Ocean Biodiversity

Biodiversity hotspots
· areas containing many different species
· important for locating targets for
· at first only identified on land

Boris Worm, 2005
· identified hotspots for large ocean predators, e.g. sharks
· found that ocean hotspots:
- were not always rich in
- had higher temperatures at the
- had sufficient in the water

Lisa Balance, 2007
· looked for hotspots for marine
· found these were all located where ocean currents meet

Census of Marine Life
· found new ocean species living:
- under the
- near volcanoes on the ocean floor

Global Marine Species Assessment
· want to list endangered ocean species, considering:
- population size
- geographical distribution
- rate of
· Aim: to assess 20,000 species and make a distribution for each one

Recommendations to retain ocean biodiversity
· increase the number of ocean reserves
· establish corridors (e.g. for turtles)
· reduce fishing quotas
· catch fish only for the purpose of