Deep reef exploration attracts public attention and therefore can effectively inform them about issues related to biodiversity. The California Academy of Sciences houses one of the largest public aquaria in the west coast of the USA, the Steinhart Aquarium, which receives more than 1 million visitors every year. We will use the infrastructure available at the Steinhart Aquarium to disseminate the importance of this almost unknown habitat through an aquarium with deep reef animals from French Polynesia. Accompanying the tank, there will be information about MCEs and the species that inhabit this ecosystem. Additionally, behavioral observations (impossible to do at those depths because of the short time we spend there) will also be done at the Academy tanks.

Approved