Discovering the biological diversity of Tasmania's underwater mountains and associated worms

Presented by Dr Laetitia Gunton

Chadwick Biodiversity Fellow at the Australian Museum Research Institute.

In December 2018, scientists from the Australian Museum Research Institute joined a team of researchers from around Australasia on the ‘Seamount Corals Survey 2018,’ led by CSIRO and Parks Australia on board the Marine National Facility's RV ‘Investigator’. It was a month-long research voyage to map and explore deep-sea cold-water corals and their associated marine life on seamounts south of Tasmania. Also on board the ship was a team of journalists and camera crew documenting the scientific research and life on a scientific research expedition.

Dr Gunton will screen a series of short documentary films produced by the journalists during the voyage. Dr Gunton will also discuss how the diverse array of deep-sea biological samples collected during the expedition are being used by researchers at the Australian Museum to better understand these fascinating deep-sea environments.