(M.M. / 25-05-10)  On the occasion of the International Day of Biological Biodiversity that took place last week, the international marine conservation organization Oceana warned that climate change, habitat destruction and sea dumping are causing the disappearance of a large number of marine species that have not been studied yet.

Nowadays the number of known terrestrial species is 6 times higher than known marine species, despite the fact that it is calculated that the number of animals in both environments could be similar, so Oceana called for an urgent push for marine scientific research.

Besides, Oceana said that human being is causing this “unprecedented loss” of the high marine biodiversity and pleaded for more scientific research before these species they disappear.

To Oceana, the celebration of the International Day of Biological Biodiversity must draw attention to the dangers of the sea, the ones that prevent the study of marine species.

The Census of Marine Life has managed to classify some 230,000 marine species. However, it is estimated that between 1.5 and 10 million species inhabit the ocean, even thought the final number could reach the 40 million according to some researchers.

In land, around 1.4 million species are known; the latest estimates indicate that there could actually exist more than 40 million.

Besides the ignorance, marine environment is facing the unprecedented loss of biodiversity because of the acidification of its waters as a consequence of increased CO2 emissions, the decimation of commercial species from excessive fishing, the deterioration of ecosystems and the continuous dumping of garbage and hydrocarbons into the sea.

Ricardo Aguilar, Research Director for Oceana Europe, explained that “we will not achieve a full understanding of ecosystems as long as we do not discover what our oceans conceal. The most optimistic estimates indicate that only 14% of the known species are marine species, but this percentage may be even lower”.