Declining corals could be the first step towards a mass extinction. Photo: Terry Hughes
An international panel of marine scientists has warned that the world's oceans are at risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history. The panel, who have released a preliminary report of their findings, gathered at Somerville College, Oxford University, to consider the latest marine research. After examining evidence on the impact of factors such as pollution, acidification, ocean warming, overfishing and hypoxia (deoxygenation) the group agreed that ocean ecosystems may be unable to recover after 'being constantly bombarded with multiple attacks'. Dr Alex Rogers of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, who is Scientific Director of the International Programme on the State of the Oceans (IPSO) which convened the workshop, said: 'The findings are shocking. As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the ocean the implications became far worse than we had individually realised. 'This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that.' The panel concluded that the combination of stresses the ocean is exposed to is creating the conditions associated with every previous major extinction of species in Earth's history.
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