Scientists to search Great Barrier Reef for new species
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A team comprising Japanese and Australian researchers headed to the Osprey Reef of Queensland of Australia on Sunday to start their trip to scan parts of the Great Barrier Reef with a special deep-sea robot, Australia's media reported on Monday.
According to project leader Dhugal Lindsay, the robotic device, which can dive to 1,000 meters, will record high definition video and data about conditions on the sea floor and everything in between.
"This really hasn't been done before," Lindsay told ABC News. " We still really don't know what's out there."
Dr Lindsay said the scientists are hoping the video will reveal links between tropical marine life on the Great Barrier Reef and organisms in Antarctic waters.
He added research gathered from this trip would help create a greater understanding of the ocean as a whole.
"Hopefully, we will see Antarctic animals and can discover their ecology and niches and see what happens to them in the tropics," he said.
The expedition is the first time the robot has been used outside of Japanese waters. The research team will return from Osprey Reef to Cairns on May 17.
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