@oceanx: In many of our videos, you’ll see scientists collecting specimens from the ocean. It is one of the questions we are asked most often: why collect an animal instead of observing it where it is? Observation can tell us a great deal. To formally describe a new species, scientists generally need a physical reference specimen. Preserved in a collection, it allows researchers to compare future findings and build on what is known over time. How that specimen is collected matters. Trawling and dredging have long been used to sample ocean life, but they are non-selective and can disturb the seafloor. Submersibles and ROVs allow scientists to observe an animal in its environment first, then collect a specific specimen where the research calls for it. During a BioBlitz, that work happens across the expedition. Teams survey above and below the surface, while scientists aboard R/V OceanXplorer document and preserve what they find and begin the work that will continue onshore. Each specimen becomes a record of an animal found in a particular place and time. Properly collected and preserved, it can continue contributing to science for generations.

OceanX

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Tuesday 29 September 2026 15:30:12 GMT