Updated 1:45 p.m. HST October 25, 2000 -- Scientists who have been exploring the northwest Hawaiian islands on the research vessel Rapture are now heading back into their labs to identify and classify the many different species they collected.
The Rapture expedition involved scientists specializing in many different areas. They performed nearly a thousand dives over a five-week period.
The scientists collected species of all sorts including sea sponges, which are actually animals that filter food and chemicals that are produced on reefs by other animals like coral.
By taking in the chemicals, sponges help to keep reefs healthy. They then modify the chemicals and re-use them for their own purposes, such as defending themselves from predators.
Invertabrate zoologist Ralph De Felice discovered several new species of sea sponges on this trip around Pearl and Hermes Islands.
"It's real calm and murky water," De Felice said to KITV4 News. "That's the kind of place you find a lot of sponges."
By collecting samples to the northwest, the scientists are getting a better idea of the distributiion of things throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
"The northwest Hawaiian islands are part of Hawaii and the more people understand about them, the more they'll understand the reefs out their front door," said De Felice.
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