An international team of marine scientists has discovered 30 new species of invertebrates in deep water around the Galapagos, authorities from the Ecuadorian Archipelago National Park announced on Monday.
The deep-sea experts discovered fragile corals and sponges including 10 bamboo corals, four octocorals, one brittle star and 11 sponges – as well as four new species of crustaceans known as hobby crabs – the Galapagos National Park (GNP) said in a statement.
These discoveries include the first giant solitary soft coral known for the tropical eastern Pacific, a new genus of glass sponges that can grow in colonies more than one meter wide, and colorful sea fans that have a myriad of associated species host, “the archipelago’s Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) said in a separate statement.
Scientists from the CDF, in collaboration with the National Park Directorate and the Ocean Exploration Trust, studied deep-sea ecosystems at depths of up to 3,400 meters (11,154 ft) using state-of-the-art remote-controlled vehicles (ROVs).
The two ROVs, Argus and Hercules, were operated from the 64-meter (209ft) spacecraft Nautilus, which carried out the deep-sea probe in 2015.
“The deep sea remains as the last boundary of the earth, and this study provides a sneak peek into the least known communities of the Galapagos Islands,” said CDF marine scientist Pelayo Salinas de Leon, who study led and announced his findings.
Deep-sea exploration
The expedition explored, for the first time, three steep-sided underwater mountains, like seamounts, near the islands of Darwin and Wolf in the north of the archipelago. The area is home to the world’s largest shark population.
“These pristine seamounts are within the Galapagos Marine Reserve and are protected against destructive human practices, such as fishing with bottom birds or deep sea mining, which are known to have catastrophic impact on fragile communities. Now, it is our responsibility to ensure to make them remain pristine for future generations, “said Salinas de Leon.
“The many discoveries made on this expedition show the importance of deepening in the deep sea for developing an understanding of our oceans,” said Nicole Raineault, Chief Scientist of the Ocean Exploration Trust.
“Since we never know what we will find, we use on-land scientists who view the ROV dives from home and communicate directly with the shipboard team, to help determine what is truly new and worthy of further research such as sampling. .
The Galapagos Archipelago, located 1,000 km (620 miles) west of Ecuador, is a fragile ecosystem that has the largest number of different animal species on the planet. [File: Parque Nacional Galápagos/AFP]
“Scientists studying the resulting video, data and specimens make an astonishing number of discoveries, reminding us how little we know about the deep sea,” Raineault said.
The Galapagos Archipelago, located 1,000 km (620 miles) west of Ecuador, is a fragile ecosystem that has the largest number of different animal species on the planet.
The news came after Ecuador raised concerns about the presence of a massive Chinese fishery that was flying near the protected waters around the islands.
In recent weeks, the Ecuadorian navy has conducted a patrol mission that includes a flyover of the region where the ships fish, as well as reconnaissance by military patrol ships.
A total of 340 ships were detected in the area, the Navy said, compared to about 260 reported last month.
The commander of the Ecuadorian navy, Rear Admiral Darwin Jarrin, said that if the navy had approached Colombia and Peru to share information and seek a regional response for the ships, most could hold up to 1,000 tons of prisoners.
Ecuador and China have begun negotiations on the fishing fleet, according to reports.
Yolanda Kakabadse, the former Ecuadorian environment minister, told Public Radio International that the Galapagos “should be the last place on Earth to be affected by irresponsible actions of any kind”.
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