Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) Partnership 

Ocean floor ecosystems that receive little to no sunlight – the mesophotic benthic zone (50-300 m depth) and deep benthic zone (greater than 300 m) - house a diversity of life that plays critical roles in carbon cycling and marine food webs (learn more via The Deep Sea). While they may seem isolated and inaccessible, these ecosystems can be directly affected by human activities such as trawling or deep-sea resource extraction (Deep-Sea Corals). In 2010 an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, and today we are working to assess and restore impacted Gulf seafloor organisms and ecosystems (Gulf Oil Spill).

The NMNH has formed a new partnership with the project teams charged with restoring and conserving habitat in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) portfolio, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of the Interior (DOI), consists of four projects working to restore Gulf of Mexico ocean floor ecosystems impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Objects of these MDBC projects include seafloor mapping, coral propagation, and habitat assessment to improve our understanding, inform management, and ensure resiliency of mesophotic and deep benthic communities (Deep Gulf Restoration).

The Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the NMNH is partnering closely with the MDBC project teams to help characterize Gulf of Mexico biodiversity, since understanding what, where, when and how marine life is distributed across space and time is fundamental to successful conservation and ecosystem restoration. NMNH-MDBC personnel will help map and characterize Gulf of Mexico mesophotic and deep benthic life through core scientific tasks linked below. 

Additional Personnel

Tara McIver

Deep-Sea Video Annotation 

Tara is a Marine Ecologist that has been working in the deep-sea environment since 2000. She is currently working on video analysis of deep-sea communities from submersible and remote operated vehicle (ROV) dives in the Gulf of Mexico.

Corinna Breusing 

Genomic Scientist

Cori is a genomic scientist who uses molecular and bioinformatic tools and techniques to generate, quality control, and analyze the DNA sequence data from MDBC specimens, including sponges, corals, and crustaceans, to name a few. 

Jamie Thompson

Educator

Jamie is an educator shedding light on the remote habitats in the Gulf of Mexico where the MDBC restoration work is focused. Through informal education opportunities like interactive carts in the Sant Ocean Hall, articles on the NMNH Ocean Portal website, and livestreams with MDBC cruises in the Explore Theater, Jamie is educating NMNH visitors on these unfamiliar habitats. 

Nina Ramos

Lab and 3D Imaging Technician

Nina is genome skimming historical museum samples and using photogrammetry to create 3D models of specimens collected during recent expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico.