'Brittlestar City' discovered near Antarctica
Scientists captured images of the dramatic colony of brittlestars
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Monday, 19, May 2008 08:27
Scientists have captured the first images of a dramatic colony of brittlestars on top of a vast underwater mountain range.
Census of Marine Life-affiliated scientists discovered the colony, dubbed 'Brittlestar City', on top of the seamount in waters south of New Zealand.
Tens of millions of brittlestars were discovered on the range – taller than the world's tallest building - living arm to arm.
Brittlestars are closely related to starfish with five long slender arms used to capture passing food.
The discovery of the 'marine metropolis' was made during a month-long expedition to survey the Macquarie Ridge.
The ridge was formed 12.5 million years ago and stretches 1,400km south from New Zealand to just above the Antarctic Circle.
The two species of brittlestar were cautiously identified after photographs were sent back to the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
There the species were identified as Ophiacantha rosea and Ophiacantha fielis or Ophiacantha otagoensis.
"We were excited to see such a huge assemblage of brittlestars on the Macquarie Ridge seamount. Not only is it amazing to see a vast array of one type of organism but the implications of the find for our understanding of the relative uniqueness of seamount assemblages are potentially far-reaching," said ecologist Dr Ashley Rowden.
Scientists also discovered that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current passed over the underwater mountain range at a relatively rapid speed of 2 knots (4km an hour).
"This current is estimated to be 110 to 150 times larger than all the water flowing in all the rivers of the world," said Dr Mike Williams of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand.
"In terms of the world’s oceans, New Zealand sits right beside the motorway.
"Understanding this current will shed light on how much water flows into the Pacific as opposed to continuing to circumnavigate Antarctica. This is important for understanding, and ultimately predicting, the impact of potential changes in the current on climate throughout the south-west Pacific," he added.