Thousands of viruses, bacteria and protisas with unknown genetic compositions have so far been discovered by scientists from the Spanish Malaspina expedition, which has been found in the oceans there is so much plastic as previously thought and that they live in ten times more fish than was estimated .
It was found that chemical contaminants are extended to all corners The project coordinator and biologist CSIC, Carlos Duarte, presented Tuesday in Barcelona results the world’s largest research on the global state of the oceans and their biodiversity in the XXI century, which has allowed for the first time, begin to develop a “mural on the state of the oceans.”
The scientists, who sailed for seven months on a voyage of more than 35,000 nautical miles on board the Hesperides (Navy) and Sarmiento de Gamboa (CSIC) vessels, found that chemical contaminants are extended to all corners of the ocean .
The ‘plastic island’, a myth
CSIC researchers have debunked the myth that there is a “plastic island” in the ocean Despite this, CSIC researchers have disproved the myth that there is a “plastic island” in the ocean and now investigating why there is less plastic than they expected to find about 200 grams of plastic every square mile of ocean.
One of the hypotheses that study is that some of the bacteria found what could destroy or be consumed by some of the fish that live in the depths and have been found in amounts not believed until now.
Yes they have proven that there are five large accumulations of plastic waste in the so-called “marine deserts” , which are areas where no ocean currents and where these residues accumulate
Samples sealed for 20 Years
Accompanied by Josep Maria Gasol, researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences.; Jordi Dachs, an expert on contaminants, and the commander of the Hesperides, the captain Juan Antonio Aguilar, Duarte explained that the expedition has saved thousands of samples with microorganisms and their DNA collected at 4,000 meters deep in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, duplicate and sealed to be opened in 20 years , when we expect to have new advanced analytical methods and future researchers to further squeeze this scientific treasure.
The input of pollutants from the atmosphere has already begun to affect the ocean ecosystem Duarte explained that three years after the return to Spain culminating Hesperides ring to the world scientific material collected will employ at least ten years researchers.
We have collected Atmospheric and plankton and phytoplankton and DNA samples, which have frozen and stored at the Institute of Marine-CSIC Barcelona Science waiting to evolve the techniques of molecular analysis, is also stored zooplankton samples at the University of Cadiz, and deep organic matter in the ocean in the Institute of Marine Research in Vigo (Pontevedra).
Scientists have also found that the entry of pollutants from the atmosphere is not limited to coastal areas, but also occurs in remote areas planet and has already begun to affect the ocean ecosystem .
More fish than was believed in the deep
The expedition, which has had a budget of nearly 7 million, not counting the contribution and expenditure vessel Hesperides, has also found that in the oceans live between 10 and 30% more fish than you thought so far.
“ Under where sunlight does not reach on the water live fish biomass up to 10 times greater than previously thought,” Duarte has abounded, especially mesopelagic fish, who live between 400 and 700 meters deep, as the lantern fish or dragon fish, which have the ability to dodge networks .
The discovery of gene sequences cataloged so far think that in the years to tens of millions of new genes will find study the composition of these fish and other microorganisms found it possible in the future learn to create life from chemical changes without the aid of sunlight, “which means that we have to rethink how the marine ecosystem works,” said Duarte.
Another surprise that scientists have taken is that there are many concentrations of hydrocarbons by atmospheric deposition , greater input, as explained Dachs, who took first steps of dioxins, in the Pacific and Indian, that accidental discharges to the ocean.
Nevertheless, scientists have said that “ ocean health is not so bad as citizens to think and Jellyfish are not we eating for your feet. “
Josep Maria Gasol has highlighted the many new to science found microorganisms whose genetic secunciación has revealed that they are not in any database and that genes are different in the Indian Pacific.
This collection of marine microbial genomics, the world’s first global scale, provide new clues to a reservoir of unexplored biodiversity, because it could mean the finding tens of millions of new genes in the years , highlighted Gasol.
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