Hawaiian submarine canyons are hotspots of biodiversity and biomass for seafloor animal communities - Media Page

Press Release (PDF)

Photo and video credits: Eric Vetter, Craig Smith & the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory unless otherwise noted.

Images
	Algae at 1500 m in Oahu Canyon – Collecting drift algae at 1500 m in a submarine canyon off Kaneohe Bay
	Kukui nuts in Molokai Canyon – Terrestrial detritus at 500 m in a submarine canyon off the north coast of Moloka’i
	Molokai Gorgonian – large gorgonian observed at 650 m off the North Coast of Moloka’i
	Pisces 5 with Moloka'i in background
	Plesiobatis daviesi and Heterocarpus sp – A large ray (Plesiobatis daviesi) and shrimp (Heterocarpus sp.) attracted to bait in a submarine canyon off Kaneohe Bay at 350 m.
	Sladinia remiger, Oahu Submarine Canyon
	Collection box - sample of megafaunal invertebrates collected with the manipulator arms of Pisces 5.
	Fabio dissecting a sea urchin collected in a submarine canyon off Molokai for food web analysis. Photo credit: David Vardeh
	Photo of the Scavenger trap used to collect species samples.

Videos

Video 2

Video S2 Suspension feeding Ophiuroids on the slope at 670 m off the North shore of Moloka’i.

Video 3

Video S3 Woody debris at 572 m in a submarine canyon off the North shore of Moloka’i.

Video 4

Video S4 Kukui nuts (Aleurites moluccana) observed at 478 m in a submarine canyon off the North shore of Moloka’i.

Video 5

Video S5 Loose detritus and the caridean Heterocarpus encifer at 350 m in a submarine canyon off Oahu’s East shore.

Video 6

Video S6 Detrital aggregations observed in a submarine canyon off Oahu’s East shore. Similar detrital aggregates were seen moving down the canyon or wedged in rocks from 300 to 1500 m.

Video 7

Video S7 Myctophid school observed at 432 m in a submarine canyon off the North shore of Moloka’i. Similar aggregations were observed deeper in the same canyon and within canyon systems in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Video 8

Video S8 An isolated rocky outcrop in a broad sediment plain at 350 m on the slope of Nihoa Island.

Additional Video

Link to video footage on YouTube taken of a six gill shark during one of the research dives to Molokai.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHuvs9Qqa5o