MBARI’s advanced underwater robots discover deep-sea squid that broods giant eggs
by Raúl Nava and Kyra Schlining, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
June 11, 2024
The deep sea is the largest living space on Earth, but many of the animals and habitats far beneath the ocean’s surface remain shrouded in mystery. MBARI’s advanced underwater robots, including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), are helping survey life in the ocean’s depths. During an expedition to Mexico’s Gulf of California in 2015, MBARI’s ROV Doc Ricketts encountered a mother squid cradling a cluster of eggs. MBARI researchers had previously observed deep-sea squids brooding their eggs, but this sighting was striking because the eggs were twice as large as those of other brooding deep-sea squids.
A team of researchers from MBARI, GEOMAR’s Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, and the University of South Florida conducted a meticulous review of the ROV footage and examined specimens of similar-looking squids collected on previous expeditions to the Gulf of California. The team has determined this individual likely represents an unknown species of the family of Gonatidae and one that broods giant eggs. Researchers shared their findings in a recent research publication in Ecology.
“Squid play an important role in the ocean—they’re fierce predators and a vital food source for lots of animals, even humans—but we still have a lot to learn about the squid that live in the deep sea. Advanced underwater robots are helping us better understand the lives of deep-water squids, revealing fascinating new information about their biology and behavior. Each new observation is another piece of the puzzle,” said Henk-Jan Hoving, a previous postdoctoral fellow at MBARI who now leads the deep-sea biology working group at GEOMAR and was the lead author of this new study.
Keep reading: https://www.mbari.org/news/mbaris-advanced-underwater-robots-discover-deep-sea-squid-that-broods-giant-eggs/
Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.4319