Mar. 18, 2013 Marine biologists have, for the first time, found
a whale skeleton on the ocean floor near Antarctica, giving new
insights into life in the sea depths. The discovery was made
almost a mile below the surface in an undersea crater and
includes the find of at least nine new species of deep-sea
organisms thriving on the bones. The research, involving the
University of Southampton, Natural History Museum, British
Antarctic Survey, National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and Oxford
University, is published today in Deep-Sea Research II: Topical
Studies in Oceanography. "The planet's largest animals are also
a part of the ecology of the very deep ocean, providing a rich
habitat of food and shelter for deep sea animals for many years
after their death," says Diva Amon, lead author of the paper
based at University of Southampton Ocean and Earth Science
(which is based at NOC) and the Natural History Museum.
"Examining the remains of this southern Minke whale gives
insight into how nutrients are recycled in th