Weekly pictorial - WEEK 4: Everything, but the fish

Weekly pictorial – WEEK 4: Everything, but the fish
As the second voyage of the Oceans Survey 20/20 Chatham-Challenger Hydrographic, Biodiversity and
Seabed Habitat project comes to a close, it is interesting to reflect on the voyage’s achievements. Over the
course of four weeks we have travelled over 6000 km across the length and breadth of the Chatham Rise to
collect biological and sediment samples from 293 stations at 99 sites. We have sieved over 10 tonnes of sea
floor material (rocks and sediment) to document nearly 3500 samples, some of which may be specimens that
are new to science. In the Champions League Table of Deep-Sea Greeblies, the winning “team” were the
Polychaetes (bristle worms) with 306 archived samples, followed by Gastropods (snails ~300) for the silver
medal and in third place the Asteroids (seastars ~160 samples). As groups of organisms, the Echinoderms
(sea-stars, brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers) came out on top with almost 560 samples, followed by
Crustaceans (crabs, squat lobsters, isopods, amphipods and shrimps) with ~500 and then in a close run for
third, Molluscs (~400 bivalves and gastropods) and Worms (~380 total). Two hundred and seven fish
specimens were also collected, but most were identified onboard and discarded. We have over 110 1-hour
video tapes covering a range of sea-floor habitats from rocky seamounts to burrowed muddy sediments and
just over 25 000 still images capturing the everyday life of the animals that inhabit the deep-sea. Some of
these organisms have also been so kind to “model” for us with over 1000 individual specimens photographed
and their portraits archived for future ID work and use in classification schemes.

Other tools that have contributed to the success of the voyage have included the Tangaroa’s multi-beam echo-
sounder system (MBES), which has been used to produce maps of the sea-floor that have helped us in
selecting sample sites and has given us insights into the processes that shape the seabed on the Chatham Rise
(Figure 1). The MBES sends a sound wave down to the sea-floor every second or so and then is clever enough
to recognise 135 separate beams after they have bounced off the sea-floor. From this the instrument calculates
the depth of water under and either side of the vessel, providing we know the speed of sound in water
throughout the water column. The MBES builds up a picture of the sea-floor with a vertical resolution of
better than ±20 m in 1000 m of water. On the current voyage several seamounts were mapped in detail,
building on work undertaken on the first OS 20/20 voyage in August 2006, including relatively shallow
features off Pitt Island (SE Chatham Island) and on Mernoo Bank on the western end of the Chatham Rise and
some deeper seamounts targeted by deep-water fisheries along the northern slope of the rise (Figure 2).
Evidence of fishing activities in many areas is not evident on the MBES data, but was indicated readily by the
presence of trawl marks on the sea-floor as seen in some of the DTIS images (Figure 3).

         Figure 1: The Maestros of Multi-beam – Miles and Michelle (Dunkin and Taylor,
         respectively) down in the dungeon, keeping an eye on the multi-beam. Michelle
         was the LINZ representative on the OS20/20 voyage.

Figure 2: (left) Seamounts to SE off Pitt Island and (right) “Valley of Death” on South Chatham
Rise where lots of dead algal material was accumulating.

                Figure 3: Trawl Marks and rat-tail at 500 m, SW Chatham Rise

 During the voyage, we have also deployed two other “toys” to collect beasties from the deep. One is a type of
 sled that was built just in time for the voyage by NIWA workshop staff and was used for the first time in NZ
 waters on the Chatham Rise voyage in water depths ranging from 250 m to 1200 m. On the voyage the sled
 was affectionately known as Santa’s sleigh, and is based on a German design by Nils Brenke, with the
 concept supported by NIWA grants to scientists Anna-Nina Lörz and Niel Bruce. It is designed to capture
 animals that live close to and on the sea-bed using two fine mesh nets mounted in the sled frame (Figure 4).
 The sleigh did a remarkable job working in muddy, sandy and even rocky environments, providing samples of
 small animals (

Figure 4: Santa’s sleigh with baubles - the new Brenke epibenthic sled.

               Figure 5: Bugs - Polychaete worm (left) and amphipod (right).

In a number of circumstances we also deployed our beam trawl, which caught a greater range of animals than
the smaller sleds we were using at every site (see Weekly report 2). This piece of equipment consists of a
thick telegraph pole mounted on a couple of runners at either end of the pole with a long net strung out
behind. The beam trawl worked well and we were able to get some really nice specimens from these
deployments (Figure 6) as well as lots of mud at times, including a record 4 tonnes at one site.

Figure 6: (left) Beam me up. Beam trawl coming onboard and (right) sieving the night
 away – Michelle Brock (MFish), Adam Smith (NIWA) and Tyler Eddy (MFish/Vic Uni).

One of the things that you are asked once you mention you have spent time at sea is “what’s it like living on a
ship?”. Samuel Johnson, the famous word-smith and compiler of the first dictionary, likened it to being in
prison but with the added “bonus” of the threat of drowning. To some degree, Johnson’s summary is quite apt,
but wide of the mark in many other instances. Sure, there is a feeling of isolation as you are travelling around
the ocean, usually with a group of people that you have never met before, but is always interesting to hear
different perspectives on life and to share the exciting discoveries while searching the deep ocean. Most of the
time spent at sea by the science party involves working a 12-hour watch every day (collecting, identifying and
archiving samples), with routines settled into after watch hours that might comprise visits to the onboard gym,
watching DVDs (we are often out-of-range for terrestrial TV), writing emails home, playing board/card
games, reading books, listening to and playing music, or watching the seabirds and the changing moods of the
sea. And then there are always the fantastic meals to keep you going around the clock (especially the
chocolate mouse dessert!). There is, however, no scope for going for a long walk in the evening (unless you
count 50 times around the ship as therapeutic), nor for dropping in to see friends and family, and you certainly
miss all the comings and goings at home, sporting activities and catching the movies and bands of the
moment….. but just sometimes the sunrises and sunsets can make it all a little bit worthwhile (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Sunrise on the Chatham Rise.

While at sea we rely heavily on the officers and crew of the vessel to keep us all safe, at the right place at the
right time, well fed and to keep the samples flooding onto the ship. On this voyage we had an expert crew
onboard Tangaroa to ensure that the voyage was a huge success with a large new data-set for New Zealand
and overseas biologists to delve into. The Tangaroa team comprised Andrew Leachman (Master), Evan Solly
(1st Mate), Ian Popenhagen (2nd Mate), John Kirkland (Chief Engineer), Lindsay Battersby (2nd Engineer),
Mike Steele (Bosun), Glen Walker (Leading hand), Kim Ashby and Andrew Dickson (cooks), Lewis Rivers
(Steward) and last, but by no means least, the all-important deck crew of Eddie Fox, Barry Fleming, Shane
Harvey and Andrew Williams (Figures 8 and 9).

Figure 8: Bridges and Bracelets. (left) Evan Solly keeping “Jethro Tull” alive on the Tangaroa’s
       bridge and (right) Lindsay Battersby all dressed up in traditional engineer garb.

Figure 9: Deckies in Action. (left) Eddie Fox and Glen Walker about to deploy the DTIS camera
       for the 200th time and (right) Barry Fleming and Mike Steele in waiting mode.

As a final passing note, here are some further fantastic shots of animals we collected from the deep on the
second OS 20/20 voyage in 2006-07 (Figures 10-12), plus additional shots of the people who helped make the
voyage so successful (Figures 13-20):

       Figure 10: (left) A bristly customer: flaming fireworm and (right) tiny ophiuroids cluster for
       safety in a hydroid “bush”.

      Figure 11: (left) Deep-sea defaecation, a large sea cucumber (holothurian) does
      the business and leaves his mark and (right) a delicate, little deep-sea crab.

Figure 12: (top) Arrgghhhh, it’s the Attack of the Holothurians and (bottom) the Smooth
Operator sticks his nose in: a long-nose smooth skate glides past the camera.

Figure 13: (left) The last station (beam trawl) of OS 2020 Voyage 2 and (right)
Kirsten Rodgers and Sadie Mills preparing for the next sample onslaught.

Figure 14: (left) Alan Hart and Friend. (right) Feeding Frenzy at the Trough –
another sled sample is sorted.

Figure 15: (left) The sorting continues. From l-r, MFish vs the Rest - Michelle Brock (back to
camera), Tyler Eddy and Seb Holmes in the Blue (and Red) helmet corner and Adam Smith
and Daniel LeDuc in the Red (and Green) helmet corner. (middle) The clean-up: Maurice
Brown and Matt Knox in clean-up mode and (right ) Man of Action – Owen Anderson.

Figure 16: (left) Phil Ross gets close to his muddy side while (right) Matt Knox gets personal
with his bugs of choice – amphipods. Phil and Matt are both studying at Waikato University.

Figure 17: Hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go…. (left), Richard Campbell, Paul Grimes and Kerstin
Kröger whistling thru the work and (right) Liz Keys samples the delights of the deep-sea.

Figure 18: (left) Smile, you’re on Candid Camera – Michelle Brock coaxing the best out of the
animals collected on OS2020 and (right) Daniel LeDuc (Otago University) likes what he sees.

Figure 19: (left) Another Birthday At Sea – Kareen Schnabel celebrates her birthday with a
sled sample to process (lucky girl!) and (right) Peter Hill and Michelle Taylor prepare the DTIS
camera for yet another deployment.

   Figure 20: The OS2020 team (Voyage 2 – Chatham Rise Biodiversity). Science staff and
   some of the Tangaroa officers and crew.

Note that all images in this report are propriety and can only be used with the express permission of the
Oceans Survey 20/20 Steering Committee and the OS 20/20 Chatham-Challenger Project (Lead Agency,
MFish, Vessels Contract Client, LINZ).