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Scientists Report Major Steps Towards 1st Census of Marine Life
November 10, 2008
The fourth Highlights Report of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), which details major progress towards the first ever marine life census, for release in October 2010, was released on November 9th, days ahead of a meeting of the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Valencia, Spain. Among the revelations in the global report are the Antarctic ancestry of many octopus species, behemoth bacteria, colossal sea stars, mammoth mollusks, and more.
The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB), which takes place on November 11-15th, was organized by the CoML's European affiliate program on Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning. As more than 700 delegates gather for the meeting in Spain, renowned marine scientists will announce more new and surprising results daily throughout the event, with a special news conference to open the WCMB meeting in Valencia on Tuesday, November 11th.
View the full press release online or as a PDF.
To learn more about the Census of Marine Life, please visit the CoML Portal.
Census Scientists Achieve First Tracking of Small Salmon from Rocky Mountain Headwaters to the Coast of Alaska
October 28, 2008 Photo Credit: 2008 Melinda Jacobs.
Census researchers from the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) project have proven new miniature tagging and tracking technologies can follow the travels of juvenile salmon through vast distances and highly dissimilar waters – from as far as the Rocky Mountain headwaters of USA’s Columbia River through the ocean to the coast of Alaska. Originating at the site of their release in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, two little smolt were tracked all the way out into the Pacific and North to Alaskan waters, a journey of almost 3,000 km. Experts say the breakthrough opens the window on a world of opportunities to reveal some of Mother Nature’s most closely guarded secrets.
Over the last decade, researchers have used tags to follow larger ocean dwellers such as sharks, sturgeon, tuna and sea turtles, and to follow migrations of mature salmon along marine coasts. Now for the first time they have tagged and directly tracked small juvenile Pacific salmon, from their release in freshwater far upriver to distant ocean destinations, a major step towards understanding the full life experience and decline of this species.
POST's results are also challenging the accepted science regarding the affect of hydroelectric dams on juvenile salmon mortality. This research is the subject of a new paper published today by POST scientists in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) online journal PLoS Biology.
View the full Press Release online or download it as a PDF.
Read the paper "Survival of Migrating Salmon Smolts in Large Rivers With and Without Dams" at PLoS Biology.
To learn more about the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking project, please visit the POST website.
USNC Member Sylvia Earle co-authors Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas
October 2008 
U.S. National Committee of the Census of Marine Life member Sylvia Earle recently co-authored Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas, published by National Geographic and set for release on 28 October 2008. Sylvia Earle, often referred to as “Her Deepness” is an oceanographer and explorer who has led more than 60 expeditions worldwide, spent over 6000 hours underwater in connection with her research and holds the women’s record (3300 feet, 1000 meters) for a solo dive in a deep submersible. Formerly chief scientist of NOAA, Sylvia is an Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society, chair of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, leader of the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, and council chair for the Harte Research Institute. Her co-author Linda K. Glover is the Senior Marine Policy Advisor for Conservation International and a leader in ocean science and public outreach.
The atlas is a series of 250 timely and relevant maps, photographs and satellite images that reveal the complexity and beauty of the ocean and the life that inhabits it. A fantastic resource for the general public, Ocean is both educational and entertaining. It explores our link to the ocean and how it affects our daily lives, as well as how our maintenance of the ocean is critical to the survival of the ocean and the life within it, as well as our own survival.
Please visit National Geographic to learn more about Sylvia Earle and this exciting new atlas.
Census Explorers Find Hundreds of Undescribed Corals and Other Species
September 18, 2008 Photo: Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum, 2008
While systematically exploring three well-known coral reef sites in Australian waters, CReefs (the Census of Coral Reefs project) researchers have encountered a treasure trove of new species. On recent expeditions to Lizard and Heron Islands on the Great Barrier Reef, and to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, CReefs researchers conducted the first systematic inventory of these sites with the goal of providing a baseline from which to gauge future change in these habitats. The CReefs team also deployed Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (AIMS), which will be recovered at a future date, and help scientists understand the patterns and rates of recolonization on these reefs. In addition to the multitude of undescribed species, researchers also encountered many strange and beautiful sea creatures including scores of amphipods, dozens of small crustacean species, parasitic isopods, soft corals and rare jellyfish, among others.
View the Press Release online.
To learn more about the project mentioned in the press release, please visit the following website:
CReefs (Census of Coral Reefs)
Seeing is Believeing
September 2008 
The historical component of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), known as HMAP (History of Marine Animal Populations), has used photographs and other historical records to bring to light the former abundance of life in the sea. "The historical records reveal astonishing declines in most fish stocks". For example, University of New Hampshire researchers studied 19th-century ships' logs and determined that 150 years ago there was "25 times as much cod off New England and Nova Scotia as today". The article in the Smithsonian Magazine highlights how humans tend to like things in large packages and have fished with the same philosophy, often removing the largest commercially profitable marine life first. Unfortunately this leads to fisherman ultimately having to catch smaller fish, including those that have not even reproduced yet, depleting populations of many species (including Snapper off the Florida Keys). It was noted that the protection of endangered species and designation of no-take zones have helped certain over-fished populations make a comeback.
To read the article and see the amazing photos of “goliath grouper” caught in the late 1950’s, please click here.
What's in the Gulf of Maine?
August 13, 2008
Although Census of Marine Life (CoML) researchers have counted 3,317 species living in the Gulf of Maine, the question of ‘what’s there’ is still largely unanswered. Lew Incze, a scientist for the CoML Gulf of Maine (GoMA) affiliated project recently stated that as well-explored as the Gulf is, there's a whole lot more to learn. The Gulf of Maine is considered one of the 12 most productive ecosystems in the world and perhaps the most diverse region along the east coast of the U.S. The area, with its rich fishing heritage, is now gaining a lot of attention as the ban on offshore drilling for oil in the region has been lifted. Researchers are unsure how the marine life, including the important commercial fishery stocks, will respond to perturbations to the ecosystem from oil and gas development. “The whole idea behind ecosystem approaches to management is to try to figure out what impacts can you live with, and what can't you."
Learn more by reading the article entitled 'What's in the Gulf of Maine' on SunJournal.com or by visiting the GoMA project website.
Validated List of Known Ocean Species Surpasses 120,000, Over Halfway to Goal of Complete Inventory by October, 2010
June 25, 2008 Census of Marine Life-affiliated scientists consolidating world databases of ocean organisms have demoted to alias status almost one-third of all names culled from 34 regional and highly specialized inventories.
The new World Register of Marine Species contains about 122,500 validated marine species names (experts having recognized and tidied up some 56,400 aliases - 32% of all names reviewed). It also contains some 5,600 images, hyperlinks to taxonomic literature and other information.
Marking the World Register's official inauguration, some 55 researchers from 17 countries met in Belgium to plan its completion by 2010. Leading World Register experts independently estimate that about 230,000 marine species are known to science. They also believe there are three times as many unknown (unnamed) marine species as known, for a grand total on Earth that could surpass 1 million.
View the Press Release online or download it as a PDF.
For more information, please visit the Census of Marine Life Portal website at www.CoML.org.
Census Explorers Marvel at "Brittlestar City" Thriving on Seamount in Powerful Current Swirling Around Antarctica
May 2008 Millions of brittlestars were observed catching passing food in a rattling 4 km/h current by Census CenSeam (A Global Census of Marine Life on Seamounts) researchers aboard the RV Tanagaroa on a month-long voyage to survey the Macquarie Ridge. Dubbed "Brittlestar City", its cramped inhabitants, tens of millions living arm tip to arm tip, owe their success to the seamount's shape and to the swirling circumpolar current flowing over and around it at roughly four kilometers per hour. The current allows the mass of brittlestars to capture passing food simply by raising their arms, and it sweeps away fish and other hovering would-be predators.
View the Press Release online or download it as a PDF.
For more information, please visit the Census of Marine Life Portal website at www.CoML.org.
CenSeam researchers set sail for Antarctica aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer
April 2008 Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (CenSeam) researchers, along with scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Hawaii, are taking part in the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition to the Drake Passage and Scotia Sea of Antarctica. Those aboard the US Antarctic Program icebreaker, which departed Punta Arenas, Chile on 18th April 2008, will be investigating the deep-water corals living on seamounts and ridges, as well as the climate of the Southern Ocean. Learn more about the voyage and receive regular ship-to-shore updates by visiting the CenSeam website.
Pat Halpin, Census of Marine Life U.S. National Committee Member, Interviewed on CNN
March 2008 Pat Halpin of the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke University, and member of the U.S. National Committee of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), appeared on CNN explaining the importance of CoML's Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). OBIS is a useful tool for mapping the locations of all species, but particularly helpful in providing information on endangered species. He noted that OBIS, which has allowed for mapping in both space and time, has helped researchers find emerging patterns in species distributions. To view the entire CNN interview, please visit the CoML Maps website.
U.S. Census of Marine Life Program highlighted in the New York Times
February 2008 Michael Feldman, U.S. National Committee Program Coordinator, was quoted in a February 26, 2008 article in the New York Times regarding CoML researchers discovering species at a rate faster than they can be described. USNC Committee member Sylvia Earle, National Geographic’s ‘Explorer in Residence', also commented on the amount scientists have learned about the ocean during that latter part of the 20th century, but also noted how much has been lost. The article entitled ‘Human Shadows on the Seas’ mentioned the February 15, 2008 Science article on mapping 17 different human impacts on the ocean including trawling, organic pollution such as sewage runoff and fishing among coral reefs, as well as CoML’s proposed first synthesis report on marine species in 2010. To read the article, please visit the New York Times website.
Census of Marine Life Named #4 on Time Magazine’s 2007 Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
January 2008The Census of Marine Life came in #4 on Time Magazine’s 2007 Top 10 Scientific Discoveries. The recognition comes specifically for CoML’s Antarctic project CAML - Census of Antarctic Marine Life - and their work in the Weddell Sea, which made the cover of Nature on 17 May 2007.
CoML Named One of "The 6 Most Important Experiments in the World"
December 2007 Editors of Discover Magazine cited the Census of Marine Life as one of the six most important experiments in the world in its December 2007 issue. The Census was chosen based on its potential to better protect the world's ocean resources, and through its discoveries, for the promise of developing new pharmaceuticals and industrial applications. It joined the ranks of other exciting initiatives such as a computer model that mimics the function of the human brain and a new way to manipulate genomes.
The December issue of Discover Magazine is currently available on newsstands or the article mentioning CoML can be read online at the Discover Magazine website.
News Release: Bluefin Tuna - Past and Present
August 5, 2007 Research results from HMAP's Brian MacKenzie and the late Ransom Myers of FMAP were combined with those of TOPP's Barbara Block and her colleagues at Tag A Giant Foundation to paint an in-depth portrait of the status of Bluefin Tuna in the past and at present, made public on August 5. The past work detailed a burst of fishing from 1900 to 1950 that preceded the collapse of once abundant bluefin tuna populations off the coasts of northern Europe. The present results of modern electronic fish tagging efforts off Ireland and in the Gulf of Mexico revealed remarkable migrations and life-cycle secrets of the declining species. (Photo: Blegvad, H. 1946. Fiskeriet i Danmark. Bind 1. Selskabet til udgivelse af kulturskrifter)
View video and images
For more information, please visit the Census of Marine Life Portal site at www.CoML.org
CoML Images in New Book
May 22, 2007 On May 22, 2007, the NY Times Science section featured Claire Nouvian’s book “The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss” (University of Chicago Press, 2007), which includes articles and photos by many CoML members. Included in the 220 amazing color photographs is Kevin Raskoff’s deep-sea siphonophore (See above for actual photo) as well as one of David Shale’s photos from the MAR-ECO Sars expedition. To learn more about the book and view a photo gallery, visit The Deep book webpage.
CoML CeDAMar Project Gets the Cover of Nature Magazine
May 17, 2007
ANDEEP, a component project of the Census of the Diversity of Abyssal Marine Life (CeDAMar), finds potential ‘cradle of life’ in Antarctic Deep Water. The ANDEEP findings were recently published by lead author, and CeDAMar researcher, Angelika Brandt in the 17 May 2007 volume of Nature (see above for Nature cover). It had once been assumed that the deep, cold water of the world’s oceans was void of rich marine life. However, the recent findings of the ANDEEP (Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity) project suggest that marine life may have originated in Antarctic waters. Researchers on the ANDEEP project collected biological samples from the Weddell Sea, part of the Southern Ocean, at depths ranging from 2,000 to 21,000 feet. They focused on cataloging the overall biodiversity, as well as searching for any connections between organisms found in shallow and the much deeper waters. Looking at evolutionary adaptations, such as the absence of eyes in deep water organisms, the researchers found that some species apparently moved from the deep ocean to the much shallower shelf. The Southern Ocean has changed little in the past 40 million years, giving these organisms ample time to evolve. Another exciting discovery was the existence of nearly identical species of foraminifera in the Weddell Sea and the Arctic Ocean, strengthening the awareness of the significant link between the Southern Ocean and other oceans, including the Atlantic. Understanding the complex biodiversity of the deep ocean will hopefully continue to bring forth many fascinating insights into the overall global distribution of marine life. To view the letter to Nature, which has created a large amount of public interest, go to Nature.
Defying Ocean's End - An Agenda for Action
April 13, 2007
By Sylvia Earle
Executive Director
Dear Friend of Defying Ocean's End,
It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the new Defying Ocean’s End website.
Born in 2003 during the Defying Ocean’s End Conference in Los Cabos, Mexico, DOE has developed into a practical agenda for global marine conservation. (continued...)
Study Finds Sharks Overfishing May Lower Scallop Population
March 30, 2007
By Henry Fountain
New York Times
For years, conservationists have warned about overfishing of large sharks in the northwestern Atlantic, as the demand for meat and fins, coupled with slow growth and reproduction rates of many species, has caused sharp declines in populations of hammerheads, duskies and other sharks. (continued...)
Biologist Ransom A. Myers, 54; Warned of Overfishing in Oceans
March 29, 2007
By Patricia Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Ransom A. Myers, 54, a world-renowned fisheries biologist whose research showed that the number of large fish in the world's oceans has dropped by 90 percent in the past 50 years, died of a brain tumor March 27 at a hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (continued...)
Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) Discovers New Life After Ice Shleves Collapse
February,25 2007
In a February 25, 2007 media release, the Census of Antarctic Marine Life expedition reveals the first hints of biological change after the collapse of polar ice shelves. Fifty-two marine explorers from 14 countries recently completed the first comprehensive biological survey of a 10,000 square kilometer portion of the Antarctic seabed during a 10-week expedition aboard the German research vessel Polarstern. They explored icy waters as deep as 850 meters off the Antarctic Peninsula - an area made suddenly accessible to exploration by the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, 12 and five years ago respectively. Among their findings were 15 potential new amphipod species, including one of the largest ever collected, four presumed new species of cnidarians, and deep-sea species at unusually shallow depths. The voyage was one of 14 Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) expeditions planned during International Polar Year (2007-2008). Says CAML leader Michael Stoddart of Australia, "What we learned from the Polarstern expedition is the tip of an iceberg, so to speak. Insights from this and CAML's upcoming International Polar Year voyages will shed light on how climate variations affect ice-affiliated species living in this region."
Census Image Makes the Cover of Science
February,17 2007
The cover of the 17 February issue of Science News featured a plankton photo by Russ Hopcroft. The three-page story inside reported a wide range of highlights from CAML’s Polarstern and MAR-ECO’s G.O. Sars expeditions, Nick Makris’ (GOMA) OAWRS technology, CenSeam’s “Jurassic” discovery, ICoMM’s PNAS paper, and more. The article even reminisced briefly back to CoML’s beginnings.
Future Of Marine Animal Population Project Featured in Current Biology
January,9 2007
The January 9th, 2007 edition of Current Biology featured a report by FMAP researchers RAM Myers, Boris Worm, Andy Rosenberg and others, entitled “Saving endangered whales at no cost.” The study looked at ways to help the recovery of North Atlantic right whales, which are virtually extinct in Europe, but exist in a small population of about 350 individuals on the east coast of North America. A leading threat to the species is lethal entanglement by fishing gear, primarily from lobster fishing gear. The FMAP team, supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, compared the Nova Scotian and Maine lobster fisheries and found that Maine lobstermen could substantially reduce the number of traps, shorten the fishing season by as much as six months and still catch the same amount of lobsters – at lower cost and reduction of risk of right whale entanglements. Click here for more information.
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