The unique creatures of the Ningaloo Canyons will be studied and catalogued by researchers from the Western Australian Museum in an expedition to the largely unexplored deep sea environment.

The researchers, led by Western Australian Museum Molecular Systematics Unit Manager Dr Nerida Wilson, will set sail from Fremantle on March 8 aboard the research vessel RV Falkor.

The 82m Falkor is owned by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which was established by Eric and Wendy Schmidt in 2009.

It is equipped with two remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV), dry and wet laboratories, an aerial observation platform and a multibeam sonar system that can map the seafloor.

“The Ningaloo region is celebrated for its incredible diversity of evolutionary significant fauna. In contrast, the adjacent deep sea environment is almost completely unexplored,” Dr Wilson said.

“This expedition will be a wonderful opportunity to shed some light on some of this region’s unseen biodiversity.”

The search for deep-sea creatures

The researchers will send the Falkor’s deep sea ROV underwater to collect samples and conduct video surveys from as far down as 4.5km beneath the surface of the ocean.

“As well as the video surveys, we will also be collecting water samples to analyse for environmental DNA (eDNA),” Dr Wilson said.

“eDNA is genetic material that we can recover from environmental samples, in this case seawater. It is a cutting-edge technique that will allow us to detect traces of animals left behind that may not be encountered during surveys and will provide a more complete picture of the biodiversity of this unique environment.”

Dr Wilson said it was important to identify what lives in deep sea regions to effect conservation measures.

“To protect the biodiversity of these incredible deep sea environments we need to be able describe the animals that live there,” Dr Wilson said.

Curtin University, Geoscience Australia and Scripps Institution of Oceanography are co-investigators, and additional researchers from the Bavarian State Collection in Munich and the Australian Museum are contributing their expertise as well.

The Foundation for the WA Museum provided funding to support logistics for the expedition through a Woodside Marine Biodiversity Grant.

You can watch the live-streamed ROV dives and find out more about the expedition at the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s website.

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Media Contact
David Gear
Media & Communications Coordinator
david.gear@museum.wa.gov.au