September 22, 2020: Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Image courtesy of the Twilight Zone Expedition Team 2007, NOAA-OE. Download larger version (jpg, 1.6 MB).
In 2007, a team of scientists and technical dives set out to explore the Cayman Islands Twilight Zone, an area where unusual sponges and soft corals cling to nearly vertical walls that drop into the abyss of the Cayman Trench -- 7,500 meters (4.7 miles) below the crystal-clear surface waters. Identifying the biodiversity and health status of these important transition communities is the first step toward effective management and conservation of these deep-reef habitats.
Although many of the species found at a deep coral reef are different than those seen on shallow reefs, some mobile organisms can actually move between shallow and deep reefs. This hawksbill sea turtle, for example, was seen feeding on sponges that are common in both deep and shallow reefs.
From: Technical Diving Preparations.