Pogonophoridae

Laqueus californianus

Oligochaeta

Nemetea

Nemertea proboscis

Anemone

Anemone

Nematode

Sipunculid

Crinoid

Zooanthids

Foraminiferans-Rupertina stabilis

Foraminiferans-Rupertina stabilis

Foraminiferans-Uvigerina feregrina

Foraminiferans-Bolivina spissa

Foraminiferans-Globobulimina sp

Foraminiferans-?Bulimera barbata

Foraminiferans-Epistominella pacifica

Foraminiferans-Bulininella tenuata

Foraminiferans-Epistominella smithi

Foraminiferans-?Haplophragmoides sp.

Foraminiferans-Epistominella pacifica

Foraminiferans-?Gyroidina altiformis

Foraminiferans-Foram

Foraminiferans-Foram

Xenophyophore (Psamminidae)

Atolla jelly.MBARI researchers photographed this scyphomedusa or crown jelly offshore of Monterey Bay at about 965 meters (almost 3,200 feet) below the sea surface. At this depth, the seawater is about four degrees Centigrade (39 degrees Fahrenheit) and contains very little oxygen. It is thought that the reddish color of many deep-sea jellies helps to hide the glow of any bioluminescent prey that may be inside their stomachs

Growing over 40 meters long, siphonophores in the genus Praya may be some of the longest animals in the world. At the "front" of the animal are two swimming bells whose rhythmic contractions propel a long chain of feeding and reproductive organs through the water like a freight train. Hanging down from this chain (but not visible in this photo) are long tentacles with stinging cells that create a "curtain of death" for small jellies, crustaceans, and even fish. Siphonophores are very abundant at times in Monterey Bay and may be the top predators in some midwater food webs

Goiter Sponge,Yellow goiter sponges, such as this Heterochone calyx on Pioneer Seamount, can grow to well over a meter (3 feet) across. Like most sponges, they eat by filtering microscopic bits of debris from the seawater that flows past them. MBARI researchers often see "forests" of sponges on the upper portions of seamounts, where eddying ocean currents may concentrate food particles. Even after large sponges die, their skeletons may survive for years on the seafloor. On some parts of Pioneer Seamount and other seamounts, new sponges grow on generations of dead ones, eventually forming "sponge reefs."

Salp chain.Salps are gelatinous animals that live in the open ocean, but are closely related to the "sea squirts" (tunicates) seen in tidepools. Colonial salps such as this one in the genus Heliosalpa often form long chains, with new animals budding off from others in the chain. By rhythmically contracting their bodies, salps propel themselves through the water and pump water through their guts, filtering out microscopic algae and other tiny organisms for food. This allows them to swim and eat at the same time. With such a simple feeding strategy, salps can multiply very rapidly when they have plenty of food. Most salps are found within 100 meters of the sea surface, where there is enough sunlight for algae to grow. Along the Central California coast, salps are typically seen in fall, when warm, open-ocean water flows toward shore

Apolemia.Siphonophores like Apolemia are deep-sea predators�lying in wait for unfortunate animals to blunder into their curtain of stinging cells. Their diet can include tiny crustaceans such as copepods, fish, and even other siphonophores. Although many siphonophores eat whatever they can catch, others are specialists. Some use lures to attract specific prey. Others deploy their tentacles in elaborate feeding shapes, like coils or J-postures. These feeding shapes must constantly be re-set as the animal sinks through the water

Sea Nettle Monterey -http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-photos/cameraman-sea-nettles

Beroe.This animal, which looks like a watery, pink football, is actually an fierce deep-sea predator (though it is only a few inches long). It is a ctenophore (pronounced "teen-o-four") called Beroe abyssicola. Ctenophores are gelatinous animals that swim by waving tiny hair-like projections called "ctenes." Beroe abyssicola also has tiny hairs that act like "teeth" that help it grab onto its prey. When Beroe bumps into another jelly, it grabs on using these teeth, opens its mouth (at left) really wide, and tries to swallow its prey whole-

Colobonema.This beautiful jelly in the family Colobonema is a fast-moving deep-sea predator, but it also has several strategies to avoid being preyed upon. It''s transparent body blends in with the surrounding seawater. But if it is attacked, the jelly can shed one or more of its tentacles, which glow brightly, distracting its attacker. The discarded tentacles apparently grow back over time.

Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria form whitish or yellowish mats up to a meter across. These bacteria typically live in areas where hydrogen sulfide concentrations are so high that nothing else can survive -http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2005/noseeps.html#aboutcbcs

Vesicomyid clams often live in areas where hydrogen sulfide is available just below the sediment surface. They obtain all their nutrition from bacteria in their gills, which consume hydrogen sulfide. With a steady supply of hydrogen sulfide, these clams may live for up to a century and grow to over 15 cm long

Vestimentiferan worms. Tangled communities of tubeworms live in many of Monterey Bay''s chemosynthetic biological communities. Like Vesicomyid clams, these tubeworms obtain nutrition from sulfur-loving bacteria in their guts. Their long roots can burrow up to 2 meters into sediment or bedrock in search of methane and hydrogen sulfide for their bacterial food providers

Vestimentiferan tubeworms growing from a small notch in the wall of Monterey Canyon. These chemosynthetic animals live off of hydrogen sulfide in the sediment, which would be toxic to most other animals. Below the tubeworms are several anemones attached to the canyon wall - http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2005/noseeps.html#aboutcbcs

Bacterial mat (orange) fueled by chemical-rich fluids seeping through the walls of Monterey Canyon Image � MBARI 1997-http://www.mbari.org/volcanism/Margin/Marg-Hydrates.htm