A Census of Marine Biodiversity Knowledge, Resources, and Future Challenges

The Census of Marine Life (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) was the largest global research programme on marine biodiversity. This paper integrated the findings of reviews of major world regions by the Census and provides a global perspective on what is known and what are the major scientific gaps. Study metrics were regional species richness, numbers of endemic and alien species, numbers of species identification guides and taxonomic experts, and a state-ofknowledge index. The threats to biodiversity were classified across the regions. A poor to moderate correlation between species richness and seabed area, and sea volume, and no correlations with topographic variation, were…

• EC
  European Commission

  Award: FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF
• DU
  Dalhousie University
• MD
  Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca
• MU
  Memorial University of Newfoundland
• FP
  FP7 People: Marie-Curie Actions