A total of 184 species were recorded: deep sea animals on the Red List for the first time

Saturday, December 11, 2021

A total of 184 species were recorded
Deep sea animals for the first time in the red list

They live in complete darkness and are often little known. Nevertheless, researchers have come to the conclusion that about 200 species of these deep-sea creatures are included in the Nature Union’s Red List of World Conservation. Inclusion is a novelty.

Dozens of species are critically endangered in the deep ocean, according to researchers. According to the research of scientists of Queen’s University Belfast and other international researchers, 184 deep-sea creatures have been placed on the Union of Nature’s (IUCN) World Conservation of Nature’s so-called Red List of Endangered Species, as announced by the university. According to the researchers, two thirds of them are at serious risk, As they report in the journal “Frontiers in Marine Science”, For example, the authors called for stricter measures to regulate deep-sea mining.

To date, over 140,000 species have been assessed on the Red List for Threatened. Not everyone is threatened. About 15 percent of the registered species live in the ocean. However, according to the authors, hardly any animal from the deep sea has been found on it. Inventory is an important tool for species conservation, as it documents the status of some species in a comparable manner.

Biodiversity like rainforests

In their investigation, the researchers focused specifically on species that live in so-called hydrothermal springs – one of many ecosystems in the deep ocean. The biodiversity at these sources, of which there are about 600 worldwide, is compared to that of rainforests or coral reefs.

Now 39 percent of the 184 species on the Red List are critically endangered. According to researchers, living things especially in the Indian Ocean are in bad shape. “This coincides with the award of deep-sea mining contracts awarded by the International Seabed Authority, which highlights the risk of mining endangered species and clearly shows why we need this data,” the researchers wrote. “

Thanks to the protective measures, of the 184 investigated species, 25 are not considered endangered, 45 are considered less endangered. However, they are still on the red list for observation.