A decade-long research project by New Zealand-based marine taxonomist Kareen Schnabel has identified and described 26 new species of decapod crustaceans called squat lobsters.
This long-haul study, a Biodiversity Memoir published by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, has more than doubled the number of squat lobster species (members of the Chirostyloidea superfamily) that were previously thought to exist in NZ ocean regions. It also lists 23 species that occur elsewhere but have been scientifically recorded in NZ waters for the first time.
These colourful sea creatures – carrot-orange, reddish purple, apricot, pale seashell pink, red bands & white spots are some of the markings mentioned – range in size from 3mm to 42cm and are found in shallow coastal waters as well as ocean seamounts and deep-sea ridges.
They’re not related to the common lobster (Nephropidae) and their idiosyncratic common name refers to their habit of tucking their tails under their bodies.So yes, they look like they’re squatting on sponges and corals…
“Squat lobsters are small, flat, lobster-like crustaceans with long claws, differing from true lobsters in having only three pairs of walking legs and a short ‘tail’ or abdomen that folds under the body,” the study says.
“They play an important role as recyclers of organic matter. They display variable and sometimes opportunistic feeding types including suspension feeding, deposit feeding, scavenging, predation, and occasional cannibalism, and in this process, contribute
to local nutrient cycling.”
It’s been a meticulous, labour intensive research project for Dr Schnabel, who was previously the manager of NIWA’s invertebrate collection from 2006 to 2015. According to a NIWA statement, “the review process alone took two years”.
Most of the samples were collected during NIWA surveys, but Schnabel also analysed more than 1,700 museum specimens collected during research conducted in NZ waters over 150 years. These include the first global research expedition by HMS Challenger in 1873, and the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic, (1910-13) led by Robert Scott.
“This work provides the first comprehensive monographic account of the New Zealand Chirostyloidea, spanning nearly 150 years of collections [from]1874 to 2017. Prior to this study, 38 species from two of the four families of the Chirostyloidea were known from the New Zealand region. The New Zealand chirostyloid fauna now covers three of the four families…and comprises 86 species,” the study says.
But it also highlights the need for NZ to expand marine science research as a priority area. Long-term research has revealed “a considerably higher species richness than previously known” but the study also notes that “live coloration remains unknown for many species” that are only known from museum specimens. It suggests seafloor imaging systems – submersibles, remote operated vehicles – could be used to improve visual identification.
Recently, NIWA also published a report that reviewed the scientific impact of 20 years of marine research in understanding the biology and ecology of NZ’s deep-sea corals. So, the squat lobster study (Marine Fauna of New Zealand) can be read as a companion volume to The State of Knowledge of Deep-Sea Corals in the New Zealand Region.
But, while the squat lobster biodiversity memoir provides a fascinating insight into the detail of taxonomy and the importance of long-term research, the deep-sea corals report outlines the challenges facing NZ’s underfunded marine biologists.
There’s “a long and somewhat daunting list” of research and data gaps (see appendix 4) that range from climate change to the basic need for more ocean surveys.
This list was compliled at a workshop on NZ coral research held in October 2017, which identified 58 knowledge gaps that needed to be addressed to improve protection and management of deep-sea corals. They include updating risk assessments to identify threatened coral species, better modelling systems and more research into the regional impacts of ocean acidification and seabed mining. There’s also the question of how to convince governments, universities and the public of the value and importance of marine research.
The report warns that NZ’s deep-sea corals are ” potentially under threat because of the increase of human activity, climate change, and use of deep-sea resources, which has outstripped the pace of scientific research.”
“Deep-sea corals are at risk from activities such as bottom trawling, oil and gas exploration and extraction, the laying of cables and telecommunications links, plastics, waste disposal as well as from anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification.”
It says radiocarbon dating of deep-sea black coral species found in NZ waters ” indicates ages of well over 1,000 years” and long life-spans have also “been determined for shallow(fiord) cold water black coral”.
“As coral structures are often fragile and long-lived, with recovery time appearing
to be very slow, they are vulnerable to physical disturbances such as from fishing, mineral exploration but also natural oceanographic process and geological activity from storms and undersea mudslides.
“In shallower water, black corals are vulnerable to damage by anchors, droplines, scuba divers and rock lobster pots.”
Photo credit: NIWA
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