WORKSHOP SYNOPSIS Assessing the Global Distribution and Abundance of Marine Organisms

4, ,,, , ,,, , / " David L. Bradley Pemzsylvania State University • State College, Pennsylvania LISA

Background in its most comprehensive and inspiring sense. Thus, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Office of the final "Grand Challenge" articulated by the work- Naval Research sponsored a workshop in Monterey, shop was to answer the question, "How much life can California in January 1998, to discuss the value, timeli- the ocean sustain?" ness, and feasibility of stimulating and organizing a This challenge was made more concrete and attain- period of intense, comprehensive oceanic observation able by focusing it primarily on higher trophic levels, whose purpose would be to assess and explain the glob- including but not confined to economically important al distribution and abundance of , with species. However, the distribution, abundance and pro- emphasis on higher trophic levels. The meeting was ductivity of lower trophic levels and the biological, organized by the Ocean Studies Board of the National chemical, and physical processes affecting Research Council and included a broad suite of ecolo- structure were also recognized as necessary to generate gists, oceanographers, fisheries scientists, and model- global estimates. The major questions thus became: ers. A global assessment of marine life would aid in pre- dicting the causes of ecosystem change and resulting 1. What is the of the marine biota, especially consequences to fisheries, trophic structure, species higher trophic levels, on a global scale? interactions, and the population and dynamics of marine systems. Several possible goals of a 2. How is this biomass distributed spatially, by size, global assessment program were discussed including and by taxon? determine the biomass of the marine biota, especially the higher trophic levels, determine how this biomass is 3. How are these distributions maintained or changed? distributed spatially and by size and taxon, and investi- gate how these distributions are maintained or What (in addition to the sheer changed. magnitude) makes the problem hard? Technological barriers prohibit the direct enumera- The "Grand Challenge" tion of most types of life in the ocean, except at very In the 1960s, it was to put a man on the moon by 1970. local scales. Sampling systems such as nets, and acousti- For the workshop, the similar Grand Challenge became cal and optical instruments, which capture or count "How many fish are in the sea?" However, determining individual animals directly, can be deployed only over how many fish are in the sea is a sub- very small areas of the ocean at any set of the much broader major goal Thus, the final "Grand Challenge" one time using ships, moorings, or airplane overflights. Larger scale syn- uniting all ecological research. That articulated by the workshop broader goal is to describe and under- optic systems, such as satellites, are was to answer the question, stand the patterns of distribution and limited in the types of life they can abundance of organisms and to pre- "How much life can the detect, with phytoplankton pigments dict the impact of change on those pat- ocean sustain ?" being the only biological parameter terns. Participants redefined the origi- presently quantifiable with these nal charge of the workshop in a way that could provide techniques. Moreover, the patchy distributions of all an overarching and unifying umbrella capable of organisms make it difficult to generalize local distribu- encompassing the diverse interests of the biological tions and abundances to broader regional or global community and which expressed a "Grand Challenge" scales.

Oceanography • Vol. 12 • No. 3/i999 19 An assessment plan (population parameters of targeted functional groups The most tractable approach to access the biomass measured in situ) and experimental (growth rates, and of higher trophic levels at a regional reproductive rates etc.). In Phase III the models would scale was identified as atrophic dynamics approach. be improved and tested during an iteration of Phase II. The abundance of higher trophic levels is constrained by the biomass at lower levels available for consump- tion, the efficiencies of trophic transfer at each link in Conclusions the , and population parameters including Assessment of the biomass, abundance, and size dis- rates of reproduction, growth, and mortality which alter tribution of open ocean taxa requires both significant population sizes and rates of trophic transfer. advancements in new technology and better applica- Several components were seen as essential for an tion of existing technologies, including acoustical, initial global assessment program. In general these optical, genetic, and chemical approaches. The work- components fell into three phases. During Phase I bio- shop participants felt that a global assessment program geographic zones would be defined and extensive based on a trophic dynamics/modeling approach review of existing data and models undertaken. The presented the prospect of significant scientific and goal of the latter would be to clearly define major gaps societal benefits but would require the organization of a in our knowledge. Development of important technolo- multiagency and multinational effort. [~1 gy for population assessment would also begin in this phase. During Phase II, important gaps in the models would be filled by specific studies, both observational

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Credit: NOAA Photo Library

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Credit: NOAA Photo Library

20 Oceanography • Vol. 12 • No. 3/1999