal's DNA. 251 00:14:32,939 --> 00:14:36,075 We try to take as many samples from every animal that we catch 252 00:14:36,075 --> 00:14:38,778 as possible, including taking samples for researchers 253 00:14:38,778 --> 00:14:41,114 at other institutions. 254 00:14:41,114 --> 00:14:44,617 >>At times, there are, you know, 30 different samples 255 00:14:44,617 --> 00:14:46,252 that will get collected from one animal, you know. 256 00:14:46,252 --> 00:14:49,589 So, we are trying to make the most use 257 00:14:49,589 --> 00:14:52,291 out of sacrificing these animals. 258 00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:54,427 >>So next, I'll take a sample of white muscle 259 00:14:54,427 --> 00:14:58,631 for mercury analysis. 260 00:14:58,631 --> 00:15:00,666 >>NARRATOR: In addition to containing 261 00:15:00,666 --> 00:15:02,435 trace amounts of mercury in the oil, 262 00:15:02,435 --> 00:15:05,605 oil spills may create an environment that is conducive 263 00:15:05,605 --> 00:15:09,175 to the transformation of mercury into a more toxic form 264 00:15:09,175 --> 00:15:12,812 that is easily absorbed by animals. 265 00:15:12,812 --> 00:15:16,382 This monomethylmercury bioaccumulates up the food chain 266 00:15:16,382 --> 00:15:19,085 and is highly toxic. 267 00:15:19,085 --> 00:15:23,523 >>Just going to cut a little piece off of this mercury sample 268 00:15:23,523 --> 00:15:25,258 to put in a vial for stable isotope analysis. 269 00:15:25,258 --> 00:15:29,929 The stable isotopes tell us where in the food web 270 00:15:29,929 --> 00:15:32,031 the animal is feeding. 271 00:15:32,031 --> 00:15:35,835 >>NARRATOR: Collecting this information gives scientists 272 00:15:35,835 --> 00:15:37,837 a better picture of the overall food web 273 00:15:37,837 --> 00:15:41,774 and whether or not the oil spill may have changed it. 274 00:15:41,774 --> 00:15:45,211 This oil spill-related research is conducted 275 00:15:45,211 --> 00:15:51,350 as part of a larger effort by the Deep-C Consortium. 276 00:15:51,350 --> 00:15:53,352 >>We were interested in connectivit 277 00:15:53,352 --> 00:15:57,023 between the coastal area and the deep sea, 278 00:15:57,023 --> 00:16:00,092 but in order to really understand that we have 279 00:16:00,092 --> 00:16:03,763 to connect all of these different disciplines 280 00:16:03,763 --> 00:16:07,300 in a really truly integrated way. 281 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:10,570 We have a slew of people involved, 282 00:16:10,570 --> 00:16:15,608 from geomorphologists to physical oceanographers, 283 00:16:15,608 --> 00:16:17,477 chemical oceanographers. 284 00:16:17,477 --> 00:16:19,612 Our group is a fisheries' ecology group. 285 00:16:19,612 --> 00:16:22,048 And then modelers and so forth. 286 00:16:22,048 --> 00:16:23,983 Once we started getting going 287 00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:26,486 and people started talking to each other, all of a sudden, 288 00:16:26,486 --> 00:16:29,322 they started finding natural connections 289 00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:31,257 between the different groups, 290 00:16:31,257 --> 00:16:36,229 and that's what we are after is the integrating all the pieces 291 00:16:36,229 --> 00:16:37,897 of the puzzle. 292 00:16:37,897 --> 00:16:39,465 >>From the oil spill perspective, 293 00:16:39,465 --> 00:16:41,167 it's the things that are well-known 294 00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:43,202 that are most important because they're the things 295 00:16:43,202 --> 00:16:47,373 that we can get plenty of samples of in order to be able 296 00:16:47,373 --> 00:16:51,310 to say quantitatively whether there was an effect of oil 297 00:16:51,310 --> 00:16:52,578 on these taxa or not. 298 00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:56,816 But from my scientific interest in the deep sea, 299 00:16:56,816 --> 00:17:00,620 it's the rare things that really get you excited. 300 00:17:00,620 --> 00:17:03,356 >>And there is no shortage of amazing critters 301 00:17:03,356 --> 00:17:05,658 coming up on deck. 302 00:17:05,658 --> 00:17:08,060 >>So, this is Scyliorhinus retifer. 303 00:17:08,060 --> 00:17:09,362 It's a chain catshark. 304 00:17:09,362 --> 00:17:11,831 Absolutely beautiful, just fantastic. 305 00:17:11,831 --> 00:17:14,433 We caught him in a trap. 306 00:17:14,433 --> 00:17:16,002 They do pretty well in captivity, 307 00:17:16,002 --> 00:17:17,570 so we are keeping him in this tank. 308 00:17:17,570 --> 00:17:19,005 And hopefully we'll be able to take him back alive. 309 00:17:19,005 --> 00:17:22,208 >>NARRATOR: While some animals are beautiful, 310 00:17:22,208 --> 00:17:24,510 others are rather creepy. 311 00:17:24,510 --> 00:17:26,879 >>Hagfish intrigue me because that's still 312 00:17:26,879 --> 00:17:30,116 one of the kind of the holy grail of ichthyology is 313 00:17:30,116 --> 00:17:33,719 that we still don't know much about the ecology and biolog 314 00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:35,087 of hagfish. 315 00:17:35,087 --> 00:17:38,691 Most people don't want to work on them because they're nasty! 316 00:17:38,691 --> 00:17:40,526 I mean, they're slimy. 317 00:17:40,526 --> 00:17:42,495 You know, I mean, that's what hagfish are known for. 318 00:17:42,495 --> 00:17:46,465 They seem to produce more slime than their body weight. 319 00:17:46,465 --> 00:17:47,667 You know what I mean? 320 00:17:47,667 --> 00:17:49,335 It's ridiculous. 321 00:17:49,335 --> 00:17:51,037 >>NARRATOR: Along with the hagfish, 322 00:17:51,037 --> 00:17:52,338 another otherworldly creature 323 00:17:52,338 --> 00:17:57,677 gets caught in the traps at depths below 500 meters. 324 00:17:57,677 --> 00:18:01,847 >>Giant isopods are awesome; they're such a cool critter. 325 00:18:01,847 --> 00:18:03,849 I mean, isopods by and large worldwide 326 00:18:03,849 --> 00:18:05,418 don't get bigger than this. 327 00:18:05,418 --> 00:18:07,687 I mean, you know most... most people's... 328 00:18:07,687 --> 00:18:10,456 the isopod most people are familiar with are the pill bugs, 329 00:18:10,456 --> 00:18:13,292 the roly-polys you find in your garden or in your yard. 330 00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:17,296 I mean, this is like a roly-poly that gets this big, you know, 331 00:18:17,296 --> 00:18:20,833 and eats everything that comes down and around it. 332 00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:23,269 You know, it's terrifying to think about it 333 00:18:23,269 --> 00:18:24,670 if you were down there. 334 00:18:24,670 --> 00:18:26,339 I mean, I could just see them all 335 00:18:26,339 --> 00:18:28,207 crawling across the bottom after you. 336 00:18:28,207 --> 00:18:29,575 They're really cool. 337 00:18:29,575 --> 00:18:31,243 Yeah. 338 00:18:31,243 --> 00:18:32,712 Look like a stormtrooper from "Star Wars" 339 00:18:32,712 --> 00:18:34,280 if you look at them head on. 340 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,449 We're not even catching the biggest ones. 341 00:18:36,449 --> 00:18:39,018 I can imagine the big ones are just outside of our traps, 342 00:18:39,018 --> 00:18:42,488 trying to get in, but they can't fit through the door. 343 00:18:42,488 --> 00:18:44,390 >>NARRATOR: And it's not just the isopods 344 00:18:44,390 --> 00:18:47,560 that get larger at depth. 345 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,230 >>Giant snake eel is the biggest of the snake eels. 346 00:18:51,230 --> 00:18:55,434 They get, you know, well over six feet, seven feet long. 347 00:18:55,434 --> 00:18:57,436 The crazy thing about them 348 00:18:57,436 --> 00:19:00,673 is that they actually were just described in the 1980s. 349 00:19:00,673 --> 00:19:02,775 Such a cool, cool creature. 350 00:19:02,775 --> 00:19:05,911 I mean, most snake eels are only this big and that big around. 351 00:19:05,911 --> 00:19:07,446 These things get enormous. 352 00:19:10,516 --> 00:19:12,818 They're feisty, they're tough. 353 00:19:12,818 --> 00:19:14,820 Snake eels are typically burrowers. 354 00:19:14,820 --> 00:19:16,656 I'd love to see what it looks like 355 00:19:16,656 --> 00:19:19,025 on the bottom where they are. 356 00:19:19,025 --> 00:19:22,328 I mean, it's terrifying to think about them. 357 00:19:22,328 --> 00:19:25,031 They must be just these big, giant snake eel heads 358 00:19:25,031 --> 00:19:27,033 sticking out of the mud, you know. 359 00:19:27,033 --> 00:19:30,536 They're definitely the things of a horror movie, you know. 360 00:19:32,838 --> 00:19:35,908 >>NARRATOR: To make the most of their limited time at sea, 361 00:19:35,908 --> 00:19:39,111 the scientists work around the clock. 362 00:19:39,111 --> 00:19:42,848 >>At $10,000 a day almost, I want to work 24 hours a day. 363 00:19:42,848 --> 00:19:48,220 I don't want that ship sitting, doing nothing at all. 364 00:19:48,220 --> 00:19:49,922 And so, they bring two captains onboard 365 00:19:49,922 --> 00:19:51,390 so that they shift in and out 366 00:19:51,390 --> 00:19:52,858 and can keep working around the clock. 367 00:19:52,858 --> 00:19:54,527 And, of course, for us to get sleep, 368 00:19:54,527 --> 00:19:55,995 we have to do the same thing. 369 00:19:55,995 --> 00:19:59,665 The way we get people sleep is that we divide the science crew 370 00:19:59,665 --> 00:20:02,001 into two teams for setting all of our gear. 371 00:20:02,001 --> 00:20:04,136 And so, one team will set all of the gear 372 00:20:04,136 --> 00:20:06,372 and the other team will sleep. 373 00:20:06,372 --> 00:20:08,841 And then, when it comes time to haul that gear, 374 00:20:08,841 --> 00:20:11,110 everybody gets up and hauls together. 375 00:20:11,110 --> 00:20:15,448 The processing of the animals we catch is so labor-intensive, 376 00:20:15,448 --> 00:20:19,318 it requires everybody we have on board. 377 00:20:19,318 --> 00:20:21,454 And then, when we're done hauling that gear, 378 00:20:21,454 --> 00:20:24,957 the next team will set and the previous team will get to sleep. 379 00:20:30,096 --> 00:20:32,031 >>NARRATOR: This means that at times, 380 00:20:32,031 --> 00:20:34,967 scientists work up to 28 hours straight 381 00:20:34,967 --> 00:20:37,536 before they get a few hours of sleep. 382 00:20:37,536 --> 00:20:40,639 >>I think that ability to work around the clock 383 00:20:40,639 --> 00:20:43,642 and on little sleep has a lot to do with what I like to call 384 00:20:43,642 --> 00:20:45,745 "pent-up research aggression," 385 00:20:45,745 --> 00:20:49,949 which is, we spend so much time locked in our offices, 386 00:20:49,949 --> 00:20:52,051 reading papers, working on the computer, 387 00:20:52,051 --> 00:20:54,220 and when we get a chance to come out here and do this stuff, 388 00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:59,558 we just go hog-wild as far and as fast as we can. 389 00:20:59,558 --> 00:21:01,260 >>It's deepwater work, it's exciting! 390 00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:03,429 You don't know what's going to come up, 391 00:21:03,429 --> 00:21:05,998 so that keeps the adrenaline going. 392 00:21:08,067 --> 00:21:10,603 >>NARRATOR: One animal few people have ever seen 393 00:21:10,603 --> 00:21:15,875 is a tiny bioluminescent shark that was caught in a trap. 394 00:21:15,875 --> 00:21:19,211 >>So, this is Etmopterus virens, the green lanternshark. 395 00:21:19,211 --> 00:21:22,948 It's one of the smallest species of sharks there is, period. 396 00:21:22,948 --> 00:21:24,383 Beautiful little creature. 397 00:21:24,383 --> 00:21:26,418 It's probably the most beautiful shark I've ever caught. 398 00:21:26,418 --> 00:21:28,621 They're called a lanternshark because their whole bell 399 00:21:28,621 --> 00:21:32,158 is covered in photophores, actually produces light. 400 00:21:32,158 --> 00:21:34,560 The point of the light is essentiall 401 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,463 to obliterate their silhouette. 402 00:21:37,463 --> 00:21:40,966 They seem to exist between 300 and 1,200 meters deep, 403 00:21:40,966 --> 00:21:44,303 and there's not much light but there is some. 404 00:21:44,303 --> 00:21:47,807 We commonly refer to the area as the twilight zone. 405 00:21:57,116 --> 00:21:59,251 >>NARRATOR: Another shark species 406 00:21:59,251 --> 00:22:01,554 the scientists frequently catch in deeper waters 407 00:22:01,554 --> 00:22:03,756 is the gulper shark. 408 00:22:03,756 --> 00:22:06,258 >>Really cool sharks, big green eyes; 409 00:22:06,258 --> 00:22:08,561 slimy, though, really slimy, slimy sharks. 410 00:22:08,561 --> 00:22:10,262 >>NARRATOR: The gulper shark, 411 00:22:10,262 --> 00:22:13,666 as well as its cousin, Squalus mitsukurii, 412 00:22:13,666 --> 00:22:16,335 which the scientists caught in slightly shallower water, 413 00:22:16,335 --> 00:22:19,839 is poorly defined taxonomically. 414 00:22:19,839 --> 00:22:21,440 >>Because the deep sea environment 415 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,777 is relatively constant worldwide, 416 00:22:24,777 --> 00:22:27,012 you have a lot of species that have worldwide distributions. 417 00:22:27,012 --> 00:22:28,681 But because they look pretty similar, 418 00:22:28,681 --> 00:22:30,850 they've all been called one species. 419 00:22:30,850 --> 00:22:33,752 But often, when you start looking at these things closer, 420 00:22:33,752 --> 00:22:36,956 you find that they're species complexes. 421 00:22:36,956 --> 00:22:40,893 >>It wouldn't surprise me if, within the next five years, 422 00:22:40,893 --> 00:22:43,062 Squalus mitsukurii wasn't divided 423 00:22:43,062 --> 00:22:45,898 into seven species in different regions. 424 00:22:45,898 --> 00:22:48,567 With these animals in hand, we can actually photograph them, 425 00:22:48,567 --> 00:22:51,637 look for morphological characters 426 00:22:51,637 --> 00:22:54,840 that differentiate them and take genetic samples 427 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:56,642 to see if they're the same species or not. 428 00:22:56,642 --> 00:22:58,310 And by and large, we've found that they aren't. 429 00:22:58,310 --> 00:23:01,013 Same thing with the gulper sharks; the gulper sharks 430 00:23:01,013 --> 00:23:03,916 are a taxonomic mess worldwide. 431 00:23:03,916 --> 00:23:06,051 And a lot of the taxa, especially the sharks, 432 00:23:06,051 --> 00:23:08,821 the bigger fishes fall into that category. 433 00:23:08,821 --> 00:23:11,457 And there are new things out there too; 434 00:23:11,457 --> 00:23:13,959 I mean we caught a skate on one of our previous cruises 435 00:23:13,959 --> 00:23:16,829 that appears to be a new species. 436 00:23:16,829 --> 00:23:18,297 This is a big animal. 437 00:23:18,297 --> 00:23:20,499 It looks completely different than anything else, 438 00:23:20,499 --> 00:23:22,935 and it's gone undetected for so long. 439 00:23:22,935 --> 00:23:25,938 >>NARRATOR: In addition to studying how old they get, 440 00:23:25,938 --> 00:23:27,940 the scientists are also interested in learning 441 00:23:27,940 --> 00:23:32,578 more about the reproductive processes of deep sea sharks. 442 00:23:32,578 --> 00:23:36,882 Shark species use several different modes of reproduction. 443 00:23:36,882 --> 00:23:42,588 While some are egglayers, others give birth to live pups. 444 00:23:42,588 --> 00:23:44,456 >>We've got a gulper shark here. 445 00:23:44,456 --> 00:23:47,860 They only have one offspring per pregnancy. 446 00:23:47,860 --> 00:23:51,530 That's very low for fishes; even among sharks that's fairly low. 447 00:23:51,530 --> 00:23:55,067 So, we don't know what their gestation period is. 448 00:23:55,067 --> 00:23:57,436 It's likely to be pretty long. 449 00:23:57,436 --> 00:24:01,206 A cousin of the gulper shark has a two-year gestation, 450 00:24:01,206 --> 00:24:02,875 so if these guys are comparable-- 451 00:24:02,875 --> 00:24:04,610 and that is a big if-- 452 00:24:04,610 --> 00:24:08,080 they may only have one pup every two years. 453 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,416 Extrapolate that over the life and you'll, you know, 454 00:24:10,416 --> 00:24:13,352 quickly realize the ability of each female 455 00:24:13,352 --> 00:24:16,088 to contribute to the population is limited. 456 00:24:16,088 --> 00:24:17,856 Looks a lot like the mom. 457 00:24:17,856 --> 00:24:21,393 This is where the yolk sac is attached, and that's the... 458 00:24:21,393 --> 00:24:24,330 that's the rest of the yolk that will carry this thing on 459 00:24:24,330 --> 00:24:27,433 for the rest of embryonic development. 460 00:24:27,433 --> 00:24:29,935 >>NARRATOR: Knowing how old the animals can get, 461 00:24:29,935 --> 00:24:33,305 at what age they start to reproduce 462 00:24:33,305 --> 00:24:35,307 and how many offspring they may have 463 00:24:35,307 --> 00:24:37,810 allows scientists to inform life history models 464 00:24:37,810 --> 00:24:39,311 for the animals. 465 00:24:39,311 --> 00:24:44,550 This information is an important tool for fisheries managers. 466 00:24:44,550 --> 00:24:47,453 While deep sea sharks aren't currently targeted 467 00:24:47,453 --> 00:24:49,588 by any fisheries in the United States, 468 00:24:49,588 --> 00:24:54,259 their numbers have declined in other parts of the world. 469 00:24:54,259 --> 00:24:58,030 >>We've seen in Australia, we've seen in the Azores 470 00:24:58,030 --> 00:25:00,966 and Portugal and other places 471 00:25:00,966 --> 00:25:02,735 that where deepwater fisheries have developed 472 00:25:02,735 --> 00:25:06,405 either targeting deepwater sharks or not targeting them 473 00:25:06,405 --> 00:25:09,575 but catching them as by-catch, they've quickly collapsed. 474 00:25:11,510 --> 00:25:14,279 >>NARRATOR: Over the course of this trip, the crew deployed 475 00:25:14,279 --> 00:25:18,217 53 longline and trap sets, covering stations ranging 476 00:25:18,217 --> 00:25:22,321 from 75 to over 2,000 meters deep. 477 00:25:22,321 --> 00:25:27,659 They caught almost 800 fishes and invertebrates, 478 00:25:27,659 --> 00:25:29,762 which will add to their ever-growing database 479 00:25:29,762 --> 00:25:34,166 of deep sea animals in this part of the Gulf of Mexico. 480 00:25:34,166 --> 00:25:38,103 >>The information that will come out of the work 481 00:25:38,103 --> 00:25:39,438 is just phenomenal. 482 00:25:39,438 --> 00:25:43,809 They've already identified some very interesting differences 483 00:25:43,809 --> 00:25:47,980 in community structure that nobody knew about, 484 00:25:47,980 --> 00:25:50,282 and so they'll be able to get at the essence 485 00:25:50,282 --> 00:25:52,518 of what makes those communities so different 486 00:25:52,518 --> 00:25:54,586 based on the behavior of the animals. 487 00:25:54,586 --> 00:25:56,889 It's absolutely cutting edge. 488 00:25:56,889 --> 00:25:58,424 It's marvelous work. 489 00:26:17,209 --> 00:26:20,546 >>Major funding for this program was provided 490 00:26:20,546 --> 00:26:24,983 by the Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people to preserve 491 00:26:24,983 --> 00:26:29,154 and protect America's underwater resources. 492 00:26:31,557 --> 00:26:33,425 And by Divers Direct, 493 00:26:33,425 --> 00:26:37,425 inspiring the pursuit of tropical adventure scuba diving.