Making Ocean Life Count: The Census of Marine Life and Beyond Dr. Paul Snelgrove Memorial University of Newfoundland Canada Research Chair in Boreal and Cold Ocean Systems
Coordination, cooperation, collaboration 17 CoML Projects Coastal (3) Deep-Sea (5) Polar (2) Global Information & Analysis (4) Open Ocean (3) And there is a very large international effort underway to rectify the gaps in our knowlede of biodiversity and, as the slide indicates, this is a ten-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans -- past, present, and future. So without doubt, our understanding of biodiversity will improve over the next 5 years as will the development of predictive tools for biodiversity 2700 researchers 80+ nations 10 year study www.coml.org
Changing oceans Oceans past Oceans present Oceans future
Tools and Technologies 4
Publications and other Outputs 3100 papers and counting Special collections 5+ books (science to children) Movies and videos Countless newspaper, magazine and television stories
A Mobilized, Networked, Enthused and Equipped Science Community
The Census of Marine Life Beyond 2010
Life in a Changing Ocean The Global Marine Biodiversity Consortium is an international collaboration of scientists committed to expanding marine biodiversity knowledge to support healthy and sustainable ecosystems. Biodiversity and ecosystem services Biodiversity in ocean spatial planning Biodiversity observation Biodiversity and sustainable ocean use
Biodiversity and ecosystem services Does total biodiversity infuence delivery of ecosystem functions and services, or do a few key species do most of the work? When a species disappears, can another take over its role? Are biodiversity hotspots also ecosystem service hotspots? How do species small and large interact, from shallow to deep? Which functions are vulnerable, and which can be restored? At what point do ecosystems lose their functions or services?
Biodiversity in Ocean Spatial Planning How and where do humans affect movement and distribution of marine life? How can we predict biodiversity in poorly known regions? How does movement connect oceans and affect management? Where are species declines greatest and how to minimize them? Where are priority areas to maintain diversity, productivity, and critical habitat?
Biodiversity Observation Biodiversity Observation How does species diversity and abundance vary over time? Does diversity influence resistance and resilience from disturbances (pollution to tsunamis)? How does biodiversity and function respond to global climate changes (warming, acidification)? Are some organisms early warning systems of change? What information is needed from biodiversity observation to predict future changes in biodiversity?
Biodiversity and Sustainable Ocean Use How do climate change and other human pressures interact to influence marine biodiversity and on what scales? How do these effects vary among ecosystems? What strategies succeed or fail in conservation efforts to recover decimated populations and ecosystems?