Adelaide researchers record deepest ever sea snake dive
Sea snakes, best known from shallow tropical waters, have been recorded swimming at 250 metres in the deep-sea 鈥榯wilight zone鈥, smashing the previous diving record of 133 metres held by sea snakes.
Footage of a sea snake swimming at 245 metres deep, and another sea snake at 239 metres has been provided to 成人大片 researchers by INPEX Australia, an exploration and production company operating in the Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast of Australia. Both snakes appeared to belong the same species.
Sea snakes are found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and are typically associated with shallow water habitats like coral reefs and river estuaries.
鈥淪ea snakes were thought to only dive between a maximum of 50 to 100 metres because they need to regularly swim to the sea surface to breathe air, so we were very surprised to find them so deep,鈥 says Dr , lead author of the study and recent PhD graduate at the 成人大片鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences.
Oceanic depths between 200 and 1000 metres encompass the mesopelagic zone, sometimes called the 鈥榯wilight zone鈥 because only a small amount of light reaches that depth.
鈥淲e have known for a long time that sea snakes can cope with diving sickness known as 鈥榯he bends鈥 using gas exchange through their skin,鈥 says Dr Crowe-Riddell. 鈥淏ut I never suspected that this ability allows sea snakes to dive to deep-sea habitats.鈥
These record-setting dives raise new questions about the ecology and biology of sea snakes.
鈥淚n some of the footage the snake is looking for food by poking its head into burrows in the sandy sea floor, but we don鈥檛 know what type of fish they鈥檙e eating or how they sense them in the dark,鈥 she says.
The snakes were filmed in 2014 and 2017 using a remotely operated vehicle or 鈥楻OV鈥 undertaking work for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project. INPEX Director HSEQ (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality) Craig Haymes welcomed the landmark discovery, adding: 鈥淚NPEX is proud to support this invaluable research that adds to understanding of sea snakes and deep marine habitats, as part of our commitment to protecting the environment.鈥
鈥淥bservations of sea snakes have typically been limited to shallow water habitats that are easily surveyed. But this shows what can be achieved through industry-university collaboration,鈥 says co-author ARC Future Fellow in the University鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences.鈥
Published in the journal , the study is a collaboration between the 成人大片, the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project, James Cook University in Australia, and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) in Denmark.
Image: Record-setting dive of a sea snake swimming at 240 metres in the deep-sea 鈥榯wilight zone鈥 taken in July 2017. Image credit: INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project.
Original media release published in News.
Footage of a sea snake swimming at 245 metres deep, and another sea snake at 239 metres has been provided to 成人大片 researchers by INPEX Australia, an exploration and production company operating in the Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast of Australia. Both snakes appeared to belong the same species.
Sea snakes are found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and are typically associated with shallow water habitats like coral reefs and river estuaries.
鈥淪ea snakes were thought to only dive between a maximum of 50 to 100 metres because they need to regularly swim to the sea surface to breathe air, so we were very surprised to find them so deep,鈥 says Dr , lead author of the study and recent PhD graduate at the 成人大片鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences.
Oceanic depths between 200 and 1000 metres encompass the mesopelagic zone, sometimes called the 鈥榯wilight zone鈥 because only a small amount of light reaches that depth.
鈥淲e have known for a long time that sea snakes can cope with diving sickness known as 鈥榯he bends鈥 using gas exchange through their skin,鈥 says Dr Crowe-Riddell. 鈥淏ut I never suspected that this ability allows sea snakes to dive to deep-sea habitats.鈥
These record-setting dives raise new questions about the ecology and biology of sea snakes.
鈥淚n some of the footage the snake is looking for food by poking its head into burrows in the sandy sea floor, but we don鈥檛 know what type of fish they鈥檙e eating or how they sense them in the dark,鈥 she says.
The snakes were filmed in 2014 and 2017 using a remotely operated vehicle or 鈥楻OV鈥 undertaking work for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project. INPEX Director HSEQ (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality) Craig Haymes welcomed the landmark discovery, adding: 鈥淚NPEX is proud to support this invaluable research that adds to understanding of sea snakes and deep marine habitats, as part of our commitment to protecting the environment.鈥
鈥淥bservations of sea snakes have typically been limited to shallow water habitats that are easily surveyed. But this shows what can be achieved through industry-university collaboration,鈥 says co-author ARC Future Fellow in the University鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences.鈥
Published in the journal , the study is a collaboration between the 成人大片, the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project, James Cook University in Australia, and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) in Denmark.
Image: Record-setting dive of a sea snake swimming at 240 metres in the deep-sea 鈥榯wilight zone鈥 taken in July 2017. Image credit: INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project.
Original media release published in News.
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