Indonesia's oceans are very rich and still hold many surprises for scientists. BRIN discovered 27 new species.
The SJADES (South Java Deep-Sea) Biodiversity Expedition conducted by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), discovered a new species. A total of 27 new species were discovered.
The expedition, which took place on 23 March - 5 April 2018 in the deep waters of the Sunda Strait and Southwest Java, was a joint activity between Indonesia and Singapore led by Prof Dr Dwi Listyo Rahayu, a researcher at the BRIN Oceanographic Research Center, and Peter Ng, a researcher from the National University. of Singapore (NUS). They are supported by research teams and support staff from both countries.
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The expedition, which collected a total of biological samples from 63 stations at depths exceeding 2,000 m, has reported 36 published technical papers to date.
"We managed to find one new genus, 27 new species and more than 260 new records for Indonesia," said Dwi Listyo Rahayu as quoted from the BRIN press release, Monday (4/10).
More than 12,000 specimens from 8,000 species were collected, consisting of 1,000 species of Fish, 940 species of Shrimp, 450 species of Crab, and 430 species of Squat Lobster. In addition, there are 3,600 species of Shellfish, 3,200 species of Sea Stars and Sea urchins, 900 species of Sea Worms, and 700 species of Hermit Crabs.
According to Dwi, the selection of Southwest Java as the expedition site will help correct historical sampling bias east of the Weber Line, and produce a baseline of biodiversity information for the deeper waters off the southwest coast of Java.
"This is important not only for marine science in general and our knowledge of the deep sea, but also for understanding the deep water biodiversity of southern Java and Indonesia, and enabling the country to more optimally manage the resources available there," he added. Bi.
The SJADES expedition involved 31 researchers and support staff from Indonesia and Singapore. This included four scientists from France and Taiwan who were specially invited to join the expedition. They are Prof. Bertrand Richer de Forges, Prof. Chan Tin-Yam, Dr. Lin Chia-Wei, and Dr. Yang Chien-Hui.
"Prof Richer de Forges has led dozens of cruise ships and participated in hundreds of deep sea expeditions over the past 40 years throughout the Indo-Pacific. His experience and expertise have been invaluable during voyages. Prof Chan and his team have been part of many French expeditions over the past decade. lastly. Prof. Chan is also one of Taiwan's lead biologists for the deep sea program," explained Dwi.
In the expedition, Indonesia involved one geologist to assist with mapping, as well as a representative from the Indonesian Navy to support security during the expedition. The results of the SJADES expedition have been published in the Journal Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement No. 36 which was published on August 6, 2021.
Dwi added that this year, publications for the following species were released:
Annelids (Polychaeta) (1 taxon)
Worm; Mollusca (Bivalves) (1 taxon)
Shell; Crustaceans (Isopods) (1 taxon)
sea cockroaches; Hermit crabs (2 taxa)
Crustaceans-Crab (8 taxa)
Crustaceans (Tanaidacea) (3 taxa) crustaceans
"Earlier in 2019-2020, publications published were Pisces (2 taxa) - Fish; Echinoderms (Asteroidea) (2 taxa) - Sea stars; Shrimp/lobster; Crustaceans (Isopods) (1 taxa) - Sea cockroaches and crabs," concluded Dwi.
