Sub Searches Sub-Sea Sink. August 12-13, 1999 @Sea correspondent/ photographer, Mark Carroll August 12, 10:01pm, Gulf of Mexico, 130 miles west of Naples, Florida -- Sponges are full of other organisms. As a matter of fact, it has been estimated that microscopic creatures account for almost three-quarters of the living mass of sponges. With a deft touch from the sub's claw, pilot Don Liberatore collects a new sponge sample before continuing into a seafloor sinkhole. With so many minute creatures living in a single sponge, its easy to understand why microbiologists are thought to have studied only about one percent of all existing microbes. There is still a tremendous amount to learn. Microbiologist Julie Olson sterlizes an instrument with fire before spreading microbes onto an agar growth plate. CLICK HERE to read an interview with Dr. Olsen, and learn about her lifelong interest in science. As the JOHNSON-SEA-LINK (JSL) submersible made its way toward the bottom for another collection mission, scientists on board the Research Vessel EDWIN LINK began studying these mysterious microbes within the sponges. "It's like searching for a needle in a haystack," admits researcher Julie Olson, a microbiologist at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Unlike her shipmates who are interested the sponge cells themselves, Olson is concentrating on the isolation and cultivation of the microscopic creatures that live within the sponges. There is strong evidence that these microbes, not the sponge cells, are actually responsible for producing some incredible compounds. Between Olson's studies and those of her colleagues, if there is a new compound out there, they certainly have a good chance of finding it. However, the road to discovery is never an easy one. Laboratories are not an ideal place to grow organisms. Conditions are artificial; the creatures have been removed from their natural environment. And, like larger animals that refuse to breed in captivity, the microbes aren't cooperative.

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Five hundred feet below the surface, a moray eel swims away from the bright lights of the JSL submersible. After a full day, microbes have germinated into individual colonies in laboratory petri dishes. A sonar image captures a profile of the 750-foot sinkhole directly below the ship's keel. Somewhere in the hole, the JSL is exploring. "We are trying to cultivate as many as we can," Olson adds, "hoping one of them produces a compound of interest. Usually, we are only able to grow about one out of every 100. Then, we have to see if the ones that do grow will produce an interesting compound." "It's worked in the past," Olson points out. "But, it's a stacked deck." Little is known about the relationships between sponges and their microbes, especially in the deep sea. So, even if Olson is unable to isolate a compound-producer, she is still gathering important ecological information about these poorly understood sponge communities. As Olson and her microbiology partner, Kathleen Janda, continued to grind and crush samples, the JSL hovered at the edge of a 750-foot sinkhole in the ocean floor. The sub maneuvered around the edge of the hole, its sheer walls dropping off into blackness. Grouper and amberjack occasionally swam by to investigate the bright lights of the sub as it descended into the center of the sinkhole. On the sandy bottom, scientists collected several new sponge samples destined for a unique experiment back on board the ship. August 13, 8:47am, Gulf of Mexico, 135 miles west of Cape Romano, Florida -- With the deep sea sponges from yesterday's sinkhole dive safely on board, I followed Dr. Claudia Harper, a visiting scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, into an ice-cold compartment in one of the ship's labs. The small, dimly lit room glowed with red light -- like a photographer's darkroom. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust... Seen from the darkened bridge of the R/V EDWIN LINK, a beautiful sunset signals the end of our first week at sea. CLICK HERE to learn more about our correspondent, Mark Carroll.

© 1999, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution