Schmidt Fk230602 Cruise Report: Octopus Odyssey – Part 1

Report Prepared: 12 April 2024
Dates: 1 June 2023 to 21 June 2023
Ports: Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Co-chief Scientists:
Dr. Beth N. Orcutt, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Dr. Jorge Cortés-Núñez, Universidad de Costa Rica

Fkt230602 Science Party + Artists-At-Sea + Observers in image above. Back row, standing L to R: Tim D’Angelo, Rob Perrin, Janet Voight, Rachel Lauer, Jorge Cortés, Michel Droge. Back row, seated, L to R: Wendy Matamoros, Sergio Cambronera, Holly Lutz, Beth Orcutt, Esteban Herrera, Diva Amon, Maila Guilhon. Front row, seated: Carlos Hiller, Odalisca Breedy, Beatriz Naranajo, María Isabel Sandoval, Celeste Sánchez, Gustavo Ramirez, Miguel Semedo, Nathalie Swain-Diaz, Emily Cowell.

Seamount ecosystems support highly diverse animal communities on the seafloor and the surrounding ocean, yet the diversity, connectivity and ecosystem services of these environments is poorly understood. This knowledge gap confounds efforts to delineate areas in need of conservation management and protection. The Pacific Ocean margin of Costa Rica contains a range of seamount habitats, from the rough terrain of the southwestern margin to the more sparse terrain of the northwest margin. While the southwestern terrain has previously been surveyed (including by RV Falkor) and some seamount areas here are already protected, far less is known about the ecosystems of the northwestern terrain. In 2013/2014 very unique animal behaviors and hydrothermal venting were discovered on a small seamount in the northwestern terrain. Namely, extensive aggregations of octopus were observed at a place called the Dorado Outcrop, located in areas of diffuse venting of slightly warmed hydrothermal fluids. At the time of discovery, it was unclear if these aggregations could be considered nurseries, since no viable eggs were observed with brooding mothers. Subsequently, similar behaviors were observed on the Davidson Seamount offshore California, and these aggregations were confirmed to be octopus nurseries. On this shakedown cruise of the new RV Falkor (too), our international team planned to return to this area to determine the extent of these unique animal behaviors in the region to inform their possible conservation and protection. Moreover, the team planned to use multidisciplinary approaches to determine linkages between fluid-rock alteration, microbial processes, and microbe-animal symbioses at these seamounts, as well as to broader seafloor-ocean coupling in the region. Embedded throughout the research program were elements for enabling capacity development for early career researchers and capacity sharing with scientists from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries. Such activities included remote telepresence-enabled engagement of participants in a deep-sea expedition leadership program, hands-on training for shipboard early career scientists, and specimen collection for regional museums. Likewise, the expedition planned to offer a dual-language outreach program designed to raise awareness amongst Costa Rican and regional audiences of deep-sea conservation issues in the region. Moreover, expedition scientists planned to translate science findings for relevant policy makers, including the Ministry of Environment in Costa Rica and the International Seabed Authority. Collectively, the research, capacity development and outreach goals of the expedition will contribute to objectives of the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and offer a significant platform for engagement as Costa Rica co-sponsors the third UN Ocean Conference in 2024.