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Sea Pig

Also called a sea cucumber or Holothuroid, this truly deserves the name sea pig. This was one of the most common and abundant animals caught off the coast of Antarctica by the international research team aboard the BAS Royal Research Ship James Clark Ross. Sea cucumbers are important in processing the sediment (like earthworms on land) but their numbers worldwide have been threatened by recent fisheries. "Few people realize just how rich in biodiversity the Southern Ocean is – even a single trawl can reveal a fascinating array of weird and wonderful creatures as would be seen on a coral reef. These animals are potentially very good indicators of environmental change as many occur in the shallows, which are changing fast, but also in deeper water which will warm much less quickly," said research cruise leader Dr. David Barnes of British Antarctic Survey.