Open in full screen mode A possible new species of fish from the genus Chaunacops, discovered by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in February 2024 off the coast of Chile. Radio -Canada Speech synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, makes it possible to generate spoken text from a written text. During a recent Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) expedition off the coast of Chile, scientists documented more than 100 marine species that they believe are new to science. Among them: corals, squid, sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, fish, crustaceans and much more. This is beyond my wildest dreams. It was as if, every time we rounded a rock ledge, we said to ourselves: “Oh wow! “We've never seen this,” Erin Easton, SOI scientific director and assistant professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, told As It Happens on CBC Radio. Using an underwater robot capable of descending 4,500 m below the ocean surface, the SOI team was able to observe seamounts up close previously unexplored. To confirm that these are indeed new discoveries, the scientists took samples from each species. However, this analysis process could take several years.
A possible new species of stocky lobster, cousin of the hermit crabs, discovered by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in February 2024 in wide from Chile
The expedition learned that each seamount has its own distinct ecosystem, such as sponge gardens and coral reefs – colonies of invertebrates around which other forms of life flourish.
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Brian Mulroney, green before his time
ELSE ON NEWS: Brian Mulroney, green before his time
< p class="Text-sc-2357a233-1 fnWfaZ">It was a really rewarding and positive feeling to know that these corals, which have lived this long and spanned all these centuries and millennia, are still thriving.
A quote from Erin Easton, Scientific Director at the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Once, the deepest depths of the ocean were imagined as cold deserts devoid of life. Yet as technology for exploring the ocean floor has improved in recent decades, it has become clear that these places support a vast web of life.
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During an expedition off the coast of Chile, the Schmidt Ocean Institute documented more than 100 possible new marine species.
During an expedition to off Chile, the Schmidt Ocean Institute has documented more than 100 possible new marine species.
Photo album: New marine species
In 2022, scientists identified 39 potential new deep-sea species in the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Mexico. Earlier this year, SOI discovered four new species of deep-sea octopus near Costa Rica, along with thriving nurseries.
These findings show in the public eye how ignorant we are of our ocean's ecosystems, says Verena Tunnicliffe, a marine biologist at the University of Victoria, who was not on the expedition.
We need to support research like this to better understand the connections between these ecosystems and the rest of the ocean.
A quote from Verena Tunnicliffe, a marine biologist at the University of Victoria
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Increased access to the ocean depths comes with increased interest in resource extraction, such as mining and bottom trawling, a commercial fishing technique.
The SOI expedition explored seamounts located inside Chilean marine parks, as well as those extending beyond the country's jurisdiction to collect data that could support the designation of an international marine protected area, states an SOI press release.
Now is the perfect time to start making decisions about protecting the world's biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems. ocean.
A quote from Erin Easton, scientific director at the Schmidt Ocean Institute and assistant professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
With information from Sheena Goodyear and the show As It Happens (< /em>CBC Radio)