Dance of the Sugar Plum Sea Cucumber

With the holiday season upon us, you may have heard of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” but what about the “Dance of the Sea Cucumber”? We observed this sea cucumber slowly lift off from the seafloor and launch into a mesmerizing slow “dance” during a Seascape Alaska dive off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska. While we most often see sea cucumbers (or holothurians) resting on the seafloor, chowing down on sediment or debris raining down from above, some sea cukes are actually masters of buoyancy, able to propel themselves briefly into the water column, perhaps to escape a predator or find a better feeding spot. Sweet! For more short bites from the deep, check out our “video shorts” page: Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska.