We’ve left the Schmitdt-Ott seamount and are now steaming north to the Wüst seamount.  During this time, we had the chance to review the footage from the Schmidt-Ott seamount and we've noticed some interesting facts.

First, we've observed the recurring presence of sea urchins and/or crinoids on some of the largest gorgonians.

Crinoids are known to be filterers and could benefit from this association with gorgonians by being in a more elevated, and thus better, position for trapping food particles floating past.

However, the lack of polyps on the gorgonian stems, close to the crinoid, seems to indicate that the relationship might be detrimental and cause some sort of damage to the hosting gorgonian. Alternately, the sea urchins also found on gorgonians are known to be grazers and could be predating the polyps.

We also tried to estimate the size of the gorgonians. This was possibile thanks to the CAMPOD lasers projecting four points that form a 10 cm square. Based on this, some of the largest gorgonian colonies we saw are estimated to be almost one metre high and wide: a size, which according to a number of studies aimed at estimating the age of deep sea corals, would indicate ages of more than 500 years!

Be sure to ask us your questions – we’re eager to hear them.