A shiny white shell on a dark, sandy ocean floor.
Feeding Traces
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue. Download larger version (jpg, 1.08 MB).
Throughout Dive 13 of the Papahānaumokuākea ROV and Mapping expedition, we saw numerous snails and sea stars feeding. The abundance of feeding traces (in black in the image) observed suggests that this region has high levels of feeding activity that sustain the visible biomass observed during the dive.