A project documenting patterns of biodiversity and related processes in the Gulf of Maine, which will be used to establish ecosystem-based management of the area.
 |
Lewis
Incze |
Project Leaders:
Dr. Lewis Incze, University of Southern Maine, Bioscience Research Institute, Portland, Maine, USA
The Gulf of Maine Census of Marine Life is one of seven initial field projects of
the Census of Marine Life (CoML). The Gulf of Maine was selected as the ecosystem
pilot study for CoML. The goal of this program is to gain enough knowledge to
enable ecosystem-based management in a large marine environment. The program
will advance knowledge of both biodiversity and ecological processes over a range
of habitats and food-chain levels, from plankton to whales.
MISSING LINKS
The Gulf of Maine is a dynamic ecosystem.
Both natural and human influences
have wrought large changes in
the abundance and diversity of life in
its waters. Such species as mackerel,
herring, and lobster have flourished at
times, but wild Atlantic salmon are
endangered, and traditional livelihoods
have been wiped out by the collapse
of such bottom-dwelling fish as
haddock and cod. We know a lot about
some individual species, but we don't
know enough about these populations,
their habitats, and their interactions
with one another and their environment
to determine why these changes
have taken place or what the future
may hold.
SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES
This program will focus on marine life in
the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and
adjacent Slope Sea, and the New
England Seamounts. The team will
take advantage of and demonstrate the
latest technologies to perform an integrated
study aimed at understanding
both the biogeography of the gulf and
the processes controlling it. A broad
suite of instruments and sensors will
collect data on the physical and biological
characteristics of the Gulf of Maine.
Scientists will use both traditional
and new collection devices for physical capture of the Gulf's inhabitants.
Acoustical and optical devices will be
deployed or operated from surface
vessels, towed sleds, and remotely
operated and autonomous vehicles.
The program will work with existing
efforts in this well-studied region, such
as the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing
System (GoMOOS).
The program will help to answer:
- What is the full spectrum of life in
the Gulf of Maine?
- Are swings in fish stocks driven by
fishing pressure, changing climate
regimes, or something else?
- Are there species in the Gulf of
Maine that might advance medicine?
- What will live in the Gulf of Maine
50 years from now?
- Will the Gulf continue to supply protein
and natural products the world
needs?
- What policies will sustain marine life
and traditional livelihoods?
The Gulf of Maine program will extract
knowledge from many existing databases
and create an electronic Dynamic
Atlas of the Gulf of Maine. Researchers
will gain knowledge through new field
studies aimed at little known components
and areas of the Gulf, undersampled
species, and little understood
ecological processes. They will synthesize
knowledge into a State of the
Ecosystem report to policy makers,
industry and resource managers. The
Gulf of Maine Census of Marine Life
website wil offer a section on current
technologies to guide researchers on
the appropriate tools and techniques
for assessing biodiversity in the ocean.
New research strategies will focus on
the most important gaps in knowledge.
These include a dearth of information
on organisms that inhabit the seafloor
and on the role of large vertebrates,
including sea birds, mammals, turtles,
and tunas, in shaping the flow of energy
in the Gulf of Maine. Research will
better define what species live (or lived
or will live) where, what their roles are
in the Gulf's ecosystem, and the
processes that influence their numbers.
THE FUTURE
As the program team works with ongoing
efforts in the Gulf and synthesizes what
is known, it will identify gaps on which
to focus further study. It will perform
field studies, as well as recommend a system of ongoing monitoring.
By their nature, not all things about
ecosystems or their futures are knowable.
Uncertainty is inherent in ecosystems.
With increased knowledge, however,
we can narrow uncertainty and
learn how to adapt to it. With a sustained
push, we can gain enough knowledge
to enable operational ecosystem-based
management within a decade.
Visit the Gulf of Maine Program web site
Top of Page
| 
