Census of Marine Life facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | CoML |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2000 |
| Purpose | Oceanography research |
| Website | coml.org |
The Census of Marine Life was a huge science project. It lasted 10 years, from 2000 to 2010. Scientists from over 80 countries worked together. Their goal was to find out about all the different kinds of life in the oceans. They wanted to know how many species there were. They also studied where these species lived and how many of them existed.
This project was the first of its kind. It looked at ocean life in the past, present, and future. The final results were shared in 2010 in London. The project helped us learn a lot about parts of the ocean that were not well known before. It also brought together over 2,700 researchers. They worked as one big team, which was a huge success.
Contents
How the Project Started
The idea for the Census of Marine Life began in 1996. Two scientists, Jesse H. Ausubel and Dr. J. Frederick Grassle, talked about it. Dr. Grassle studied ocean life at Rutgers University. Jesse Ausubel worked for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This foundation helps fund big science projects.
Ausubel convinced the Foundation to support some early meetings. These meetings happened between 1997 and 1998. They helped plan how the project would work. At first, they thought about counting only fish. But soon, the idea grew to include all marine life.
The results from these early meetings were shared in a science magazine. Later, in 1999, another meeting took place. This meeting focused on creating a system called Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). OBIS would collect all the information about where ocean creatures live. It became a key part of the Census.
The Census officially started in May 2000. Eight grants were given out to create OBIS. An international team of scientists was also formed. By 2001, they planned to start several field projects. These projects would explore different parts of the ocean. They also started a project called "History of Marine Animal Populations" (HMAP). This project looked at ocean life in the past.
Later, another project was added. It was called the Future of Marine Animal Populations (FMAP). This group used computer models to guess what ocean life might be like in the future.
The Sloan Foundation helped fund the main parts of the Census. This included supporting the scientists and their meetings. They also helped with sharing the project's findings. Many other countries and organizations also helped. They gave money or other support. The whole project cost about US $650 million. The Sloan Foundation gave US $75 million of that. The rest came from many partners around the world.
What the Census Studied
The Census of Marine Life focused on three main questions:
- What has lived in the oceans in the past?
- What lives in the oceans right now?
- What will live in the oceans in the future?
The biggest part of the Census was studying what lives in the oceans today. This involved 14 field projects. Each project explored a different part of the ocean. They used many different tools and technologies.
Here are some of the projects:
- Arctic Ocean: ArcOD (Arctic Ocean Diversity)
- Antarctic Ocean: CAML (Census of Antarctic Marine Life)
- Mid-Ocean Ridges: MAR-ECO (Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystem Project)
- Vents and Seeps: ChEss (Biogeography of Deep-Water Chemosynthetic Ecosystems)
- Abyssal Plains: CeDAMar (Census of Diversity of Abyssal Marine Life)
- Seamounts: CenSeam (Global Census of Marine Life on Seamounts)
- Continental Margins: COMARGE (Continental Margin Ecosystems)
- Continental Shelves: POST (Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Project)
- Near Shore: NaGISA (Natural Geography in Shore Areas)
- Coral Reefs: CReefs (Census of Coral Reefs)
- Regional Ecosystems: GoMA (Gulf of Maine Program)
- Microbes: ICoMM (International Census of Marine Microbes)
- Zooplankton: CMarZ (Census of Marine Zooplankton)
- Top Predators: TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Predators)
These field projects worked with the three non-field projects: HMAP, FMAP, and OBIS. Many countries and regions also had their own teams. These teams helped with Census activities in their areas. Towards the end, groups were formed to share the findings. They also worked on education and outreach.
What the Census Achieved
During its 10 years, about 2,700 scientists took part. They came from over 80 countries. They spent 9,000 days at sea on more than 540 trips. They also did many smaller sampling trips near the shore.
Scientists found over 6,000 marine species that might be new to science. By 2010, they had officially described 1,200 of these new species. They explored oceans from the coldest areas to the warm tropics. They studied creatures from tiny microbes to huge blue whales. They also looked at deep-sea vents and coastal areas.
Scientists tracked fish movements. They also looked at old records to see what the ocean was like long ago. They used forecasting tools to predict the future of ocean life. The Census was one of the biggest science projects ever. By 2011, it had produced over 3,100 scientific papers. It also made over 30 million records of species available through OBIS.
The Census did more than just find new species. It also built a global community of researchers. Many of these scientists had never worked together before. The Census helped them learn to share problems and solutions. Before the Census, marine biology research was often done in small groups. There wasn't much sharing of data. The Census changed this. It created a way for scientists to work together and share information.
In 2011, the Census team received the International Cosmos Prize. This award recognized their 10 years of ocean research. It showed how important their work was across many science areas.
Working with Others
The Census worked with other important projects. It helped the Encyclopedia of Life create pages for marine species. It also provided marine samples for the Barcode of Life project. This project uses DNA to identify species.
Google and the Census of Marine Life also teamed up. They worked on Google Earth 5.0. The "Ocean" feature in Google Earth has a special layer for the Census. Users can follow scientists on their trips. They can also see marine life and features found during the Census.
The Census also partnered with a French film company. This led to the movie Oceans, released in 2009. The film showed over 200 species from more than 50 places around the world.
See also
In Spanish: Vida marina en los polos para niños
- Marine life
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System
