Professor Taek-joon Lee of the Department of Animal Resource Science at Sahmyook University discovered 156 species of marine life, including 15 new species and six unrecorded species, in the mesopelagic (the beginning of the deep sea).(New species: species that have been discovered for the first time in the world. Unrecorded species: the first species to be identified in a specific area.)

The mesopelagic (30 to 150 m depth), where the deep ocean begins, is the deepest part of the sea where sunlight can reach. It is emerging as a critical habitat for biodiversity research as organisms unique to this depth zone are found, or species from the shallow and deep seas coexist.

Professor Taek-joon Lee, along with researchers from the Biodiversity Division of the National Marine Biological Resources Institute, conducted a total of 9 studies on trimix diving technology (a technology that allows you to dive to great depths using a mixture of three gases, oxygen, helium, and nitrogen, rather than normal air, to reduce the risk of diving sickness) from 2021 to May this year. It was used to investigate marine life in the water depth range of 30 to 75m in the East Sea and Jeju waters.

As a result of the survey, 156 species of mesopelagic marine organisms were identified, including 113 species in the East Sea and 43 species in the Jeju Sea. Among them, 15 new species were discovered for the first time globally. There were 11 copepods, such as parathalestris, two species of baby starfish, one species of isopods, Euromuna, and one species of oriental squat lobster etc.

The Office of Biodiversity at the Resources Center plans to publish the newly discovered species in domestic and international academic journals and to put them on the “National List of Marine and Fishery Species.”

In addition, to study the changes in the distribution of marine organisms by depth zone due to the rise in ocean temperature, the mesopelagic survey will be expanded to all sea areas in Korea.

Meanwhile, Professor Taek-joon Lee is a marine biologist who conducts research in the deep ocean area (water depth of 50m or more) through special diving technology (trimix SCUBA diving). A researcher rarely researches while undergoing special diving.