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Oceans

Life originated in the sea. Of the 34 main groups in the animal kingdom, all but one occur in the ocean and 15 never left.

Oceans are one of the last great frontiers for environmental science. We need to know more about how these ecosystems function, and assess how vulnerable or resilient they will be to future pressures. Scientists can already detect many effects of people on marine ecosystems.

Coral reefs harbour vast numbers of different species, from bacteria to barracuda. They support more species per unit area than any other well-studied marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard coral, and thousands of other species.

Scientists estimate that there may be as many as eight million undiscovered species living in and around coral reefs. But these vibrant and complex ecosystems are very sensitive to environmental change, and many have been destroyed by pollution, over fishing and boats. Rising ocean temperatures are killing coral. The dead coral turns white - coral bleaching.

Compared with coral reefs, vast swathes of the ocean appeared to be devoid of life. But this view has been overturned recently. Researchers have found that the open oceans are home to thousands of micro-organisms, with many that are new to science. These newly-discovered organisms may be very useful in providing new medicines or antibiotics.