2018年CRI Ocean explorers claim discovery of 100 new species

 

UK-based scientists are reporting the discovery of more than a hundred new species of marine¹ plants and animals, including thirteen new crustaceans², as part of a deep-sea survey around the British territory of Bermuda in the Atlantic.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

The task of the Nekton expedition has been to investigate the health and resilience of the Northwest Atlantic.

The scientific team from the University of Oxford³ is the first to undertake major biological research of a undersea volcano.

The team says there are more than 100-thousand seamounts globally, but less than 50 have been biologically sampled in detail.

The University of Oxford's Alex Rogers is the expedition leader.

"The big problem we have with understanding the deep ocean is we simply don't understand the distribution of life within it. So the fastest way to change that situation is really to develop a single or a series of global ocean expeditions which enable us to undertake a synoptic sampling of the deep sea to understand those patterns of how life is distributed from 200 metres down to 2000 meters which we call the bathyal zone."

The team says the research is conducted in a way which will allow them to compare the wildlife and health of the water in this area with deep oceans in other parts of the globe.

Principal scientist Dr. Lucy Woodall.

"Right now every day we as humans are impacting those environments. So we need to look at the patterns that we're observing at the moment both the organisms themselves and those communities so that we can better understand how to manage them in the future."

The exploration around Bermuda is supported by various organizations and businesses.

Chris Flook from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences suggests the data collected by the expedition will prompt further research.

"We've got this dataset that we have never been able to have. And with that it's basically jump started ability to get grants and funding to do further work because now we know it's the first step hey look we've figured out this. We know this from the mission."

Dr. Nick Higgs, deputy director of the Marine Institute at the University of Plymouth, is also part of the research.

He says he believes the discovery of new species in the deepest parts of the ocean will show that people still have a great deal to learn about what lies beneath the ocean's surfaces

Higgs also says that it's important to be proactive in discovering new species before irreparable damage is done by industrial exploitation of the deep ocean.

"Whether that be from fishing, or mineral, or oil extraction, our activities are going deeper into the oceans, so it's really important that we start to get a grip on what's living down there."

The Nekton team took samples from depths of up to 15-hundred meters.

40-thousand specimens⁴ have been analyzed⁵ since the expedition started in 2016.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》