Scientists Have Discovered "bipolar" Marine Animals

Video: Scientists Have Discovered "bipolar" Marine Animals

Video: Scientists Have Discovered "bipolar" Marine Animals
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Scientists Have Discovered "bipolar" Marine Animals
Scientists Have Discovered "bipolar" Marine Animals
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An international team of scientists has discovered that at least 235 species of marine animals inhabit both poles of the Earth. The discovery was made based on the results of research conducted since 2000 as part of the Census of Marine Life program.

Among the "bipolar" animals were worms, crustaceans, pteropods (swimming snails), as well as gray whales and birds. How the same creatures could end up on different ends of the planet remains a mystery to biologists. Experts are now analyzing the DNA of marine animals to find out if the inhabitants of the North and South Poles are actually identical. The researchers also found evidence that cold-loving marine species moved to both poles to escape rising ocean temperatures.

During the implementation of the Census of Marine Life program, a team of 500 specialists from more than 25 countries of the world made a map of the distribution of sea creatures; calculated that 7,500 species of marine animals inhabit Antarctica and 5,500 species of marine animals in the Arctic, while the total number of marine species known today is 250,000; calculated the abundance of major species groups at different levels of the food web to assess how it changes over time.

Scientists have also suggested that Antarctica regularly supplies the world's oceans with many new species of sea creatures, including sea spiders and isopods. And to explain why in the Arctic small animals are replacing large creatures, biologists are not yet able to.

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