Mesmerizing Mysteries of the Deep: The Spookily Cool Creatures of Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! What is THAT?!” In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, eight people gasped as one when a ghostly form drifted across two giant screens in a dimly lit control van.

The Deepstaria jelly was seen at 790 meters below sea level on the slopes of Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by OET / EV Nautilus

The gently swirling figure began to billow in the wake of thrusters being used to stabilize a remote operated vehicle named Hercules. Inside the jelly, a bright red isopod, a relative of the pillbug, has taken up residence.

The control van was perched on top of the E/V Nautilus, a research and exploration vessel that is currently on an expedition to map the ocean floor and explore the seamounts and ridges in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Interns, scientists, and engineers, as well as staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, watched in rapture as the small colorful jelly continued to gently whorl in the bright lights of the ROV. Photo by Marley Parker

Just a day before, the crew members had been treated to another mesmerizingly magical creature dancing in the lights of the ROV Hercules. A cirroteuthid octopus billowed out like a circus tent in the current.

Very little is known about this mysterious octopus family. But one thing’s for sure, the deep sea is a magical place of discovery!

Our public lands and national wildlife refuges protect an amazing array of wildlife — and when you can’t visit the bottom of the ocean floor, a virtual visit is the next best option! Although these amazing animals were observed on the ancient volcanic slopes of Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, the images being beamed up from the seafloor were being watched simultaneously by scientists, enthusiasts, and ocean fans across the world on NautilusLive.org.

Masked booby family on the beach at Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Dana Schot/USFWS

The E/V Nautilus uses muti-beam mapping and remote operated vehicles to explore the ocean floor. The research and information collected on this trip will improve scientists’ understanding of marine habitats, seafloor composition, and the geologic history of these areas. The Ocean Exploration Trust, which operates the E/V Nautilus, was awarded a grant from the NOAA Office of Ocean of Exploration and Research for the E/V Nautilus to conduct the 2019 Pacific expedition.

Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge is one of seven National Wildlife Refuges, including Howland, and Jarvis Island; Johnston, Wake, and Palmyra Atoll; and Kingman Reef, within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

By Holly Richards, an External Affairs officer in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office and a passenger on the E/V Nautilus.