Voyage reveals Antarctic sea life
20 Mar, 2008
Source: NZ Government
The most comprehensive survey of marine life in the Ross Sea region ever undertaken has been completed by a New Zealand scientific voyage.
Research vessel Tangaroa spent 35 days sampling Antarctic marine biodiversity and habitats as part of an international effort by 23 countries.
The voyage was part of two global science programmes: International Polar Year and the Census of Antarctic Marine Life.
Scientists and crew onboard the Tangaroa worked around the clock in fierce conditions during the 24 hour days of the Antarctic summer, collecting samples of many different forms of life from tiny micro plankton to large toothfish. They also recorded some never before seen views of the seabed.
In total, over 30,000 specimens were collected, including 88 fish species of which eight are thought to be new to science. Many of the fish have adapted to survive the extreme polar and deep sea environments.
A wide range of organisms were sampled and photographed, from viruses and plankton to blue whales, to enable a fuller understanding of biodiversity across the ecosystem. Giant sized starfish, large sea spiders and jellyfish with four metre long tentacles were among the creatures sampled.
Advanced cameras allowed scientists to see the many communities on the sea floor for the first time and revealed new information about the behaviour, interrelationships and distribution of these sea floor dwellers.
Identification, description and naming of the specimens will now rely on taxonomists from New Zealand and around the world.
For more information check out the New Zealand IPY-CAML voyage to the Southern ocean on the Science Learning Hub
