As a deep ocean explorer, Alexander Semenov is uncovering its secrets to inspire the next generation of voyagers. Today 80% of the world’s oceans remain uncharted, while the moon has been completely mapped out. Through Semenov’s project Aquatilis Expedition, he is bringing the ocean's smallest species to the world's attention.
With expertise in macrophotography and marine biology, he offers unique insight into remarkable creatures such as the sea angel, skeleton shrimp and Venus girdle. Together with a team of divers, scientists, videographers and photographers, Semenov established Aquatilis to discover and share the ocean’s most fascinating critters. The project uses striking visuals to convey scientific information in documentaries or social media posts. “The whole idea behind my work is to boost people’s interest in marine biology as a science,” Semenov says. “Not just to look at beautiful pictures, but at the same time understand how things are connected and how things work.”
Semenov’s subjects are marine invertebrates that have no backbone and account for 92% of ocean life. He is most passionate about gelatinous zooplankton which are nearly imperceptible to the naked eye and serve as the main source of food for higher-order marine species. “All these animals play a super important role in the life of the oceans, and the oceans play a super important role in the life of our planet,” Semenov says. These organisms have generally been neglected by ecologists as their fragility makes them difficult to sample and study. By diving with their cameras or sending robots underwater, Aquatilis observes the behaviour of these organisms in their natural environment.
In 2012, Semenov was invited to the Great Barrier Reef for a workshop on marine worms known as polychaetes. After just six dives at Lizard Island, they discovered 90 new species. “This is one of the reasons why I am a marine biologist because I feel like an explorer rather than just a photographer or a scientist because you are looking at creatures that no else has ever seen before,” he says. “The diversity of these invertebrates are so incredible, and we probably only know about 10 to 15%.”
Semenov shares his knowledge and encounters with the world in the hopes that more children will be inspired to become explorers and scientists. “If we don't know how our oceans work, we can’t move forward in natural science,” Semenov says. By highlighting the magnificence of the tiny creatures that make up our ocean, he’s inspiring a greater commitment to preserving them.
Footage and photos by Alexander Semenov were used in the creation of this film.
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