Toward a marine census of the Gulf of Maine
and Georges Bank ecosystem
K. G. Foote
The Census of Marine Life is a research initiative of
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, whose nominal goal is a global census
of marine life, aiming both at description and understanding of the
distribution and abundance of marine animals, as taxonomically
differentiated. Apropos of the scope and complexity of such an
ambitious endeavor, a call is made for a pilot marine census of a
single ecosystem, that of the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, for the
nominal two-year period 1 January 2002 - 31 December 2003. The pilot
census would also include exploratory transects through the Slope
Water to the north wall of the Gulf Stream. Six major challenges are
envisioned: (1) harnessing state-of-the-art techniques and platforms
for a core program of synchronous observation and sampling of fish,
size range 5-100 cm, macrozooplankton, 2-20 cm, and mesozooplankton,
0.2-20 mm, in the context of their environment; (2) establishing the
feasibility of synchronous observation or sampling of other marine
organisms, including sea mammals, marine birds, benthos, and
microscopic pelagic animals; (3) collecting and combining the various
data to define the ecosystem; (4) surveying deep-water organisms
in Slope Water; (5) quantifying biodiversity; and (6) getting
the numbers right. To begin to address these challenges, and to
establish a model for planning and conducting pilot censuses, the
Sloan Foundation has funded the planning project. Elements of this
are: (1) identifying the precise interests of the research community
and securing commitments to the pilot census; (2) determining
requirements on observation and sampling systems; (3) promoting
development and refinement of state-of-the-art instrumentation to
bring this to the operational level; (4) formulating a survey
strategy and operational plans; (5) outlining the suite of analyses
required for reducing the census data; and (6) estimating costs and
level of effort. These elements are elaborated in a work program,
and a schedule is available from the author.
It is appreciated that the pilot census
has a particular intrinsic value because of the huge productivity of
the region and the severely depleted states of the cod and haddock
stocks.