Between the devil and the deep blue Coral and Tasman seas bordering New Caledonia and Tasmania, scientists have discovered hundreds of new species on extinct underwater volcanoes rising from the sea floor. The seamounts are virtual islands in the deep ocean. A report on the discoveries is published in the June 22 issue of the journal Nature. Koslow, one of the authors of the study, says the findings have dramatic implications for the conservation of these unique deep-sea ecosystems. Evolution has taken a widely divergent path on seamounts, which are submarine mountain ranges formed by volcanic activity.
Different species have evolved independently in each area, the researchers note.
The spread of trawl fisheries for orange roughy, alfonsino and other deepwater fish threatens seamount communities worldwide. Another newly discovered species is this brittle star from a seamount south of Tasmania. Koslow says there are about 30,000 seamounts in the world's oceans, but most species previously known from this deep ocean environment come from sampling only five of the extinct volcanoes. The unique biological communities on seamounts are dominated by corals adapted to life in the deep sea, as well as sponges, sea fans and other organisms that filter their prey from the strong currents characteristic of this environment. Koslow says about one-third of these species are new to science and are likely to be restricted to the seamount environment.