Skip to content

Conservation

Losing our ocean life?

by JW Dowey 01 Feb 2015
Losing our ocean life?

Inhabitants of coral reefs in the Seychelles, such as these powder-blue surgeons, Acanthurus leucosternon, from Felicite could be among a lucky 75% of surviving species worldwide, or a 60% of recovering reefs in these islands. Read on ---Surgeon fish image; Credit: © Shutterstock

Thomas J Webb and Beth Mindel are from the Plant and Animal Biology Department of the University of Sheffield, in Yorkshire. Involved deeply in the problems faced by organisms and environments, they have published a paper in Current Biology that should be classed as scaremongering. Certainly those who overfish like cod or tuna fishermen, pollute like the Gulf desolation caused by BP, and exploit marine ecosystems (which is almost all of us) will call it that. With the addition of climate change and many losses on coral reefs, so many species could disappear that food shortages could also become much more common. It is only last week that the Seychelles reefs were recorded as recovering from bleaching, at least in the case of 12 of the 21 studied.

The trouble is that this is a carefully considered and logical progression of ideas on how many of our living animals and plants will be subject to extinction in the near future. On the surface, marine species are listed less often as being of concern to conservationists. But this is because very few have been formally assessed + they are difficult to find in many cases. The conclusion can only be that our use of wild creatures for food will be increasingly limited if many of their food items and even their predators are being lost. Without extensive scientific advice on each fished species, those animals are rapidly disappearing, while their habitat and niches are robbed of species we hardly know.

With a concentration on reliable estimations of extinction, the gap between terrestrials and marine species suddenly disappeared! Wherever they live, it seems 20-25% of all those studied were at risk. The need for collecting all data on marine species (as in yesterday's article on a seahorse ) is desperately obvious. We have to know the ways in which they have or might in the future be able to resist the multiple pressures we impose upon them.

The only reason that extinction in the seas is less recorded is our ignorance. The ignorance of the true taxonomic position of an organism and the obvious situation where the animal or plant is simply unknown are examples. This compares with the similar status of small invertebrates in uninhabited rainforests. They are often discovered and formally recognised as a single specimen, and then appear extinct when we return to find an example. The IUCN assessments on conservation were compared here with the formal description of species. The focus on well-known taxons was obvious, from larger sharks to the terrestrial mammals. The risk of extinction rises as conservation assessment efforts increase, as you might expect. Thee true link, however, is that wherever they live, up to a quarter of all animals and plants could be extinct before we can increase conservation efforts. Those 9 Seychelles reefs that never recovered from bleaching and all the problems facing the Great Barrier and the Caribbean reefs exemplify how marine species, and the reef fish nurseries might be disappearing while we watch.

More on common and rare coral reef species can be found here, with at least one reason why the ocean rarities are less studied!


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping