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Deep-Sea Organisms in Shallow Waters

In May, scientists aboard R/V Oceanus collected sediments and water—shown here in a CTD rosette—to examine the dispersal distances of amoeba-like benthic organisms off Massachusetts and Georgia. In the lab, the researchers exposed very fine sediments collected from deep waters to shallow-water conditions and samples taken from marshes to deep-water conditions to see what grows. They found that a huge bloom of the shallow-water foraminifera, Rosalina vilardeboana, grew unexpectedly from deep-water sediments. “Effectively it means ‘propagules’ [tiny juveniles] are just hanging on, awaiting better conditions to return . . . just like many of us and the economy,” said chief scientist Joan Bernhard of WHOI. She collaborated on the project with Susan Goldstein of the University Georgia. (Photo by Ellen Roosen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)