Scuba divers off the East Coast of Tasmania have given us the first close-up look at the marine life on deep reefs in the Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Their footage shows an explosion of colourful sponges, gorgonian fans and other corals, clouds of butterfly perch, and large, tree-forming black corals that may be new to science.
Researchers with the National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub mapped the 200-metre-long reef using multibeam sonar, and conducted surveys using an autonomous underwater vehicle in 2011. But it wasn’t until this past week when technical scuba divers ventured to the bottom between 60 to 80 metres (200 to 260 ft).
复杂的Reef系统位于深水海山上,粘在高电流区域中,这带来了不间断的营养素供应。项目领导者内维尔巴雷特从IMAS说,这些营养素“支持在生物多样性和保护方面看起来非常有价值的生命中的绿洲。”
The area is known to local fishers as Joe’s Reef but its exact location had remained a mystery to scientists and managers. Fishermen occasionally visit the area during good weather, but the overall nature of the habitat and the reef fish and invertebrate it supports has been a mystery.
To learn more about the reef the researchers suggested experienced ‘technical’ divers,塔斯马尼亚潜水俱乐部members James Parkinson and Andreas Klocker, might like to explore it.
“我们使用地图规划潜水并花费大约25分钟探索礁石的北部垂直墙壁,深度为68米。”“这是我们曾经拥有过长途的最佳,最令人兴奋的海洋潜水经验,”Andreas Klocker说。
这是潜水员第一次在沿海架子中看到了树木形成的黑色珊瑚。这个发现是詹姆斯和andreas的第一个,是科学的一个令人兴奋的新发现。
“我们现在知道珊瑚礁是王冠上的宝石Freycinet CMR as far as unique features go and we’re keen to explore it further, said Neville. “It’s really exciting to find these amazing reef communities in areas that most people don’t even realise are marine protected areas.”[海洋生物多样性枢纽]