Scientists say the remarkable discovery \u2013 depicted here in a spectacular set of images and videos \u2013 sheds new light on Patagonia\u2019s largely unexplored marine ecosystems. <\/p>
Researchers investigating the remote waters of Kaw\u00e9sqar National Marine Reserve in Chile have made a remarkable discovery that offers new insights into Patagonia\u2019s little-understood marine ecosystems.<\/p>
They found colonies of red hydrocorals (Errina Antarctica<\/em>), a species of slow-growing coral<\/a> that is extremely sensitive to environmental impacts.<\/p> It’s the first time these hydrocorals have been documented this far south or at such shallow depths. In high concentrations, the corals form Marine Animal Forests (MAFs), rare ecosystems of exceptional ecological value found on only 0.1% of the world’s seabeds.<\/p> The scientific report<\/a>,\u00a0“The southernmost Errina Antarctica hydrocoral savannah in Patagonian waters,”<\/em>\u00a0was published in the journal\u00a0Nature<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p> “The structural complexity generated by MAFs on the seabed is used by numerous species to settle and live, hide, feed or reproduce, so they are also true hotspots of biodiversity,” says Ana De la Torriente, co-author of the study and researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p> The team documented numerous species among the corals, including\u00a0sea urchins<\/a>, basket and sticky ray stars, hermit crabs<\/a>, sea anemones, false king crabs, sea snails, parchment worms and sponges.<\/p> For this reason, red corals are considered ‘ecosystem engineers’ and they are vital to the development of the seabed. <\/p>