13,000 Species Documented in Marine Census

A team of international researchers has released the results of an extensive survey of the Antarctic and Arctic oceans.

The census showed 7,500 species in the Antarctic and 5,500 in the Arctic. The total number includes several hundred thought to be newly discovered species. In addition it was discovered, astonishingly, that 200 or more of species are common to both oceans - though they live 11,000 kilometers from one another.

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Five of the species found in both oceans are whales. Six are sea birds and most of the rest are crustaceans.  The bulk of the new discoveries are creatures without backbones (invertebrates). For example, five more comb jellies (ctenophore) were added to the list of those known to live in the Arctic. Modern comb jellies are thought to be about 65 million years old, though having predecessors that date back 525 million years. Sea spiders and tiny crustaceans resembling shrimp were also documented. (A sea spider is not an actual spider, but an arthropod which is a type of animal with one million documented species.)

One of the contributing researchers from Australia, Victoria Wadley, remarked on the historic nature of the results:”The textbooks have said there is less diversity at the poles than the tropics but we found astonishing richness of marine life in the Antarctic and Arctic oceans”.

The marine survey is part of a larger census project that has been running for the last nine years. In 2010 it will be completed and produce a final report for publication. It is the first comprehensive marine life census in the world. Researchers from 80 nations are contributing.
Five hundred researchers from 25 countries contributed to the Antarctic and Arctic project.

Gilly Llewellyn from the World Wildlife Fund - Australia pointed out that, ” We probably know more about deep space than we do about the deep polar oceans in our own backyard…This critical research is helping reveal the amazing biodiversity of the polar regions.” Both projects have received multi-lateral and multi-organizational support, along with governmental cooperation.

Image Credit: Public Domain, stated by georgieboy98

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