全球Ocean Census合作计划估计，约220万种海洋生物中，科学界记录的不足一成。加拿大研究者指出，不了解海底有哪些物种，就难以判断哪些区域最需要保护；气候变暖又在改变它们的分布。
Huntsman Marine Science Centre研究员Claire Goodwin的团队2023年在Quebec的Saguenay峡湾调查，原先只记录一种海绵的陡壁发现二十至三十种，包括科学界尚未描述的种类。她现与Labrador的Innu Nation合作调查其海域，并记录一种海蛞蝓首次出现在加拿大海岸的发现。
其他团队在Baffin Bay等地采集环境DNA，通过水中遗留的生物组织辨认物种，而不必逐一捕捉。加拿大公园与荒野协会称，加拿大目前保护约15.5%的海洋；这与2030年全球保护30%陆地及海域目标仍有差距。研究者强调，记录基线、生态功能和变化，才能支撑有效保护。
来源：CBC News 原报道。大鱼新闻整理原创中文摘要；保留原刊发日期。
A crustacean called an isopod perches on a sea pen. It was photographed during an Ocean Census expedition in the South Sandwich Islands, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. (Paul Satchell/The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census)
This new sea cucumber species was nicknamed Loki because of its prominent horned appendages, reminiscent of the god in Norse mythology. It was found in the Mar del Plata submarine canyon off Argentina. (ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute)
A striking, bright red-orange octocoral was photographed nearly 2,000 metres below the surface of the ocean in Argentina's Mar del Plata canyon. (ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Carnivorous sponges were found in Quebec's Saguenay Fjord in 2023. (Claire Goodwin/HMSC)
Claire Goodwin collects sponges in the Bay of Fundy off the coast of New Brunswick. (Torben Brydges/Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
The sea slug Dendronotus yrjargul was recorded on a recent expedition led by the Innu Nation. It was the first time the species has been found off the coast of Canada. (Claire Goodwin/HMSC/Innu Nation)
A basket star, Gorgonocephalus arcticus, is seen in the Saguenay Fjord. The species used to be common in the Bay of Fundy but seems to have disappeared due to climate change. (Claire Goodwin/HMSC)
Loïc Jacquemot samples water for eDNA in B.C.'s coastal fjords. (Submitted by Loïc Jacquemot)
This tiny copepod is one of 20 new species identified by the Ocean Census in October. These organisms are among the zoop … carbon between the surface and depths of the ocean. (The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census/Schmidt Ocean Institute)
