BRIN, NUS Scientists Discover 27 New Species during SJADES Expedition

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The South Java Deep-Sea Biodiversity Expedition (SJADES) discovered 27 new species of marine ecosystems in Indonesia waters.

The research result of the Indonesia-Singapore joint expedition led by Dwi Listyo Rahayu from the Oceanography Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Peter Ng from the National University of Singapore (NUS) was published in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology journal on August 6, 2021.

The expeditions, which had collected samples across 63 stations at depths over 2,000 meters, had resulted in 36 published articles. “Other than the 27 new species, the team also found new genus and more than 26 new records for Indonesia,” said Dwi Listyo in a written statement, Saturday, October 2.

In the SJADES expedition conducted from March 23 until April 5, 2018, in the deep waters of Sunda Strait and Southwest Java, the team collected more than 12,000 specimens from 8,000 species, consisting of 1,000 fish species, 940 shrimp species, 450 crab species, and 430 squat species. lobster. In addition, there were 3,600 species of shellfish, 3,200 species of starfish and sea urchins, 900 species of sea worms, and 700 species of hermit crabs.

According to Yoyoh, Dwi’s familiar nickname, the location was pinned to help correct the sampling bias in the east of Weber's Line and produce baseline information of biodiversity in the southwest coast of Java’s deep waters.

She underlined that it was vital not only for marine science and knowledge about the deep sea but also for understanding deep-sea biodiversity in southern Java and Indonesia. “As well as to optimize the management of available resources further,” Yoyoh explained. 

The SJADES expedition involved 31 researchers and support staff from Indonesia and Singapore, including four scientists from France and Taiwan, as well as a geologist and a representative from the Indonesian Navy.

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MOH KHORY ALFARIZI