Entry

Census of Marine Life Discovers Thousands of New Species

This past Sunday the Census of Marine Life released a report  covering most of the 17,500 plus species that have been discovered living below 650 feet. In the wake of this release, scientists are demanding more exploration of the most uncharted areas of our planet. Some scientists believe more than one million species remain unknown [...]

Deep Sea Lobster

This past Sunday the Census of Marine Life released a report  covering most of the 17,500 plus species that have been discovered living below 650 feet. In the wake of this release, scientists are demanding more exploration of the most uncharted areas of our planet. Some scientists believe more than one million species remain unknown in the blue abyss–a staggering number compared to the 5,722 species that have been found living in water deeper than 3,280.

Marine Census

This transparent deep sea sea cucumber is just the tip of the unworldly photos released by CoML.

All of this information is the culmination of a 10-year project started by Fred Grassle and Jesse Ausubel who started the Census of Marine Life (CoML). CoML’s original goal was to advance a “major new internation observation program to be completed by 2010 to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life”.

Since it’s launch, CoML has garnered significant attraction and support with over 15 field projects and expeditions. Over the past three years CoML has published over 500 papers from these expeditions–with a slew of new species descriptions and research to come in 2010. We’ll leave you with this thought provoking quote from Dr. Carney:

“Many species live there. However, the abyss has long been viewed as a desert. Worse, it was viewed as a wasteland where few to no environmental impacts could be of any concern. ‘Mine it, drill it, dispose into it, or fish it – what could possibly be impacted? And, if there is an impact, the abyss is vast and best yet, hidden from sight.”

[DeepSeaNews, CoML]

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  • Jaz
    Funny creatures indeed.
    more pics would be nice.
    i dont know if these little animals are even threatened at all... so far from oxygen levels and temperature differences (ofcourse, in the end it will effect them) etc... i think these species are quit well protected, far away from human knowledge. But still, that doesn't mean that we should look at them :)
  • Nicholas Sadaka
    I would love for some good quality documentaries to start coming out on all the deep sea exploring being attempted these days (I know there are some, but I've only been able to find one or two). Seems like deep sea exploration should be more exciting to the public than space exploration, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It really needs that publicity to aid in awareness so protection of these new species and habitats can be supported by the public.
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