Off the southern sea-coast of Tasmania lie an underwater range of great deal home to a plethora of orphic abstruse - sea creatures previously made vulnerable by bottom sportfishing . After having been protected for the last 20 days , many of these marine animals are making a riposte and , naturally , scientists are given to study them .
As part of a four - hebdomad survey of the deep - sea ecosystem , researchers have found raw domain of unmapped mystifying - ocean coral and discover more than 100 nameless species of lobsters , coral , and mollusks .
“ We ‘ flew ’ our high - tech camera organization two meters above the seafloor in profundity to 1,900 meters [ 6,200 ] , take in 60,000 stereo images and some 300 hours of video for analysis , ” said ocean trip primary scientist Alan Williams in astatement . “ While it will take months to fully analyse the coral distributions , we have already seen sizeable mystifying - sea coral communities on many smaller seafloor Alfred Hawthorne and raised ridges away from the seamount , to depths of 1450 meters [ 4,700 ] . ”
Williams say his squad ’s determination indicate there is more of this important coral reef living in the marine parking area than previously believed . A camera connected to a submersible allow scientists aboard the inquiry vesselInvestigatorto sight in real - time the hundred of other animals found , including feathery soft corals and tulip - form glass sponges in colour range from delicate creams to excise purple and vivid Au . Notably , researchers recorded reciprocally beneficial relationship between many of the specimens collected , peculiarly among invertebrates and coral ; brittle stars were see loop around the coral while worms tunneled inside it . Also spotted were bioluminescent squids , spook shark , and basketwork eels near the seafloor .
“ We now have a huge body of datum on the animal that go on seamounts and how their communities change with astuteness , and have a much broad picture of what lives on habitat contiguous to the seamounts , ” Williams said , add that his team has now describe the accurate depth stove in which divers abstruse - sea red coral thrive . “ On the larger seamounts , which peak in 1,000 to 1,250 m [ 3,280 - 4,100 ] below the ocean surface , precious coral dominate the top 100 to 200 meter . ”
Though individual species of red coral , feather stars , and urchin were celebrate re - establishing a presence in the marine ballpark , there is no evidence to suggest the coral communities are recovering . Deep - ocean coral are different from their shallow full cousin – fragile and slow - growing , these species choose living in a cold environment null of sunlight or symbiotic algae .
