Images from the deep | Research and Innovation

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Sea anemones on a rocky outcrop, Whittard Canyon, between the coasts of France and Ireland. The FP7-funded HERMIONE project is advancing our knowledge of the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems and their contribution to the production of goods and services. Image courtesy of the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

The sea floor drill rig MARUM-MeBo being deployed from the stern of the German research vessel Maria S. Merian. The drill rig was developed in cooperation with industry partners at MARUM and can drill up to 80-metre-long samples of soft sediment and hard rock in water depths of up to 2 000 metres. The MARUM project has been a recipient of EU funding. © MARUM, University of Bremen, Germany.

Scientists studying the seabed off the Balearic Islands, Spain, aboard the German research submarine JAGO. © The Spanish Institute of Oceonography (IEO)

The Liropus Cachuchoensis is a small crustacean discovered by scientists at the EU-funded IEO, in the muddy depths of the Cachucho. The area is a small underwater platform off the coast of Asturias, and the first Marine Protected Area in Spain. © IEO

Neritic microplankton (Dinoflagellata and Copepoda) in the Bay of Palma, off the coast of Spain. The plankton, between 20-40 micrometres in size, inhabit shallow sea waters overlying the continental shelf. © IEO

The octopus population has dramatically declined in recent years. IEO researchers are attempting to rear octopus paralarvae in captivity for aquaculture. Octopus paralarvae are small – less than 3 millimetres at hatching – with a long planktonic life stage. © IEO

Researchers fix small fragments of coral, each about 2-4 cm long, onto an underwater rope nursery garden in French Polynesia. Traditional restoration of coral reefs has primarily involved the transportation of fragments of coral, or entire coral colonies, from nearby reefs. Compared with previous types of coral nurseries, survival rates of coral in the rope nurseries are high, detachment of the coral fragments is low, and the growth rate is fast. © CNRS Photothèque - VIGNAUD Thomas - USR3278

SELFDOTT, an FP7-funded project, seeks to establish the knowledge base required for the controlled reproduction of endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna. SELFDOTT is developing knowledge of the eggs and larvae of bluefin tuna, along with environmentally sustainable feed. © IEO

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