How many animals and plants can you name? No matter how good you are, you certainly can not be everyone. Several thousand have not yet been found.
You can often tell the difference between a dandelion and a dandelion.
According to the store norske leksikon, there are 370 dandelion species in Norway. About 90 species of them are described in the data bank.
But biologists know that there are many more. Dozens of varieties appear when checking the DNA profile of beautiful and disturbing yellow flowers.
But where should the limit for a new species go?
Scientists do not know yet. But they do know that the species is adapting exactly where they live, and they know that Norway will be a little poorer as those species disappear. But to keep up with what’s going on, they first need to know what’s going on here.
The plant kingdom is one of the kingdoms they know best. Nevertheless, it is assumed that we have found more than half of the species. Fungi and amoebas we have just begun to express.
3750 new species from 2011
Over the past ten years, great efforts have been made to express the nature of Norway. Biologists estimate that 25,299 species living in Norway have not yet been discovered. About 35 percent of the species that researchers believe live here.
Through three-year programs, teams of biologists have been searching for new species since 2009 on behalf of the Species Data Bank. Recently, one was released Updated overview How many species are there in Norway and what do we know about them, including what Species Data Bank’s own “Species Plan” Has revealed.
Since the first reports of the species project in 2011, 3750 new species have been released. There is almost a new race every day!
The complete DNA overview of nature?
According to project manager Stine Svalheim Markussen, it took many years for all Norwegian species to emerge:
– New species appear every year. The number depends on the type of habitat being studied and the groups of species being sought. As well as finding species, it is important to increase knowledge about species diversity in Norway – he says, where species are found in the country and where they live.
As an important part of species research, researchers create a library of DNA barcodes. The goal is to get a complete DNA overview of what is found in Norwegian nature. Many species are very similar, and they differ only by DNA mapping.
Frostbite algae have been found in Jodenheim and Svalbard.
Large coral mushroom. There are more species in Norway than previously thought.
The researchers decided to pay homage to Artbank by naming it a new slug. It was named “Jorunna Species Databankia”.
Seven of the 500 amoebas are visible
This is not a large species that is often sought after. It is rare for a newcomer to join a mammal or bird list. The latest new mammal is the golden fox found in Finmark 2020.
Climate change refers to the frequent appearance of new fish and birds. But for them to be classified as “Norwegian”, they have to come here on their own without human assistance and have to document that they can survive and reproduce here.
Most new discoveries are in large and badly mapped groups like insects and fungi. Since 2009, biologists have discovered 2,000 wasps and ivory and 700 new species of fungi, but they still know thousands remain.
As yet unknown Protocol There are still huge knowledge gaps. The kingdom collects thousands of single-cell debris and mud molds. Hundreds of mud fungi have not yet been found, and of Norway’s estimated 500 amoebae, researchers have found only seven or approximately seven species. One percent.
– We know a lot about mammals, fish, birds and waterfalls. But otherwise we have huge knowledge gaps. The sea is not the least, there is a lot to discover. Our knowledge of algae and marine animals is actually very small, says Stein Swalheim Marcussen.
Little love can be so important
– Many of the strangers are so small, we never see them. Why is it important to know that they exist?
– Small, unknown creatures also play their part in the ecosystem, so they are important. It is not known today, for example, that such species will become more important to us humans in the future. For example, they may be important in medicine, technology or food production.
– What if we probably get rid of them before we even find them?
– Species diversity is important for strong ecosystems. We do not have enough knowledge about the function of these organisms in ecosystems to know what happens if these organisms become extinct. But that is why we must be careful, so that all creatures, including the unknown, are with us.
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