Instrument: Bushmaster

Bushmaster samplers are original instruments created at Penn State to collect hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. Hydraulic rods are attached to a very fine mesh that is deployed over the tubeworm patch of interest to collect the tubeworms and associated community. Once the assemblage is enclosed, the net is cinched closed using the submersible or ROV manipulator. This allows for quantitative collections of tubeworm communities.