Dive 07: Flight of the Sea Cucumbers
Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2018. Download larger version (mp4, 23.3 MB).

During the Gulf of Mexico 2018 expedition, we have encountered many deep-sea holothuroids (sea cucumbers) that not only swim, but rise, sink, and hover. These behaviors suggest that some species are specially adapted to manage their buoyancy (the force that allows something to float, sink, or remain neutral in a liquid) remarkably well. How do they do it?

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