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Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

Ocean’s wildlife populations down by half

Author:    
Source:     Science Daily/World Wildlife Fund
Publication Date:     September 17, 2015
 Link: Ocean’s wildlife populations down by half
Stephan:   Perhaps because we can't see into the ocean the collapse of the world fisheries, which SR has been reporting on for a decade, just doesn't seem to register on people's consciousness. Have you heard any Presidential candidate say a word about this? No, of course you haven't. But the impact of this ecological collapse is going to change our lives negatively in many ways. The report is available for download at https://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/living-blue-planet-report-2015.
The report shows steep declines in coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses that support marine food webs and provide valuable services to people. Credit: vilainecrevette / Fotolia

The report shows steep declines in coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses that support marine food webs and provide valuable services to people.
Credit: vilainecrevette / Fotolia

A new WWF report reveals an alarming decline in marine biodiversity over the last few decades. According to WWF’s Living Blue Planet Report, populations of marine vertebrates have declined by 49% between 1970 and 2012, with some fish species declining by almost 75%.

In addition to fish, the report shows steep declines in coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses that support marine food webs and provide valuable services to people. With over 25% of all marine species living in coral reefs and about 850 million people directly benefiting from their economic, social and cultural services, the loss of coral reefs would be a catastrophic extinction with dramatic consequences on communities.

According to the report, the biggest drivers of these declining trends are from human actions […]

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