Rio+20. Special Side Event on the OceanOne Planet, One OceanKnowing our Ocean: Marine Biodiversity

Patricia MiloslavichUniversidad Simón Bolívar

Census of Marine Life

I. Status of our knowledge on ocean biodiversity, gaps, and potential for discovery

Ocean life is extremely diverse, connected, and under severe

pressure from human activities

First baseline: Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS)+32 million records, +1000 datasets, +100,000 marine species

Global hotspots of biodiversity and connectivity

Source: NatGeo/CoML Ocean Life Map 2010

Knowledge, centralized in OBIS contributes to the establishment of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) for the CBD

Areas of high biodiversity

Areas of special importance for the life history of a species (migrations)

Areas of significant naturalness

Areas of uniqueness or rarity

I. DIVERSITY

II. CONNECTIVITY

Total known diversity: 250.000 marine speciesRepresents 10% of the total

Average/region (25 regions): ~10,000 species

Range:4000 (Baltic) to 33,000 (Australia, Japan)

Endemicity:High in the South: Australia, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Antarctic

Microbes:38,000 types in 1 L seawater90% of ocean biomass

50%

The Unknown Ocean: A sliceRed = many records, dark blue none

The vast midwaters,Earth’s largesthabitat by volume,mostly unexplored(~95%)

Source: CoML OBISWebb, O’Dor, Vanden Berghe

An altered ocean: changes in composition and abundance (90% declines in some groups)

2007

1950s

1980s

McClenachen (2009) Cons. Biol.

II. Scientific challenges

To advance discovery and expand marine biodiversity knowledge to support healthy and sustainable ecosystems.

-integrated global view-fill knowledge gaps / answer questions -effectively manage and sustain ocean ecosystems

Integration of three themes:

(1)Biodiversity Discovery in Time and Space

(2)Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and Functions

(3)Biodiversity and Human Exploitation

II. Scientific challenges

Biodiversity Discovery in Time and Space-improve baseline knowledge and capacity building (e.g. identification tools / barcoding)-understand how do species diversity, distribution, and abundance vary in relation to space and temporally varying environments

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and Functions-understand relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services and how these might be modified by global climate change and other drivers

Biodiversity and Human Exploitation-to elucidate what is needed to achieve sustainability in terms of management and recovery strategies and how do these differ for different species and ecosystems

III. Role of the IOC in advancing marine biodiversity knowledge

1. Support and promote global and local initiatives addressing key data, knowledge, and science capacity gaps: IOC support to OBIS is crucial!

2. Associate with key global scientific projects aimed to build baselines, understand the role of biodiversity, and promote sustainability under the pressures of a changing ocean.

3. Support and facilitate of an international network of scientists and other stakeholders working to provide science and scientifically based solutions to problems related to ocean health and variations in ocean goods and services.

Thank you Merci Gracias Obrigado…

Image credit: Galatee Films / OCEAN