The desperate situation of the little conch

Semer-sea animals collected from the deep seabed of the Klan-Clipperton Belt
Recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature released an updated version of the Red List of Endangered Species, a comprehensive assessment of the global conservation status of endangered species, with more than 7,000 species on the list, making it the first time that more than 100,000 endangered species have been added to the list, reaching 105,732.
The list shows that the marine endangered species protection situation is serious, with 500 species of deep-sea hard-bone fish and 16 species of mackerel on the list, and the horned belly-foot conch becoming the first deep-sea mumal animal to be listed as endangered due to the mining threat. The list says these deep-sea fish are facing an existential threat as a result of human activities such as deep-sea fishing, oil and gas extraction and deep-sea mining.1972, a young ecologist named Hjalmar Thiel ventured deep into remote parts of the Pacific Ocean. About 4,000 meters below the surface of the ocean, its deep-sea soft mud contains trillions of polymetallic nods - potato-sized deposits containing copper, nickel, manganese and so on.
Thiel was interested in small animals growing in sediments in the area, and his traveling partners were more interested in extracting valuable ore from the region's metal-rich mud. At one point, Thiel warned them that if they continued mining and dumped waste and sediment on the surface of the sea, plankton could suffocate.
for decades, Thiel and colleagues have been experimenting with the potential impact of commercial deep-sea mining on seabed organisms. These experiments simulate mining behavior, resulting in sediments that fall and bury organisms on the seabed. Tests have shown that mining itself endangers a lot of marine life and has a much greater impact on seabed life than people think.
-horned belly-foot conch is mainly perched near deep-sea thermal nozzles in the Indian Ocean. Its shell and scales contain iron hydrants and are therefore very strong and magnetic.
2003, humans first discovered that the horned belly-footed conch lived 2,900 meters below the surface of the sea and had a habitat the size of two football pitches. In such a harsh habitat, the conch is completely dependent on the body's unique armor shell and scales to survive.
lisa Levin, a biologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanographic Research in the United States, said: "The endangered sponge-footed conch is a warning to policymakers about the potential impact deep-sea mining could have on biodiversity.
Chong Chen, a deep-sea biologist at the Japan Agency for Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, believes that even an exploratory mining operation on the conch habitat could damage the pyrolyt nozzles, and that the sediments mined could suffocate them, with a direct impact on their survival.
Li Naisheng, a member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the
Institute of Oceans, told China Science: "The impact of deep-sea mining on marine life is by no means just a conch, the entire seafloor life and ecosystem will be 'involved'." Thedeep sea and is usually defined as an area below 200 metres of the ocean surface. In many places the temperature near the seabed hovers around 0C, with little light and more than 100MPa, the equivalent of two elephants standing on your big toes. The ecosystems in the deep sea are so vast that scientists have hardly yet begun to study them.
years, the research and development of seabed minerals in all countries of the world is still basically still in the stage of investigation and exploration, and has not really entered the industrial exploitation. "But the ultimate goal of the investigation must be mining, " Li said. At present, the world is brewing how to exploit, from exploration to development, which is the general trend. Li
that when it comes to mining, environmental issues should be considered first, including the impact on underwater animals. Mining different types of minerals at different seabed depths may affect different organisms.
deep-sea mining has four main categories. One is deep-sea oil and gas. The 2010 U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill led to a "devastation" of the Gulf Coast's ecological environment, and experts say pollution could lead to the destruction of 1,000 miles of wetlands and beaches along the Gulf Coast, damaged fisheries and the extinction of vulnerable species.
second is combustible ice. The large amount of combustible ice may affect the pressure of the seafloor, trigger the landslide of the seafloor and even affect the ecological environment of the seafloor. "The sediments on the seafloor are softer and easy to min. If there is a slip, it will certainly have an impact on the seafloor organisms. Li Said.
is polymetallic nob. Polymetallic nomads are generally concentrated in a depth of 4,000 metres in the central Pacific Ocean, which has fewer organisms, so the impact of polymetallic nomad mining on ecosystems is not as great.
fourth is the thermal sulphides. It is an important mineral resource containing many elements such as copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, mainly in the mid-ocean ridge and fault zone at a depth of 2000 meters. Hydrothermal sulphides are condensed by seawater intrusions into seafloor cracks, heated by heat sources deep in the earth's crust, dissolved by a variety of metal compounds in the earth's crust, and condensed by smoke-like eruptions from the ocean floor, which is known as the "black chimney".
the diversity and density of organisms around the seafloor's thermal fluid is very rich, and the number of newly discovered species has reached more than 500 genus in 10 categories. Li Naisheng said that how to extract these thermal sulphides, the world has not come up with a mature technical approach, the overall is still in the exploration stage." From the discovery of the New World in Columbus to today, the sea is mainly carrying shipping trade, that is, commercial civilization. When the development of the ocean enters the stage of the development of seabed minerals, it marks the entry of the sea into a new era of industrial civilization, which is a major change. "So it can be said that today we are on the threshold of industrial civilization. At the beginning of industrial civilization, putting environmental issues first is the consensus of the scientific and technological community and the consensus of the industry. It
that the "Red List of Endangered Species" included in the hard-bone fish, usually living in the deep sea below 1000 meters. Of these, 20 per cent of deep-sea hard-bone fish lack assessment data and further research is needed on the status of their species. In addition, many deep-sea hard-bone fish live outside national jurisdiction and have doubts about the attribution of their responsibility to protect.
" these deep-sea fish were included in the assessment for the first time, and it can be said that our study of the current state of deep-sea fish conservation has just begun and that research on the impact of human activities on deep-sea species should be carried out as soon as possible. "The red list of endangered deep-sea fish will be one of the important indicators reflecting deep-sea biodiversity, " said Beth, chairman of the Red List Marine Fish Group. In recent
, the global marine endangered species protection situation has become more serious, and urgent action is urgently needed to protect them.
report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in China points out that overfishing is an important threat to the survival of endangered species in the oceans. In addition, the impact and destruction of marine habitats by human activities also pose a great threat to species survival. Among seabirds, their numbers have dropped sharply in recent years due to the destruction of the ecological environment of breeding areas, changes in the use of migratory routes, and illegal hunting at transit stations.
100,000 species are on the red list, highlighting the serious consequences of human overexploitation of wildlife resources. "It is in the common interest of mankind to protect the biodiversity of the natural environment," said Grethel Aguilar, Acting Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. ”