Undiscovered biological communities off the northeast coast of Australia
Osprey Reef is the tip of an isolated seamount in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia. The seamount rises some 1500 meters to near sea level, and the submerged atoll, with a perimeter of nearly 70 km, encloses a shallow lagoon. Thanks to its colorful corals and rich fish fauna, the reef is a popular and spectacular playground for divers. "But on its seaward side, and beyond the depths accessible to divers, Osprey Reef is home to a number of unique and highly diverse biological communities," says Professor Gert Wörheide of LMU's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Geobio-Center. In collaboration with PD Dr. Carsten Lüter (Natural History Museum, Berlin), Professor Joachim Reitner (Göttingen University) and Australian colleagues from James Cook University in Cairns, Wörheide and his team have carried out a detailed biological survey of the previously unexplored seaward side of Osprey Reef along a...