An article in the current issue of BioScience, co-authored by Tatiana Rynearson, associate professor of oceanography at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography, calls for the establishment of a national network to monitor the diversity of marine life, a bellwether of ocean and human health.
A comprehensive marine biodiversity observation network could be established with modest funding within five years, the scientists say. To be most effective, the network would monitor biodiversity at all biological levels, from microbes to whales. It would also link observations of biodiversity to the physical factors controlling sea life, such as water temperature and water quality, and be flexible enough to detect and track emerging issues as environmental conditions change.
According to Rynearson, the network would have several concrete benefits. “For example, it would improve biosecurity against invasive alien species, including infectious agents and other pests, providing an early warning system,” she said. “A success story for this kind of monitoring comes from the coast of California, where in 2000, divers discovered an invasive tropical seaweed species that caused tremendous damage to tourism and fishing in the Mediterranean. Because it was detected early, the aggressive seaweed was eliminated before it spread. Similar proactive monitoring can facilitate early warning of other invasives, including economically damaging harmful algal blooms.”
The scientists envision a network with sites along both the east and west coasts of the United States, with other nodes focusing on the deep sea and coral reefs. A U.S. network would complement regional efforts already underway in the European Union, New Zealand, and elsewhere, and could incorporate technology and lessons learned from existing ocean observing systems that focus on measurements of physical factors such as water temperature, wave height and salinity.
The technology for a marine biodiversity observation network already exists in the form of high-tech gear such as AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles), ROVs (remotely operated vehicles), ocean drifters, and monitoring buoys. These would complement and extend ship- and shore-based research efforts, both by academic researchers and a cadre of citizen scientists.
For more information, please see the related press release.
To read the journal article, follow this link (subscription required).
Photo courtesy of Tatiana Rynearson.