Scientists Offer First Glimpse of Deep Sea Life in an Unexplored Ocean Trench [VIDEO]

Footage of an unexplored deep ocean trench consisting of rarely seen sea animals reveals that life in the deepest regions of Earth is not predictable.

The world's first deep sea biology expedition conducted in the New Hebrides Trench, in the South Pacific, unearthed a wealth of unseen footage of some rarely seen fishes at a depth of 7,000 meters.

The voyage was conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Aberdeen' Oceanlab in collaboration with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand.

They discovered that marine life in the New Hebrides Trench was meager and less varied. With this finding, the researchers highlight the possible impact change in climate could impose on the deep sea creatures.

"We set out to investigate whether the patterns of biodiversity in these medium depth trenches could be predicted by trends that we have observed in the really deep trenches that we've already studied elsewhere in the Pacific Rim. But what we found was an entirely different deepwater fish community," said voyage leader Dr Alan Jamieson, of the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab.

The team found that the number of fish was not as varied as expected and spotted a group of dominating fish called cusk eels. Along with the cusk eels they saw a small group of dark red prawns that are generally found in reduced number elsewhere.

The ultra-deep cameras and animal traps were positioned at  27 places at depths between 2,000 meters and 7,000 meters in the Trench. Apart from this, they made similar nine deployments in the South Fiji Basin.

The New Hebrides Trench lies below the tropical, which are less productive, waters. The water present over the trench is what provides the deep sea marine life with the food. The cusk eel and red prawn can efficiently survive well in such waters.

"This means the huge expanses of the deep Pacific Ocean that span the tropical regions are likely to be largely inhabited by the cusk eels and prawns rather than the more diverse communities we see around the Pacific Rim. If that is the case it also means that these animals are far more widespread than previously thought," said Thom Linley, fellow marine biologist from Oceanlab.

The rare footage along with over 10,000 images offers a deep insight into the life of the deep sea creatures. The extremely rare species seen during this voyage include eel pouts, arrow tooth eels and thousands of small crustaceans.

"These new finds are a stark reminder that even the deepest parts of the world are intrinsically linked to the productivity of the surface waters," said Dr Jamieson, the team leader.

"Should the current system change, it is highly likely to have significant cascading effects on the deep sea community. The deep sea is potentially a kind of silent victim in the era of a changing climate," he added.