Post by sebbe67 on May 1, 2008 17:25:34 GMT
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive
survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size
of some specimens found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and
2-foot-wide starfish.
A 2,000-mile journey through the Ross Sea that ended Thursday has also
potentially turned up several new species, including as many as eight new
mollusks.
It's "exciting when you come across a new species," said Chris Jones, a
fisheries scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. "All the fish people go nuts about that - but you have to
take it with a grain of salt."
The finds must still be reviewed by experts to determine if they are in fact
new, said Stu Hanchet, a fisheries scientist at New Zealand's National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
But beyond the discovery of new species, scientists said the survey, the
most comprehensive to date in the Ross Sea, turned up other surprises.
Hanchet singled out the discovery of "fields" of sea lilies that stretched
for hundreds of yards across the ocean floor.
"Some of these big meadows of sea lilies I don't think anybody has seen
before," Hanchet said.
Previously only small-scale scientific samplings have been staged in the
Ross Sea.
The survey was part of the International Polar Year program involving 23
countries in 11 voyages to survey marine life and habitats around
Antarctica. The program hopes to set benchmarks for determining the effects
of global warming on Antarctica, researchers said.
Large sea spiders, jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles, huge sea snails and
starfish the size of big food platters were found during a 50-day voyage,
marine scientist Don Robertson said.
Cold temperatures, a small number of predators, high levels of oxygen in the
sea water and even longevity could explain the size of some specimens, said
Robertson, a scientist with NIWA.
Robertson added that of the 30,000 specimens collected, hundreds might turn
out to be new species.
Stefano Schiaparelli, a mollusk specialist at Italy's National Antarctic
Museum in Genoa, said he thought the find would yield at least eight new
mollusks.
"This is a new brick in the wall of Antarctic knowledge," Schiaparelli said.
survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size
of some specimens found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and
2-foot-wide starfish.
A 2,000-mile journey through the Ross Sea that ended Thursday has also
potentially turned up several new species, including as many as eight new
mollusks.
It's "exciting when you come across a new species," said Chris Jones, a
fisheries scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. "All the fish people go nuts about that - but you have to
take it with a grain of salt."
The finds must still be reviewed by experts to determine if they are in fact
new, said Stu Hanchet, a fisheries scientist at New Zealand's National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
But beyond the discovery of new species, scientists said the survey, the
most comprehensive to date in the Ross Sea, turned up other surprises.
Hanchet singled out the discovery of "fields" of sea lilies that stretched
for hundreds of yards across the ocean floor.
"Some of these big meadows of sea lilies I don't think anybody has seen
before," Hanchet said.
Previously only small-scale scientific samplings have been staged in the
Ross Sea.
The survey was part of the International Polar Year program involving 23
countries in 11 voyages to survey marine life and habitats around
Antarctica. The program hopes to set benchmarks for determining the effects
of global warming on Antarctica, researchers said.
Large sea spiders, jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles, huge sea snails and
starfish the size of big food platters were found during a 50-day voyage,
marine scientist Don Robertson said.
Cold temperatures, a small number of predators, high levels of oxygen in the
sea water and even longevity could explain the size of some specimens, said
Robertson, a scientist with NIWA.
Robertson added that of the 30,000 specimens collected, hundreds might turn
out to be new species.
Stefano Schiaparelli, a mollusk specialist at Italy's National Antarctic
Museum in Genoa, said he thought the find would yield at least eight new
mollusks.
"This is a new brick in the wall of Antarctic knowledge," Schiaparelli said.
