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  BBC 14 Feb 06
Marine life treasure trove found
By Rebecca Morelle BBC News science reporter

PlanetArk 15 Feb 06
New Fish and Seaweeds Found on Caribbean Atoll
Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

EurekAlert 14 Feb 06
Expedition discovers marine treasures
New species of fish, seaweeds found on Caribbean's Saba Bank

The Independent 14 Feb 06
Paradise found (part two): meet the new species of the Saba Bank Atoll

One week after 'The Independent' reported the discovery of a host of new species in New Guinea, Steve Connor reveals the astonishing findings of an expedition in the Caribbean

An underwater paradise filled with exotic fish, marine plants and coral reefs has been discovered by professional scuba divers exploring the shallow waters of a sea mountain in the Caribbean.

More than 200 species of fish - many of them new to science - have been documented during a two-week exploration of the Saba Bank Atoll, a coral-crowned seamount 160 miles south-east of Puerto Rico in the Dutch Windward Islands.

The diversity of the marine life has astonished the scientists who found dozens of new marine animals, including two types of goby fish, and vast seaweed beds littered with plants that have yet to be named.

"We discovered a new species every day we were there," said Michael Smith, director of the Caribbean Biodiversity Initiative of Conservation International, a not-for-profit research organisation. "It's a big surprise. That rate of discovery is unusual for the Caribbean, at least in shallow water, and I've been doing this sort of research for 20 years."

Before the expedition, only 35 species of fish had been documented in the region, but that has now increased six-fold. The scientists have itemised 12 new species of seaweed, but believe this is a conservative estimate and that the final number of new plants may be nearer 20.

Saba Bank is a classic coral atoll consisting of a submerged mountain which is crowned at the summit with a ring of actively growing coral reefs. It is the largest atoll in the Atlantic Ocean basin and the third largest atoll on Earth. It probably began to form about half a million years ago following a volcanic eruption. The flat-topped seamount rises 5,900ft above the seafloor but does not actually break the sea surface. Because there is no island directly associated with the bank, it has never suffered from the direct effects of human habitation. The shallow waters of the Saba bank extend across a total surface area of 850 square miles and include vast fields of corals which have survived in largely pristine condition.

Unpredictable currents and winds have protected the seafloor, although in recent years it has come under threat from passing oil supertankers that use the bank as a cheap anchorage.

Ten years ago, a report by the Dutch government warned that the Saba Bank's unique environment could be degraded by commercial fishing and passing marine traffic.

"A number of human activities was distinguished as having (potentially) severe effects on the Saba Bank and its resources. Most prominent were overfishing and anchoring," the report said. "Other possibly serious threats to the bank's natural resources include the use of dispersants after oil spills, ship grounding and collisions," it added.

Conservation International said although Saba Bank had escaped many of the typical threats posed by inhabited islands, passing supertankers still threatened the pristine nature of the underwater paradise.

"A petroleum trans-shipment depot on neighbouring St Eustatius Island causes significant marine traffic, including oil supertankers in the area around the submerged atoll," a spokesman said. "The fragile ecosystems of Saba Bank are damaged by anchors and chains of ships that avoid anchoring fees in territorial waters of St Eustatius."

Dr Smith said the latest expedition would give the local inhabitants of nearby Saba Island the ammunition to argue for international protection of the Saba Bank. "It has the potential to be one of the really important, healthy places in the Caribbean, where the coral can help to colonise other places in the region that have suffered degradation," he said.

EurekAlert 14 Feb 06
Expedition discovers marine treasures
New species of fish, seaweeds found on Caribbean's Saba Bank

An underwater mountain that forms the world's third-largest atoll has some of the richest diversity of marine life ever found in the Caribbean, according to scientists who recently explored the area.

The two-week expedition in January encountered new species of fish, seaweed and other ocean life at little-studied Saba Bank Atoll, a coral-crowned seamount 250 kilometers southeast of Puerto Rico in the Dutch Windward Islands.

In a series of dives buffeted by high winds and strong currents, scientists from Conservation International (CI), the Netherlands Antilles government and Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History found scores more fish species than previously known in the region and vast beds of diverse seaweed, including a dozen or more possible new species.

"We discovered a new species literally every day we were there," said Michael Smith, director of CI's Caribbean Biodiversity Initiative.

Among the apparent new fish species found were two types of gobi, while the total number of fish species recorded reached 200, compared to fewer than 50 before the expedition.

The unprecedented richness of marine life and vulnerable status of the atoll's coral beds make Saba Bank a prime candidate for designation as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) under the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Mark Littler, marine botanist of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, declared Saba Bank the richest area for seaweeds in the Caribbean basin, including as many as a dozen new species along with commercially valuable species that will facilitate the creation of economic activity zones under PSSA designation.

Paul Hoetjes, marine biologist with the Ministry of Nature Affairs for the Netherlands Antilles (MINA), called the expedition crucial to getting the area protected to benefit local populations. "The community of about 1,500 people on nearby Saba Island derives a large part of its economy from the atoll, and the atoll is being damaged," Hoetjes said.

A petroleum trans-shipment depot on neighboring St. Eustatius Island causes significant marine traffic, including oil supertankers in the area around the submerged atoll. The fragile ecosystems of Saba Bank get damaged by anchors and chains of ships that wait at the atoll to avoid anchoring fees in territorial waters of St. Eustatius.

The large ships also endanger local fishermen of Saba in their small boats, forcing them away from traditional fishing grounds and causing the loss of fish pots that become so-called ''ghost traps" that harm fish stocks.

Leroy Peterson, a Saba fisherman, called the expedition crucial for protecting Saba Bank's unique marine life. "Some of the scientists actually found new species not located anywhere else," Peterson said. "There should be no-anchor zones. For things to survive there must be stricter controls."

PlanetArk 15 Feb 06
New Fish and Seaweeds Found on Caribbean Atoll
Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

NORWAY: February 15, 2006 OSLO - Scientists have found new species of fish and seaweed on a Caribbean coral atoll that may be the most diverse marine habitat in the Atlantic region, they said on Tuesday.

Divers in January found two new species of goby fish, each about 1.0 cm long, and a dozen new species of seaweed in a two-week study of the Saba Bank Atoll in the Dutch Windward Islands, 250 kilometres southeast of Puerto Rico.

"The atoll was poorly explored with only about 35 fish species known previously," said Michael Smith, of Conservation International in Washington. "Including the new species we found in total about 200 species of fish."

The new species of goby fish, one pink, the other white, were found in corals and sponges by a joint expedition from the Netherlands Antilles government, the US Smithsonian Institution and Conservation International.

"The team was all people who make discoveries by looking in the most obscure places for the most obscure things," Smith said.

Smith said the range of life probably made the Saba Bank the most diverse habitat in the Atlantic Ocean region, eclipsing places such as the straits of Florida and the northern coast of Venezuela.

Still, he said, some atolls in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans were even more diverse "hotspots". Worldwide, an average of 6-7 new species of marine fish was found every month last year.

PROTECTION

Scientists said the diversity of Saba could bolster arguments for more protection. World leaders agreed at a 2002 Earth Summit to try to slow the loss of the world's biodiversity by 2010. "The community of about 1,500 people on nearby Saba Island derives a large part of its economy from the atoll, and the atoll is being damaged," said Paul Hoetjes, a marine biologist with the Ministry of Nature Affairs for the Netherlands Antilles.

Leroy Peterson, a Saba fisherman, expressed hopes of tighter controls on tankers and other ships. "There should be no-anchor zones. For things to survive there must be stricter controls," he said.

The Saba mount stretches from a peak about 8 metres below sea level to a sea floor about 1,800 metres deep, and has corals crowning the top.

Smith said a Dutch expedition next month would probe deeper that the recent trip. "If you can go deep the whole Caribbean is poorly known", especially beyond about 200 metres where light fades away, he said. "Going deeper is a world of surprises."

BBC 14 Feb 06
Marine life treasure trove found
By Rebecca Morelle BBC News science reporter

An underwater mountain with some of the richest diversity of marine life in the Caribbean has been found by scientists. During a two-week dive researchers discovered scores more species of fish than previously known in the region and vast beds of "seaweed cities".

But the team says the biodiversity hotspot is in danger: oil tankers in the area threaten the fragile reefs. The researchers are hoping to get the area protected by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The find was made in the Saba Bank Atoll, a coral-crowned seamount, 250km south-east of Puerto Rico in the Netherlands Antilles.

New species

It is ranked as the third largest atoll in the world and has an enormous active reef. The dives took place during the first two weeks of January, and involved a scientific team of 12 from Conservation International, the Netherlands Antilles government and the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History, as well as local fisherman.

Scientists chose to explore the area because although it was predicted to have high concentrations of marine life, only a small number of species had been reported. During the dives, the researchers counted a total of 200 species of fish, over 150 more than previously known.

Among their find were two new species of fish, both gobies, which have the distinctive feature of fused pelvic fins on the underside of their body which forms a sucker. "Many [gobies] live in the canals inside sponges, so we take samples out of sponges, and open the canals up to search for the small fish that can be in there," explained Dr Smith, a scientist on the expedition from Conservation International. "When we did that, we found quite an extraordinary one. It's still known from a single specimen, and it is so very very distinctive that it is probably a new genus."

The sighting of vast and luxurious seaweed beds were also astonishing, with at least 12 new species of algae discovered. Dr Mark Littler, a marine botanist at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History and a diver on the expedition, declared the Saba Bank the richest area for seaweeds in the Caribbean.

Seaweeds form the base of the food chain in coral reefs, from which the rest of biodiversity depends. "When we add everything together - the species of new fish, the dozen new species of algae - that means during the time we were there we discovered a new species every day. That's pretty exciting," said Dr Smith.

Under threat

However, the biodiversity hotspot could be under threat. A petroleum trans-shipment depot on the nearby island of St Eustatius causes a significant amount of marine traffic. The big tankers, in order to avoid mooring fees at St Eustatius are said to anchor on the bank, causing significant damage to the reef.

"The anchor for a supertanker is as big as my office, and the links in the chain are as big as my desk. They sweep around and just crush all of the coral. They are enormously destructive," explained Dr Smith.

To stop the damage and protect the atoll, the researchers are attempting to get the Saba Bank designated a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the IMO. The 1,500 strong community on Saba Island are responsible for the Bank, and derive about 10% of their economy from it, making the atoll a major source of their livelihood.

Leroy Peterson, a Saba fisherman, called the expedition crucial for protecting Saba Bank's unique marine life. "Some of the scientists actually found new species not located anywhere else," Peterson said. "There should be no-anchor zones. For things to survive there must be stricter controls."

Alison Shaw, a marine biologist from the Zoological Society London, added: "By gaining this greater understanding of what lives in the atoll, we can implement better management systems that will provide protection of this resource both for the local community and for the wildlife too."

Dr Smith said that Saba Bank's unique location makes it a prime candidate for conservation. "It's in an interesting position because many of the Caribbean reefs are close to shore and have damage that is of a land based source," he said. "But Saba is free of all of that, so potentially it can be the keystone for protecting biodiversity in the Caribbean."
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