Deep AND beautifulDeep-sea invertebrates of New Zealand

KAREEN SCHNABEL & SADIE MILLSNational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Greta Point, Wellington

Talk outline

• Who we are

• The deep sea

• How do we collect?

• The NIWA Invertebrate

Collection

Don’t hesitate to ask questions any time

There will be a chance to see specimens up close

after if you didn’t get a chance during the talk

Have fun!

This is what people

think we do

We are marine biologists

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This is what people

think we doThis is what we

thought we would do

We are marine biologists

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Ga

ry C

ranitch

This is what people

think we doThis is what we

thought we would do

This is what our

mums think we do

We are marine biologists

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Ga

ry C

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This is what people

think we doThis is what we

thought we would do

This is what our

mums think we do

This is what our

colleagues think we do

We are marine biologists

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w.c

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co

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Ga

ry C

ranitch

This is what people

think we doThis is what we

thought we would do

This is what

we think we do

This is what our

mums think we do

This is what our

colleagues think we do

We are marine biologists

ww

w.c

tpost.

co

m

Ga

ry C

ranitch

This is what people

think we doThis is what we

thought we would do

This is what

we think we do

This is what we

mostly do

This is what our

mums think we do

This is what our

colleagues think we do

We are marine biologists

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Ga

ry C

ranitch

• Collection Manager at

NIWA Invertebrate

Collection

• 11 research cruises (NZ &

Antarctica)

• Ophiuroid taxonomist

• Collection Manager 2006-

2015

• Lots of research cruises and

field trips

• Decapod taxonomist and

deep sea researcher at NIWA

Sadie Mills Kareen Schnabel

Planet Ocean

Planet Ocean

71 % of Earth’s surface is ocean

Average depth of oceans: 3,700m

Deepest point: 11,033m

Highest mountain: 10,200m

Longest mountain range: 64,000km

A quick tour through the ocean realm,

99 percent of the living space on the

planet

A quick tour through the ocean realm,

99 percent of the living space on the

planet

IT’S DARK

A quick tour through the ocean realm,

99 percent of the living space on the

planet

IT’S DARK

IT’S COLD

Pressure at 1000m is 100X

higher than at surface

SCUBA diving recreational depth limit is 40 m

Spirula spirula

Average depth of oceans: 3,700m

The abyssal zone

Aoraki/ Mt Cook is 3,724 m high

RMS Titanic lies at 3,800 m depth

Average depth of oceans: 3,700m

The abyssal zone

• Zealandia: a submerged continent

• Trenches, canyons, seamounts, rises, abyssal plains

CANZ, 2008

Laetmogone sp.

Kamptosoma sp.

Most of it is mud…

But there are lots of signs of life

Trenches

Mariana Trench: 10,911 ± 40 m

The hadal zone

Trenches

Mariana Trench: 10,911 ± 40 m

The hadal zone

Mt Everest (8,848m)

Trenches

Kermadec Trench: 10,047

The hadal zone

Trenches

Kermadec Trench: 10,047

The hadal zone

Alicella gigantea from 7000 m

Trenches

Kermadec Trench: 10,047

The hadal zone

RIP ROV Nereus

HADES, WHOI

The Ocean floor

It’s a matter of scale

1000s km

abyssal plains

seamounts

10s m

smokers

whalefalls

1 cm

Biological interactions

The Ocean floor

1000s km

abyssal plains

seamounts

10s m

smokers

whalefalls

1 cm

Biological interactions

The Ocean floor

The Ocean floor1000s km

abyssal plains

seamounts

10s m

smokers

whalefalls

1 cm

Biological interactions

1000s km

abyssal plains

seamounts

10s m

smokers

whalefalls

1 cm

The Ocean floor

Paragorgia arborea

Solenosmilia variabilis

How do we get there?

Beam trawl

RV Tangaroa

Epibenthic sled DSRV SHINKAI 6500 Multicore

Critter of the Week

The NIWA Invertebrate Collection

The NIWA Invertebrate Collection

Considered a nationally significant collection which ensures availability for all users in perpetuity

~ 2 FTE

~ 300,000-400,000 samples (?)

>150,000 databased

RECORDS DON’T EXIST UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN DATABASED!

NIWA Invertebrate Collection

NIWA Biodiversity Memoir Series

1981

2000

2012

2016• First memoir printed in 1955 by NZOI and included oceanographic and geomorphology works

• Late 1990s became Biodiversity memoirs including seminal systematic works on NZ marine inverts

• 128 memoirs

https://www.niwa.co.nz/coasts-and-oceans/niwa-biodiversity-memoirs

• Field identification guides

– Aimed at technical staff and fisheries observers to

improve identification in the field

Inspirational Invertebrates e-guides

https://www.niwa.co.nz/coasts-and-oceans/marine-identification-guides-and-fact-sheets

After

Out of sight but not out of reach

Before

Finishing on a positive note

Video clip time!

Clips are from voyages TAN1206 & TAN1503 from project: ‘Impact of resource use

on vulnerable deep-sea communities’ project (CO1X0906), funded by the Ministry

of Business, Innovation & Employment

Thank you for your attention

Feel free to ask questions

Acknowledgements

• The NIWA Invertebrate Collection is funded by the New Zealand Ministry for

Business Innovation and Employment with Core Funding (NIWA project

COBR1603). Images by NIWA or Creative Commons unless otherwise stated.

Thank you to NIWA photographers Dave Allen, Peter Marriott, Rob Stewart,

Owen Anderson, Richard O’Driscoll, Ashley Rowden, Crispin Middleton; seafloor

imagery from the NIWA Deep Towed Imaging System (DTIS) Camera; and

seafloor map imagery from the NIWA Charting Around New Zealand (CANZ)

group, 2008.