The Census of Marine Life Discovering the marine communities of the past. Exploring the multitude of ocean life today. Predicting the pattern of ocean ecosystems in the future.

The Census of Marine Life is: n a research program that will examine changes in the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine organisms in time and space n an international program that will involve experts in a variety of biological fields from around the globe n an emerging program that will identify key questions and support observations and research over the next 5-10 years

The Census of Marine Life Why Now? n Urgent need for biological information around the world to enable the conservation of living resources n Availability of new techniques and technologies that enable us to better understand the ocean

The Census of Marine Life Why Now - Environmental Changes n UN Framework Convention on Biodiversity - requires signatories to collect information on living resources n Marine Protected Areas n Sustainable Fisheries n Global Climate Change

The Census of Marine Life Why Now - New Techniques/Technologies n Data Management - high-speed computing, distributed networks n Technologies - access to the environment –AUVs, ROVs –Novel acoustic and optical sensors –Satellite communications for real-time observations from fixed and floating platforms n Data Analysis - numerical modeling of biological data with physical/chemical data

The Census of Marine Life Selected Elements of the Program n Ocean Biogeographical Information System n History of Marine Animal Populations n New Technologies n Pilot Research Projects n New Elements –Large-scale research projects –Modeling

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System A Vision to Address the Data Management Need n A distributed electronic information system through which marine biological databases on species diversity, distribution and abundance can be accessed via the Internet n Data accessed by the system will be able to be processed into interactive visualizations, in the same way as a typical geographical information system (GIS) - will require georeferenced data n Visualizations will be three-dimensional (including depth) and four-dimensional (with time)

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System Background n The Need: A data assimilation framework for new and historical data amassed by the Census of Marine Life (CoML) n First Steps: –OBIS Workshop (November 1999) developed an initial vision and strategy –Call for proposals under US program (NOPP) –Second OBIS Workshop (September 2000) developed system priorities

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System NOPP FY 2000 OBIS Grants n Call for Proposals issued in Fall Seeking proposals in two areas: –System design and development –Data compilation n Funded eight new research projects for $3.7 million over two years n Funded projects involve 63 partner institutions in 15 countries

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System NOPP FY 2000 OBIS Grants n Funded projects cover a broad range of taxa - fish, cephalopods, molluscs, zooplankton (gelatinous forms and crustaceans), corals and anemones n Funded projects can also be characterized in other ways –System design - one is single taxon, museum-based and globally distributed, one is multiple taxa plus environmental data in a single region –Data compilation - two working with existing, web-based resources; two with global taxonomic experts; one in the context of a major oceanographic time series; one with genetic data

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System FY00 Projects Funded - System Design System development and design System development and design –The FISHNET Distributed Biodiversity Information System, Edward O. Wiley, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas –Development of a Dynamic Biogeographic Information System: A Pilot Application for the Gulf of Maine, Dale A. Kiefer, Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Southern California

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System FY00 Projects Funded - Data Compilation Projects with Major, Existing Web-based Resources Projects with Major, Existing Web-based Resources –Census of Marine Fishes: Definitive List of Species and Online Biodiversity Database, William N. Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences (with FishBase) –Expansion of CephBase as a Biological Prototype for OBIS, Phillip G. Lee, University of Texas Medical Branch

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System FY00 Projects Funded - Data Compilation Projects With Global Taxonomic Experts Projects With Global Taxonomic Experts –A Biotic Database of Indo-Pacific Marine Mollusks, Gary Rosenberg, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia –Biogeoinformatics of Hexacorallia (Corals, Sea Anemones, and their Allies): Interfacing Geospatial,Taxonomic, and Environmental Data for a Group of Marine Invertebrates, Daphne G. Fautin, University of Kansas

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System FY00 Projects Funded - Data Compilation n A Project Within the Context of A Major Oceanographic Time-Series –Diel, Seasonal, and Interannual Patterns in Zooplankton and Micronekton Species Composition in the Subtropical Atlantic, Deborah Steinberg, Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc

The Ocean Biogeographical Information System FY00 Projects Funded - Data Compilation n A Project Using Genetic Data –ZooGene, a DNA Sequence Database for Calanoid Copepods and Euphausiids: An OBIS Tool for Uniform Standards of Species Identification, Ann Bucklin, University of New Hampshire

The Census of Marine Life History of Marine Animal Populations n An interdisciplinary research program that uses historical and environmental archives to examine the recent history of marine communities n Goals are to examine: –The ecological impacts of large-scale harvesting –Long-term changes in stock abundance –The role of marine resources in historical development

The Census of Marine Life HMAP Progress and Funding n PHASE I - A workshop to of environmental historians, fisheries biologists, paleoecologists, and anthropologists to define the scope of HMAP and discuss specific research projects. 27 participants from 9 countries, Feb n PHASE II - A collaboration of three institutions to fund 8 case studies to identify and analyze historical data on natural populations. US$1.2 million over two years to 31 institutions in 18 countries, Dec. 2000

The Census of Marine Life HMAP Case Studies n n Northwest Atlantic (Gulf of Maine, Newfoundland-Grand Banks, Greenland cod fisheries) n n Southwest Pacific (Southeast Australian Shelf and Slope fisheries, New Zealand Shelf fisheries) n n White and Barents Seas (Russian and Norwegian herring, salmon and cod fisheries) n n Norwegian, North and Baltic Seas (Multinational cod, herring and plaice fisheries) n n Southwest African Shelf (Clupeid fisheries in a continental boundary current system) n n Worldwide Whaling (Historical & 20 th Century whaling in all oceans) n n California Current (Clupeid fisheries in a boundary current system) n n New - Caribbean communities, impact of the removal of large preds.

The Census of Marine Life HMAP Steering Committee n Poul Holm, Southern Denmark University n Tim Smith, US National Marine Fisheries Service, NE Fisheries Science Center n David Starkey, University of Hull n Robert Francis, University of Washington n Andy Rosenberg, University of New Hampshire

The Census of Marine Life New Technologies WG n New Technologies for Observing Marine Life –Working Group through the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) –First meeting Nov. 2000, Sidney, BC n Pilot Research Projects to demonstrate new technologies or techniques for the CoML

The Census of Marine Life Pilot Projects n Experimental studies aimed at determining the feasibility of and technical requirements for future Census of Marine Life Projects. n Short term years n Regional or basin-scale

The Census of Marine Life Pilot Research Projects n Census of Marine Life in the Gulf of Maine, Ken Foote, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA n Patterns and Processes of the Ecosystems of the Northern Mid- Atlantic, Odd Aksel Bergstad, Institute of Marine Research, Norway n Pacific Ocean Salmon Tracking, David Welch, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada n Tagging of Pacific Pelagics, Barbara A. Block, Stanford University, USA n Chemosynthetic Ecosystems (ChEss) in the Arctic and Northern Atlantic Oceans, Cindy Lee Van Dover, College of William and Mary, USA n Coastal Survey of the Western Pacific, Yoshihisa Shirayama, Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Japan

Pilot Project Census of Marine Life in the Gulf of Maine Ken Foote, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA Ken Foote, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA Objectives Objectives –Develop and use new technologies to study the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the Gulf of Maine

Pilot Project Patterns and Processes of the Ecosystems of the Northern Mid-Atlantic n Odd Aksel Bergstad, Institute of Marine Research, Norway n Objectives –Describe and understand the patterns of distribution, abundance and trophic relationships of the organisms inhabiting the mid-oceanic North Atlantic –Identify and model the ecological processes that cause variability in such patterns

Pilot Project Pacific Ocean Salmon Tracking David Welch, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada David Welch, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Objectives Objectives –Develop and implement new technology for data-storage tags –Use tags to track immature and maturing salmon offshore –Develop a monitoring program to track juvenile salmon on the continental shelf

Pilot Project Tagging of Pacific Pelagics Barbara A. Block, Stanford University, USA Barbara A. Block, Stanford University, USA Objectives Objectives –Develop offshore tagging program, using advanced data-storage tags, to track large vertebrates (whales, turtles, pelagic fish)

Pilot Project Chemosynthetic Ecosystems (ChEss) in the Arctic and Northern Atlantic Oceans n Cindy Lee Van Dover, College of William and Mary, USA n Objectives –Analyze the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine life in deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans –Develop and use innovative methods and tools to find and survey these systems

Pilot Project Coastal Survey of the Western Pacific Yoshihisa Shirayama, Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Japan Yoshihisa Shirayama, Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Japan Objectives Objectives –Quantitatively survey marine life and examine biodiversity in near-shore areas in the Western Pacific in a continuum from the northern to southern boreal regions using traditional sampling methods –Sponsored through the Diversitas International in the Western Pacific Area (DIWPA) program

The Census of Marine Life Additional Interests/Activities n Develop research projects in conjunction with natural history museums and marine laboratories n Develop activities in conjunction with ICES n Collaborate with PICES in the development of a Status of the North Pacific effort n Work with the US DoS and other countries to represent the CoML at the summit on sustainable development (Rio+10), Johannesburg, Sept n Establish national/ regional committees, incl. US

The Census of Marine Life Secretariat n Located at CORE in Washington, DC n Coordinates and facilitates Census of Marine Life activities, including –meetings of the Steering Committee and advisory groups, –workshops and reports on topics of interest, –contacts with international and intergovernmental agencies and organizations, –outreach to a variety of sectors such as research, industry, non-profit organizations, and the media

The Census of Marine Life Scientific Steering Committee n J. Frederick Grassle, Rutgers University, USA (Chair) n Vera Alexander, University of Alaska, USA n Patricio Bernal, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, France n Donald Boesch, University of Maryland, USA n David Farmer, Institute for Ocean Science, Canada n Carlo Heip, Netherlands Institute for Ecology, The Netherlands n Poul Holm, Southern Denmark University, Denmark n Olav Rune Godoe, Inst. of Marine Research, Norway n Yoshihisa Shirayama, Kyoto University, Japan n Andrew Solow, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA

The Census of Marine Life Scientific Strategy n Provides the vision and overall goals for the program n Defines the questions that the CoML will try to answer over the lifetime of the program n Focuses the CoML into a series of studies that can be accomplished in a 10 year timeframe n Identifies appropriate funding sources n To be released in late 2001 for review by the scientific community

The Census of Marine Life Expected Accomplishments n Completion of draft Scientific Strategy n Pilot research projects - start of the planning phase n Outreach into SW Pacific via IOC/WESTPAC workshop (Oct. 2001, Phuket, Thailand) n Development of the initial elements of the Ocean Biogeographical Information System n Establishment of OBIS International Committee and formal relationship with GBIF (summer 2001)

The Census of Marine Life Contact Information n Website address: n Secretariat contacts: –Cynthia Decker, –Ron O’Dor,