*This post was originally uploaded on Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 on a website that has since been deleted. Posts from that website have been re-uploaded and can be found on our blog page.
We recently worked with the SoFar Ocean team to help us recover a hidden video file on the Trident! This file was from one of our night dives. Here is a more longer night dive video that highlights all the little critters that are attracted to the lights on the ROV. It is truly like flying through space! We also feature a juvenile African pompano, flying fish, and some larger squid. You can also see several bright blue "specks" and bright red "specks" that we aren't quite sure what they are yet.
It is really interesting to see how the community of critters changes after the sun goes down. Most of the animals in this video spend daylight hours deep in the ocean, hiding from larger predators like fish and marine mammals (dolphins & whales) that use their eyes to find prey. By hiding in the dark, deep ocean, these small fish, squid, and zooplankton decrease their chances of becoming someone's lunch. When the sun goes down, these twilight zone critters make the world's largest migration up to the surface waters, where they eat the phytoplankton (single celled ocean plants) that are found near the ocean's surface.
We hope you enjoy exploring what we can find in the deep blue sea at night!