At MBARI, our “office” is Monterey Bay and its deep submarine canyon. For many of our staff, that means spending much of their time on the water. Our marine operations team tests, deploys, and maintains a variety of underwater robots and instruments. Jared Figurski is a senior ocean observatory engineer, leading a team of scientists and engineers who are using autonomous robots to observe ocean predators.
Tunas, sharks, seabirds, and marine mammals play an important role in ocean ecosystems, but these top predators are also challenging to study. They spend much of their time far out at sea, dispersed across the open ocean. Many are also fast swimmers that can easily evade a boat or robot. MBARI’s Piscivore camera system gives us a glimpse into the secret lives of these ocean predators.
Piscivore’s video observations help us better understand populations of ocean predators and their prey. The data collected by Piscivore and MBARI’s ocean observing platforms can help resource managers implement regulations to protect marine life and ecosystems from threats like overfishing and climate change.
MBARI’s innovative technology is transforming what we know about the ocean and its inhabitants. Our scientists, engineers, and marine operations staff work together to create innovative tools for a more sustainable future where autonomous robots and artificial intelligence can track ocean health in real time and help us visualize ocean animals and environments. Studying our blue backyard is revealing our connection to the ocean-how it sustains us and how our actions on land may threaten its future.
We’re spotlighting various teams at MBARI to showcase the different ways we’re studying the largest environment on Earth. We hope this series inspires a new generation of ocean explorers. Dive in: mbari.co/MeetMBARI
Video editor: Dave Timko
Production team: Heidi Cullen, Madeline Go, Larissa Lemon, Kyra Schlining, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun