u CuraCao researCh Centre and imares join forCes....... 1

u a beautiful brittle star on fossil reef. . . . . . . . . . . 2

u What the deep reefs have been shielding from our eyes........................................... 3

ISSUE 3 YEAR 2013

CURACAO RESEARCH CENTRE AND DUTCH IMARES JOIN FORCES

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the underwaterworld to a maximum of 1000 feet.

The researchers from IMARES studied those deep reefs as part of the “Bonaire Deep Reef Expedition 1”. Their study was executed on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs with regard to the joint management by the islands and the Netherlands of the maritime biodiversity and fishery in the waters surrounding the islands, starting from the outer border of the maritime parks up to

u smithsonian institution makes 2nd trip to klein CuraCao........................... 4

u deep doWn in bonaire With imares....................................5

Scientists of the IMARES institute from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Dr. Erik Meesters and Dr. Lisa Becking, together with Dr. Carole Baldwin from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, were the very first researchers to ever feast their eyes on the biodiversity found on the deep reefs of Bonaire. They did so from within the Curasub, Substation Curacao’s mini submersible that provides its passengers the opportunity to experience the unknown wonders of

the Exclusive Economic Zone (Exclusieve Economische Zone - EEZ).

Using the sophisticated camera’s mounted on the outside of the Curasub and collecting various biological specimen, the scientists set about to explore and document the ecosystem and unique biodiversity of Bonaire. The samples that were collected included some very interesting sponges and other marine life. After being documented and photographed in the lab area on board the RV Chapman, the samples were packed for further analyses in the Naturalis lab.

Exploring the new frontier on Bonaire at depths beyond 600ft, researchers Erik Meesters and Lisa Becking return from a 4,5hour submarine dive with samples of deep reef fauna for further studies.

Exploring the deep reefs, sci-entists often times run into species that look familiar, but nonethless could be a never before encountered relative of

an already organism. So, has this orange/brown sponge already been documented in the past, or hasn’t it? And how about that sea cucumber....?

u arChelogiCal disCoveries.....................6

u CuraCao reef enters virtual era..................................7

THE ARRI VAL OF THE CHAPMAN IN THE HARBOR OF KRALENDIJK DREW A LOT OF ATTEN TI ON ”

Policy Coordinator Nature for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs on Bonaire, Paul Hoetjes.

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A BEAUTIFUL BRITTLE STAR ON FOSSIL REEF

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Since 2010, over a dozen scientists of the Smithsonian have come to Curacao to explore deep reefs. With the Curasub multiple dives were made to study the deep reef and look for new species. Several suspected new species are now being studied to verify whether a completely new species was discovered, or if the species had in the past already been documented. They are discovering suspected new species with almost every day

of field work, including fishes, snails, bivalves, crabs and worms!

A recent trip to Bonaire on board the research vessel RV Chapman, added even more new discoveries to the list that is steadily growing. On a vertical wall extending from 520 feet to well over 850 feet depth, scientists encountered a great deal of unique deep water marine life.

One of them being a bright red brittle starfish that the scientists photographed at about 720 feet.

The vertical wall was part of a fossil reef that was sighted at depths of more than 300 feet and that was probably formed during ice ages when the sea level was much lower than nowadays.

These fossil reefs provide a hard surface for oases of biodiversity in an extensive, otherwise empty wilderness of sand. The wall was discovered on the third day of the Bonaire expedition when the RV Chapman was moored at one of the piers of the Bonaire Salt Company and the Curasub was taken out for a four hour run.

Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroide and are closely related to starfish. They generally have five long whip-like arms that can reach up to 60 centimetres (24 in) in length on the largest specimens. Of the more than 2,000 species of brittle stars living today, some 1200 are found at depths beyond 600 feet. This particular brittle star however did not have five, but six arms which would mean it’s a member of the family Ophiactidae.

Putting the Curasub from its custom-made platform and placing it in the floating submarine-dock

Smithsonian scientists, with from left to right Carole Baldwin, Cristina Castillo and Lee Weight, dissecting one of the fish collected on the deep reef

The fiery red six-armed member of the family Ophiactidae

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Chrionema species

Scorpionfish species

Bathycongrus Vicinalis (140mm)

Lipograma abberans or Golden Basslet

Ostichthys Trachypoma

The information that the scientists gathered on Bonaire is considered to be essential for purposes of nature conservation and to be able to develop plans for sustainable management of the region. The reasoning is that deep reefs can only be properly protected if mankind knows and learns as much as possible about the species living in the deep reefs. Only then will man be able to understand the ecological processes that maintain the region’s diversity.

As the underwater world and the marine ecology are seen as a source of materials that in the future may prove to be of great value, it’s the international responsibility for the countries to identify and map the biodiversity. The international nature organization ‘Conservation International’ already identified the whole of the Caribbean region as a hotspot of biodiversity, an area with outstanding varied ecosystems, and various kinds of plants and animals.

The Dutch scientists spent a great deal of time in the Curasub studying the ecosystem and especially focused on marine plants and animals that might be different to the marine life that they had documented in earlier expeditions in comparable areas elsewhere in the world. So the various fish that were collected in the deep reefs, will be studied quite carefully in the university laboratory in Wageningen. Specimens that were collected belonged to the Chrionema species, Scorpionfish species, the Lipograma abberans (Golden Basslet) species and the Ostichthys species, while excitement also reigned in the submarine when the scientists managed to bring up a 140 mm long juvenile Conger Eel (Bathycongrus Vicinalis species) found at 600 feet and a rare deep water sea urchin, also known as a Sea Biscuit.

WHAT THE DEEP REEFS HAVE BEEN SHIELDING FROM OUR EYESNPS CORALS HAVE TO HUNT FOR

FOOD

The vast majority of soft corals and gorgonians rely greatly on zooxanthellae (one-celled microorganisms also known as symbiotic algae that live inside corals,) for their nutrition. These algae are sensitive to high light, variations in the concentrations of salt, and especially, to high temperatures. The algae use sunlight for photosynthesis, the process all plants use to convert energy from the sun into food energy.

Non-photosynthetic (NPS) soft corals are marine life that lacks the presence of zooxanthellae algae inside of its tissue. As a consequence, unlike other corals that can utilize these algae to help feed the coral, NPS coral needs to hunt for their food and physically consume prey in order to survive.

Because they do not need light to go on growing, NPS corals are generally found in deeper, darker waters, or on the edges of drop-offs and the bottom of caves and overhangs.

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ISSUE 3 YEAR 2013

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MAKES 2ND TRIP TO KLEIN CURACAO

For over three years now scientists of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington have been coming to Curacao to explore the deep reefs off the island. The reason they chose Curacao is twofold. First, the island boasts the presence of a mini-submarine that can dive to a depth of 1000 feet and, in the second place, within 600 feet from shore the land drops off to a depth of 1000 feet.

Since their first venture into the Curacao waters, the Smithsonian team led by Dr. Carole Baldwin has made almost 30 dives with the Curasub to explore and document the reefs below the reach of regular scuba gear. The scientists from the Smithsonian facilities in Washington DC, Florida, and Panama, along with colleagues from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Coral Reef Research Foundation, have been combining expertise for their project on the island and on almost every dive they made with the Curasub, have discovered suspected new species of marine life, including fishes, snails, bivalves, crabs and worms.

Of the approximately 90 fish species that were collected on these dives, about a quarter seem to be new to science, which is a rate of discovery unprecedented in modern marine ichthyology. They recently made their 2nd trip to Klein Curacao where again several fish were brought up that may prove to be new discoveries.

From Top to Bottom:Smithsonian fish experts have fund over 8 various scorpion fish below 500 feet depth. Several are definitely unknown, but a great deal of work remains to be done in order to identify this family of fish. Pictured one of the “new” species.

After bringing fish up from the deep reef, the scientists set out

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The SI-team and “Dutch” standing on the new platform that was just recently added to the RV Chapman for transport of the Curasub.

Curaçao Research Centrep/a Curaçao Seaquarium Park

Bapor Kibrá z/n

Curaçao

Editor:Laureen Schenk

Design and lay-out:Chris Richards/ Barbara van Bebber

Pictures:Barry BrownCival van der LubbeSmithsonian InstitutionSubstation Curaçao

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DEEP DOWN IN BONAIRE WITH IMARESThey just finished their first expedition to Bonaire where they explored the deep reef using the Curasub, but Bonaire will probably not have seen the last of the Dutch marine biologists Erik Meesters and Lisa Becking of IMARES Wageningen University. The fish, sponges and other marine organisms they encountered at great depth decidedly piqued their professional interest. The expedition already presented them with at least one new shrimp and two new species of fish and they are convinced that this will not be the last of the discoveries on the deep reef of Bonaire.

In Bonaire with the Curasub Erik Meesters and Lisa Becking descended to depths of 600 to 750 feet at the Town pier, the Curoil-pier in front of the airport runway and the Salt pier. Cruising in the Curasub along Bonaire’s reef, they also came across enormous fields that Dr. Meesters describes as ‘Red cyanobacterial mats’. According to Lisa Becking, finding these kinds of fields in coral reef, usually indicates that the marine system in that area is disturbed. The reason behind this disturbance and the growth of the algae field, is however not yet clear. So that is something that the scientists needs to investigate further.

As they informed their colleagues in The Netherlands, the researchers also found fossil reefs at depths of over 300 feet. As fossil reefs they consider reefs that were formed during ice ages when the sea level was much lower than it is today. These fossil reefs rise up in between extensive stretches of sand, providing a hard surface and serving as a base for marine organism to flourish. What the Dutch researchers hope to accomplish in the future is to find more of these ‘solitary’ reefs by executing acoustic surveys and then exploring these areas with the submarine.

During the submersible dives examples of sponges, soft corals, gorgonians, echinoderms, fish, and mollusks were collected. These will be identified with the aid of taxonomists at Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the laboratory at Naturalis will generate ‘DNA-barcodes’ to facilitate future identification.

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CRINOIDS COME IN ALL SIZES AND COLORS

While diving, a large number of crinoids were observed and photographed. Some of them of exceptional beauty.

Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea of the echinoderms. Crinoidea comes from the Greek word krinon, “a lily”, and eidos, “form”. They live both in shallow water and in depths as great as 18,000 feet and come in various sizes and colors.

Crinoids are part of a large group of marine invertebrate animals called echinoderms. Other echinoderms are starfish, brittle stars, sand dollars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers.

Crinoids may have as few as five arms, but usually they have arms in multiples of five. All echinoderms also have calcite plates (ossicles) embedded in their skin, which form their skeleton. That is why living starfish feel scratchy when you touch them.

Crinoids are unusual looking animals because they look more like plants than animals, hence the name ‘sea lilies’ applied to some living crinoids. They are however definitely not plants. Contrary to flowers who are the reproductive parts of photosynthesizing plants, crinoids are animals that eat plankton from seawater. They have muscles, nerves, a gut, a reproductive system, and other features of advanced animals. They evolved a plant-like morphology so that they could remain attached to the seafloor while they spread their arms to catch food.

Erik and Lisa discussing a particular find

Another deep reef echinoderm

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ISSUE 3 YEAR 2013

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

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A SPANISH OLIVE JAR

The expedition to Bonaire yielded much more than just a new insight into the marine life and the composition of the sea bottom. It also provided the scientists in the Curasub with a spectacular archeological discovery: a Spanish olive oil amphora which according to experts dates from about 1780.

The amphora was found at a depth of 540 feet.

Jars like the one that was discovered by the Curasub, were also salvaged from the wrecks of two ships that in 1724 sank on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic during a hurricane.

Most of the jars that were salvaged from the wrecks are now housed in a museum in Santo Domingo.

To archeologists amphoras, like the one discovered off the coast of Bonaire, are also known as “Spanish Olive Jars”.

They were primarily used by the Spanish during the exploration and colonization of the Americas. Employed as main type of shipping container, the jars held foodstuffs and supplies. Documents in old archives indicate that various types of beans and olives, as well as wine, olive oil and tar. Most were produced with a pointed base to allow upright storage by embedding in soft ground, such as sand. When transported by ship, the amphorae were most times stored in a rack and roped together to prevent shifting or toppling during rough seas. Studies show that amphorae were too cheap and plentiful to return to their origin point and therefore, when empty, were mostly discarded.

NOT ALL BOTTLES ARE A DIME A DOZEN

Bottles are the most common finds when searching the ocean floor. Most times the bottles haven’t been there very long. Mostly just long enough to be covered with some sand and housing tiny creatures. But sometimes the bottles do date back to the olden days. Like the so-called “Case gins”, glass bottles that are also known as taper gins and that were a common style used from the 17th though the 20th centuries.

The Case gins were some of the earliest liquor bottles, square in cross section and generally designed to contain gin but probably also other types of liquor. Their name comes from the fact that they would pack more efficiently to a case (6 to 24 bottles) than round bottles.

A “Demijohn” was another old bottle found on one of the exploratory dives with the Curasub. A Demijohn is a larger than usual bottle which is typically ovoid or bladder shaped and can hold at least one gallon or more.

OLD STOCK ANCHORS

Another discovery was the find of some anchors that are probably a couple of centuries old.

The anchors found at a depth of 460 feet, are so-called “stocked anchors”. These anchors have a stock that is set at right angles to the fluke of the anchor. The first anchor stocks were made of wood. Generally the wooden stocks were made of two pieces of timber (most commonly oak) that were joined together with either wooden or metal bolts and banding. One of the stock anchors that was sighted between Bonaire

and Klein Bonaire, in the past apparently had such a wooden stock. Although the remains of the wood could barely be seen, the banding was still distinctly apparent.

Though probably also over a century and a half old, the second anchor, showing an iron stock, is definitely not as ancient as the one that used to hold the wooden stock.

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CURACAO REEF ENTERS VIRTUAL ERA

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As part of their survey of mesophotic coral ecosystems, the Australian scientists set out several coral colonies in both the shallow as well as the deep reef. Next year’s comparison of the different colonies could prove to be interesting.

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A survey team of scientists, robotic specialists and cinematographers working on the Catlin Seaview Survey recently visited Curacao to study and photograph the island’s coral reef. The team spent several weeks appraising and photographing the reef for Google as well as collecting scientific data to be utilized in future reef research.

As divers that have visited the island can attest, Curacao’s coral reef is among the most beautiful in the world. But that underwater world will shortly no longer only be visible to divers, but as a virtual rendering also be available to people that are not willing or able to don scuba gear. These people will soon be able to enjoy marine life via Google Maps ‘virtual diving’ platform.

The team spent many hours shooting videos in the shallower parts of the reef. Apart from their traditional dives, they however also made use of Substation Curacao’s submarine ‘Curasub’ to capture footage of the reef. With the Curasub, that can take up to four passengers to a maximum depth of 1000 feet, they were able to significantly expand the depths to which a person can take a camera.

The shallow reef survey involved photographing the reef in full 360 degree panoramic vision using specially developed cameras. As was the case when the Great Barrier Reef became the first area that target of this comprehensive study, the camera images are automatically analyzed using image recognition software, specially designed by UQ researchers, creating a baseline for scientific analysis from remote locations. The study serves to document the composition and health of the world’s coral reefs across a depth range of 0-300 feet.

While the survey team was working their way along the shallow reef, Dr. Pim Bongaerts from the Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory at the University of Queensland, Brisbane in Australia was doing a study in the deep reef off the island where he was looking into the effects of climate change on one of the least known ecosystems on the planet ñ the deep-water reefs or mesophotic coral ecosystems (between 90 and 300 feet).

The term ‘mesophotic coral ecosystems’ has recently been adopted for the deep, light-dependent coral communities that are found at depths in excess of 90 feet (usually confined to a maximum depth of 300-450 feet). Compared to their shallow-water counterparts these communities until recently did not receive much attention. Their great depth and therefore relative inaccessibility, being the main reason.

Recent technological advances (ROVs, AUVs, technical diving) however sparked a renewed interest in these ecosystems, especially as they seem to be largely protected from several major reef stressors, such as storm events and elevated seawater temperatures. By exploring the molecular ecology of mesophotic coral ecosystems, Dr. Bongaerts hopes to get a better understanding of the ability of these deep reef areas to act as refugia and more importantly to re-seed shallow reefs post disturbance.