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Deep-sea expedition uncovers dozens of new species

Note: Adapted from a Schmidt Ocean Institute news release.

An international team of experts discovered over two dozen new marine species on a recent expedition off the coast of Brazil in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean.

The science team, which included ���ϳԹ��� researcher Russ Hopcroft, to explore the ocean’s midwater, the zone between the sunlit layer and the seafloor. It can take scientists decades to identify and describe new species, but the combination of technology and expertise enabled the team to confirm 31 new species within a matter of days.

Hopcroft, a professor of oceanography at UAF’s ���ϳԹ��� of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, joined the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s cruise on the to study the biodiversity of midwater pelagic tunicates, a phyla that includes sea squirts. Through the course of the project, he labeled four previously undescribed midwater species ranging from about half a centimeter to two centimeters in size.

The ocean’s midwater is one of the most challenging areas on Earth to explore because of its inaccessibility and immense volume. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Ocean Shot Research Grant Program funded two midwater programs, one based at the University of Western Australia and the other at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine. The technologies used to identify new species were a combination of imaging systems and genetic analyses.

“The largest habitat on Earth, the midwater, is filled with incredible animals we are only just starting to understand,” said the expedition’s chief scientist, Karen Osborn of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “I continue to be fascinated by the fantastic variety of solutions they have evolved to survive in this formidable environment, and that drives me to keep asking questions about our ocean.” 

There is a shortage of experts who can identify unusual species, Hopcroft said. To address that, cruises like the one aboard Falkor (too) sometimes gather experts with a specific goal of identifying and sequencing seldom-seen organisms.

“You can’t really describe biodiversity in a system if you can’t identify it,” he said.

The list of newly identified species includes an amphipod, a type of crustacean related to crabs and lobsters; a gossamer worm that based on its body shape; nine jellyfish; seven siphonophores, colonial organisms related to jellyfish and corals; seven comb jellies or ctenophores, famous for the glittering cilia they use to swim; four larvaceans, tadpole-like creatures that live in mucus houses and are more closely related to humans than invertebrates; and two giant rhizarians, single-celled organisms visible to the naked eye.

In tandem with high-resolution imagery, the team sequenced genomes from collected specimens aboard the vessel, enabling them to rapidly identify new species.

Hopcroft has found new species before, but he said the hit rate was particularly impressive aboard the recent cruise. Scientists included taxonomists from around the world, including researchers from Japan, Australia and Brazil.

“I was really happy to get invited along,” he said. “It was a joy to work with such a collection of top people in the field.”

NOTE TO EDITORS: A full news release about the expedition and several related video links . For more information, contact Schmidt Ocean Institute Director of Communications Kristen Kusek at kkusek@schmidtocean.org .