First Major Census of Marine Life
A Comprehensive Look at Ocean Ecosystems Past, Present and Future
As concern grows about the state of the world's oceans, study aims to understand the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine life so that it can be protected.
Researchers from more than eighty countries are collaborating on a ten-year project to better understand ocean ecosystems. A combination of pure scientific curiosity and the need to conserve a major aspect of the planet led to this unprecedented effort called Census of Marine Life.
Reasons for the Census of Marine Life
For many years man has been unable to truly understand the world’s oceans. The technology to travel more than 1000 meters deep simply did not exist. Thus having real knowledge of distribution and abundance of marine species was not possible. The ocean covers 70% of the world, making it a critical component of a healthy planet. The more that is known about the ocean ecosystem, the more likely it is that man will be able to prevent its collapse. Thus the Census of Marine Life is looking at three aspects of ocean biodiversity
- Finding new species-Just as new species are being discovered on land, the ocean holds many species that have yet to be discovered. At present, eight years into the study, 14 million marine species, including fossils forms have been recorded. There may be another million or more to be discovered.
- Understanding distribution - where do marine species spend their time? Recent research has shown that some species of shark travel specific routes to specific areas in their seasonal migration. Recent advances in satellite telemetry have made tracking of deep ocean animals a possibility for the first time.
- Determining Abundance - Knowing how many of any given species exists is critical to determining whether that species needs protection. Knowing which species congregate where and why will help in deciding how to best designate marine protected areas. For commercially important species, this data can help make fisheries management more effective.
The Areas of Study
In order to better organize research into the ocean ecosystem, the Census of Marine Life has divided the marine environment into six separate realms which are being studied in multiple separate projects
- Human Edges- Natural Geography In Shore Areas (NaGISA), Coral Reefs (CReefs), Gulf of Maine Regional Ecosystem (GoMA) and Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST)
- Hidden Boundaries-Abyssal Plains (CeDaMar), Continental Margins (CoMarge).
- Central Waters- Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP), Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ), MidOcean Ridges (MAR-ECO)
- Active Geology- Seamounts (CenSeam), Vents and Seeps (ChEss)
- Ice Oceans –Antarctic(CAML) Arctic (ArcOD)
- Microscopic Oceans – Marine Microbes (ICoMM)
In addition to Census of Marine Life’s own projects there are other affiliated projects including ones looking at the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Barrier Reef.
The Census Results
Three aspects of the ocean ecosystem will be available once the census is done. Each will answer a specific question:
- What Lived in the Ocean in the Past - The History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP),
- What Lives in the Ocean Now - Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS)
- What Will Live in the Ocean in the Future - Future of Marine Animal Populations (FMAP).
The first two provide hard data on what was and is in the ocean. The third FMAP will try to interpret past changes in the marine environment to model the effects of fishing, climate change and other variables to predict future scenarios for the ocean ecosystem. This last aspect of the Census of Marine Life may result in a more carefully considered use of the world’s oceans.
