Three world-class oceanographic research institutions today
announced a collaboration to conduct a global census of coral reef
ecosystems aimed at estimating the numbers of reef species and
determining their vulnerability to human stressors. Scientists at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Australian Institute of
Marine Science (AIMS), and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science
Center (PIFSC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) will participate in this unprecedented global census of coral
reefs (CReefs), one of 17 projects of the Census of Marine Life, a
global network of researchers in more than 70 nations engaged in a
10-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution,
and abundance of marine life in the oceans.
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Coral reefs have been dubbed the
rainforests of the sea because they are highly threatened
repositories of extraordinary biodiversity, but little is known
about the ocean’s diversity as compared to its terrestrial
counterpart.
Dr. Nancy Knowlton of Scripps
Oceanography, CReefs lead principal investigator, said, "We don’t
even know to the nearest order of magnitude the number of species
living in coral reefs around the globe. Our best guess is
somewhere between 1 and 9 million species based on comparisons
with the diversity found in rainforests and a partial count of
organisms living in a tropical aquarium." What little information
there is available is based on just a few groups, mainly corals,
fishes, and some molluscs. |
Rainforests of the sea.
Image: AIMS |
"Even more importantly, we do not have any clear understanding of
how many reef -associated species can survive various levels of reef
degradation," said Dr. Julian Caley of AIMS.
There is a lack of understanding of even the broad dynamics of reef
collapse and recovery, which makes it difficult to predict what will
happen to coral reefs as a consequence of human activities.
"Reef decline worldwide is troubling, just within the last three
decades, declines of 80% in coral cover have been reported for
Caribbean reefs, and even apparently healthy reefs have suffered
measurable degradation," said Dr. Russell Brainard of NOAA. Such
losses are of special concern because many reefs occur off the coasts
of developing countries and island communities, where people depend on
them for their livelihoods and physical protection.
The CReefs project will endeavor to answer the following questions:
- How many different species exist on the world’s coral reefs?
- What are the prospects for maintenance of species diversity on
reefs suffering various levels of human impacts?
- How much and what kinds of information are required to manage
reefs to effectively preserve biodiversity?
- How much reef area must be maintained for different levels of
diversity to persist?
Dr. Knowlton explained that in addition to traditional taxonomy,
researchers will utilize new DNA-based technologies that will greatly
speed their ability to detect new marine species in samples of reef
rock, sediments and water.
Because much of the existing information on reefs is scattered and
often difficult to access, CReefs will play a crucial role in bringing
together what is known by providing a web-site for global coral reef
ecosystem biodiversity.
For Further Information:
www.coml.org/descrip/c-reefs.htm
