Natural Environment Blog

Australian scientists have made an exciting discovery in the oceans, just off southern Australia.

The CSIRO scientists have discovered 338 marine species previously unknown to science in the southern ocean, just off southern Australia. 

They also found 86 species previously unknown in Australian waters and 242 previously studied species.

The discovery resulted from a project to monitor the Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network off southern Tasmania, Australia. 

The CSIRO scientists worked with Geoscience Australia, Museum Victoria, and the Queensland Museum to analyze the findings.

The research also resulted in the discovery of a further 80 seamounts (underwater mountains). This brings the total number of known seamounts in the region to 144, which makes it the highest concentration of seamounts in Australian waters.

Most of the seamounts are actually extinct volcanoes. Some are up to 25 kilometers across at the base, and rise 200 to 500 meters from the seabed.

They also discovered 145 under sea canyons, bringing the total in the region to at least 276.

So, in summary, they discovered:

• 338 marine species previously unknown to science
• 86 species previously unknown in Australian waters
• 80 previously undiscovered seamounts
• 145 under sea canyons

The discovery is a result of seafloor sampling, taken in November 2006 and April 2007, as well as two surveys undertaken using multibeam sonar and underwater video transects.

Have you ever wondered if there was any way of counting how many fish were in a given stretch of river?

In 2004, CSIRO researchers discovered that they could count fish by using hydroacoustics.

Hydroacoustics is the study of sound waves in water. By using hydroacoustics, the CSIRO researchers were able to accurately count almost all fish within a number of areas within the Murray River in Australia.

Prior to this discovery, they were only able to count fish that were greater than 10 centimeters in length. Using hydroacoustics, they were ale to measure fish as small as 2 centimeters.

OK, What’s the big Deal - Why Count Fish Anyway?

One reason counting fish is more significant than it sounds is that fish are an important indicator of the health of river systems. The more fish in a river the healthier that river is likely to be.

For more detail on this discovery, check out the full CSIRO article.