Discovering corals in depths 'never thought of'

With the help of a robot, Australian scientists discovered the Great Barrier Reef discovered corals at depths never before thought, news from AFP news agency on January 3, 2013. .

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A team of University of Queensland experts (Australia) has announced its unprecedented discovery of the existence of corals at a depth of 125 meters below sea level. The survey was conducted on the surface of the reef rock, near the Torres Strait Strait.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, the head of the survey team, told AFP on January 3 that the corals were previously thought to exist only at depths of up to 70 meters, but the finding could help to understand. new how coral grows and grows.

The scenery at the Great Barrier Reef

Experts are particularly interested in how corals breed at such depths. The shallow water corals mate in a synchronized breeding event, which Hoegh-Guldberg admits will be very 'difficult to observe' at a depth of 125 meters.

'We do not know the answer to that problem, maybe they are doing things that are very different from what coral reefs do , ' he said.

Deep-water corals were found to be able to overcome storms on reefs much better than those near the surface. Hoegh-Guldberg expert said that his team is considering how acidifying the ocean and how warming is affecting coral reefs deeper than the sea.

Hoegh-Guldberg also said his team was fortunate to be able to "dispatch" a deep-diving robot to conduct a survey. Abnormal wind conditions have allowed their ships to stop on the windy side of the reef, where large waves often hinder access.

The survey has brought some success. A series of collected specimens are being tested, but Hoegh-Guldberg believes there will be completely new corals with scientific researchers.