coolmelbourne.org

New photographs of ice fish, octopus, sea pigs, giant sea spiders, rare rays and beautiful basket stars that live in Antarctica’s continental shelf seas have recently been revealed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

As part of an international study on sea surface to seabed biodiversity a research team from across Europe, USA, Australia and South Africa sampled a bizarre collection of marine creatures from the Bellingshausen Sea, West Antarctica – one of the fastest warming seas in the world.

Research cruise leader Dr. David Barnes of British Antarctic Survey said:

“Few people realise just how rich in biodiversity the Southern Ocean is – even a single trawl can reveal a fascinating array of weird and wonderful creatures as would be seen on a coral reef. These animals are potentially very good indicators of environmental change as many occur in the shallows, which are changing fast, but also in deeper water which will warm much less quickly. We can now begin to get a better understanding of how the ecosystem will adapt to change."

BAS biologist Dr. Sophie Fielding studies krill — a small crustacean that is the main food for penguins, seals and whales. During the research cruise she found remarkable variations in species living within a relatively small area. She said:

“Changes at the Earth’s surface directly affect the surrounding ocean and the marine animals living there. For example accelerating glacier melt, collapse of ice shelves and shrinking winter sea-ice all seem to be impacting sea life. We want to understand that impact and what the implications for the food chain may be.”

The Basket Star catches its prey by by spectacularly unfurling its arms into a web.	Scientists believe that animals such skates may thrive with climate change.
The octopus was one of the more common animals found.	An example of soft coral yet to be identified by scientists.
The Comb Jelly is also expected to enjoy warmer waters.	The scientists found scale worms like this one in abundance.
The freezing waters are ideal for icefish, which do not have red blood cells.	The partly-transparent Isopod Crustacean was among the discoveries.

Story and photos from British Antarctic Survey.

Click here to read the rest of this article from the British Antarctic Survey.