Climate Change Affects Deep Ocean
Biologists used ultra-deep cameras and animal traps placed 7,000 metres under the ocean near New Zealand to make their discoveries.
Rarely seen creatures that lurk 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) under the surface of the Pacific Ocean could indicate that the deep sea is a "silent victim" of climate change.
In the world’s first deep sea biology expedition to the New Hebrides Trench in the South Pacific, scientists from the University of Aberdeen and researchers from New Zealand discovered that marine life is sparser and less varied than predicted.
The scientists set out to investigate whether the biodiversity seen in very deep trenches elsewhere in the Pacific Rim were mirrored in the New Hebrides Trench - which lies east of the isle of New Caledonia, 1,000 miles from New Zealand.