December 2004

Shortage a quarter of million marine species

  Marine scientists say to have shortage 178 new species of fish and hundreds more of plants and other animal in the last year, and so the number of forms of marine life in the world increased to 230.000.

  The discoveries include, among others, a gudgeon with spots red sea breams and rays, found in waters of Guam, that lives in symbiosis with a shrimp caught to its tail. Whereas the fish acts like guardian, the shrimp digs a madriguera where both take refuge.

  Who are in charge of the Census of the Marine Life, that has fulfilled four of the 10 years anticipated for the project, they said not even that the discovery rate was not reduced, in the European seas and other waters very studied in the past. About 1,000 scientists in 70 countries have been participating now, a number superior to the 300 registered for a year in 53 nations.

  “Generally, while smaller they are the oceanic animal, we know except”, said them J. Frederick Grassle, president of the scientific directive committee of the project, and director of the Institute of Marine and Coastal sciences of the Rutgers University.

  The study of the genomes or genetic codes of the species “will take to history and to data on the evolution of the life in the oceans, that goes back… to about 3,500 million years”, Grassle said.