Aquarium part of team exploring national monument off the coast

July 20, 2024 3:46 PM • Last Updated: July 20, 2024 3:46 PM

Peter Auster, senior research scientist at Mystic Aquarium, examines scuba tanks used for upcoming dives in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. (Photo courtesy of Mystic Aquarium)

Mystic ― Researchers from the Mystic Aquarium were part of a team that left Friday for the nation’s first and only national marine monument off the coast of the continental United States.

“This is part of our country’s investment in trying to understand how the world works, and that will allow us to be better informed about how wildlife communities interact with each other,” Peter Auster, a senior research scientist at the aquarium and professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, said Thursday.

During the 10-day expedition to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, we explore local and migratory marine life and gain insight into how a natural ecosystem functions with little human intervention.

“It’s a biodiversity hotspot, and in a relatively small area you get a lot for your money,” Auster said.

He said the monument, located about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southeast of Cape Cod, covers an area about the size of Connecticut, just a fraction of a percent of U.S. Atlantic waters.

He explained that the monument’s underwater geography is home to a wide variety of marine life: from creatures in the deepest parts of the canyons, more than 4,200 meters below the surface, to creatures living in the underwater mountains, at a relatively shallow depth of 90 meters, and also creatures closer to the surface.

The monument was designated a marine protected area in 2015 and is the only zone along the entire east coast where sea turtles and marine mammals cannot become entangled.

Last year, commercial fishing in the protected area was halted. Auster explained that this research could provide a basis for understanding the impact of humans on the oceans, which could inform conservation efforts.

“It is a rare opportunity to study how marine wildlife communities function and interact in the absence of humans, and that is exactly what we will do on this safari,” he said.

The 11-member expedition, funded by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the monument in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will focus on five key research areas.

The team will study the monument’s largest predators, such as sharks, tuna and swordfish, remotely using baited underwater cameras, as well as up close using SCUBA dives.

According to Auster, there is speculation that tuna are spawning in the area, so the team will also be taking samples of fish larvae to see what species are breeding in the area.

In addition, the team will test equipment to detect deep-sea fish, study seabirds, collect and identify gelatinous animals such as jellyfish and other similar creatures, and collect samples of free-floating DNA at different depths to study the diversity of marine life living in and passing through the monument’s waters.

Auster explained that as fish and other animals move through the water, cells containing DNA die.

“Depending on how long it floats before it breaks down, you can tell which players have been in that area by taking a water sample,” he explains.

Katie Cubina, education and outreach advisor for the aquarium, said Thursday that a videographer will document what happens on the cruise for the benefit of educators, students and the public. The videographer will also update the aquarium’s Ocean Refuge exhibit.

“The most important thing for the aquarium is not just doing the work, but sharing the work,” she said.

She also said the team would host a series of live Zoom platform events, including one with young participants from 10 underserved communities in Connecticut. Members of the public can stay up-to-date on what the team is doing through daily videos and posts on the aquarium’s social media platforms.