![]() ![]() You can choose sustainable seafood options, reduce your use of single-use plastic and recycle when you can, reduce your carbon footprint, and volunteer with organizations that pick up litter, teach others about the ocean, or advocate for the creation of marine protected areas like the National Geographic Pristine Seas project. ![]() You can make a difference to protect marine biodiversity. Higher biodiversity may make ecosystems more resilient to change, something particularly important today as climate change alters the temperature and chemistry of the ocean. Removal of a keystone species, for example, will have a chain reaction on their environment. ![]() Removing one can have significant impacts causing environmental changes or the disappearance of other species that were dependent on the function served. Each species serves a purpose in its ecosystem. Humans reduce marine biodiversity in many different ways including overfishing, catching species we do not need (bycatch), polluting the ocean, introducing invasive species, and our contributions to climate change. Things are so bad, some scientists suspect we are experiencing the 6th great extinction. The World Wildlife Fund estimates we experienced an average 68 percent decline in global populations of mammals, fish, birds, and amphibians from 1970 to 2020. However, biodiversity, marine and terriestial, is in decline. In addition to protection, ocean life provides food and income for millions of people through fishing and aquaculture. Vital ecosystem services to nearly 44 percent of the world’s human settlements living within 150 kilometers (93 miles) of the ocean. Coral reefs and mangrove forests protect coastlines from storms. Biodiverse marine ecosystems ocean produces half of the oxygen we breath and is a massive carbon sink. High biodiversity in Earth’s oceans is critical to a healthy planet. Places with a higher-than-average number of different species are called biodiversity hotspots. ![]() It includes all species from the tiny phytoplankton to the mighty blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus). Biodiversity is the abundance of life within a given area. Marine biodiversity is the variety of life found in the ocean. ![]()
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