SERPENT - Scientific and Environmental remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Partnership using Existing iNdustrial Technology. This has been a highly successful mission as a result of 10 days of ROV operations. We completed six video transects for megafaunal abundance, diversity and distribution in the area. Transects were conducted randomly away from the blow-out converter (BOP) and extend to 100 m from the drill site. Videos will be analyzed for megafaunal diversity and habitat mapping during 2005. There is only one habitat type at Callister 1, soft bottom. There is no evidence of any rock formations or hard bottom of any type. Preliminary analysis indicates a low density and diversity of megafauna. The main component of the megafaunal community is hermit crabs, and we have collected one for identification. These crabs are responsible for the extensive bioturbation of the surface sediments as they leave trails behind. We have elected to forgo the deployment of the settlement plates as we will not be returning to this drill site. It can take months to years for a result to be obtained in this type of work so it was not appropriate to begin such a project if we were not going to be able to retrieve the experiment. The experiment is ready to deploy at the next drill site. Instead we have focused our attention to the roles that scavengers play in bioturbation of the sea bed. Our observations of the sea floor suggest that the main organisms in the area are hermit crabs. There is extensive evidence of their activities on the sea bed in the form of trails. This activity serves to mix the sediments and may be crucial in the redistribution of any drilling material. We have completed a variety of tasks designed to elucidate the effect of drilling on scavenger activity:
1. A pilot study to determine what organisms were making the trails.
2. A study that quantified scavenger activity within and away from drill spoil.
