PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST OF THE UNDERSEA FAUNA OF THE ROSS SEA ANTARCTIC CONTINENTAL SHELF BASED ON YO-YO CAMERA SURVEYS

Abstract

As part of an expedition aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer RVIB, hundreds of still images were captured of the Ross Sea continental shelf seafloor. Using a crowd-sourced group of experts, we identified the fauna captured in these images, identifying over 1000 organisms to 15 major taxonomic groups (viz., anemones, bivalves, brittle stars, cephalopods, corals, crinoids, crustaceans, fishes, holothurians, isopods, pycnogonids, sea urchins, sea stars, sponges, tunicates). On the basis of the organisms we could identify to genus or species, we compiled a checklist of the fauna from this poorly-known area. The images from this yo-yo camera survey show a diverse community of life that was largely unknown for this sector and may reveal expanded ranges for some species and potentially new ecological information.