Figure 1. a Partial Illustration of the Review Process. The

Home , Alboran Sea, Gulf of Thailand, Levantine Sea, Makassar Strait, Temperate Australasia, Temperate South America

Figure 1. A partial illustration of the review process. The map on the left illustrates four of the biogeographic systems reviewed: A (Briggs’ provinces), B (Sullivan Sealey and

Bustamante’s Provinces), C (LMEs), and D (Boschi’s Provinces). System similarities are exemplified in three inset maps: northern Peru (Inset 1), Cabo Frio (Inset 2), and Chiloé

Island (Inset 3). The map on the right shows MEOW provinces (labeled) and their ecoregion subdivision boundaries.

Figure 2. Final biogeographic framework: realms and provinces. Map A shows biogeographic realms with ecoregion boundaries outlined. Map B exhibits all provinces with ecoregion boundaries outlined. Provinces are numbered and listed in Table 1.

Figure 3. Final biogeographic framework: ecoregions. Ecoregions are numbered and listed in Table 1

Table 1. The Marine Ecoregions of the World. Numbers for the provinces and ecoregions match those shown on the maps in Figure 2B and Figure 3.

Table 2. The geographic spread of marine and coastal Ramsar sites within the MEOW classification. REALM 50 Yellow Sea Province 9 Warm Temperate Northwest Pacific Ecoregion 51 Central Kuroshio Current 52 East China Sea ARCTIC 10 Cold Temperate Northeast Pacific 1 Arctic (no provinces identified) 53 Aleutian Islands 1 North Greenland 54 Gulf of Alaska 2 North and East Iceland 55 North American Pacific Fijordland 3 East Greenland Shelf 56 Puget Trough/Georgia Basin 4 West Greenland Shelf 57 Oregon, Washington, Vancouver Coast and 5 Northern Grand Banks - Southern Labrador Shelf 6 Northern Labrador 58 Northern California 7 Baffin Bay - Davis Strait 11 Warm Temperate Northeast Pacific 8 Hudson Complex 59 Southern California Bight 9 Lancaster Sound 60 Cortezian 10 High Arctic Archipelago 61 Magdalena Transition 11 Beaufort-Amundsen-Viscount Melville- Queen Maud TROPICAL ATLANTIC 12 Beaufort Sea - continental coast and shelf 12 Tropical Northwestern Atlantic 13 Chukchi Sea 62 Bermuda 14 Eastern Bering Sea 63 Bahamian 15 East Siberian Sea 64 Eastern Caribbean 16 Laptev Sea 65 Greater Antilles 17 Kara Sea 66 Southern Caribbean 18 North and East Barents Sea 67 Southwestern Caribbean 19 White Sea 68 Western Caribbean 69 Southern Gulf of Mexico TEMPERATE NORTHERN ATLANTIC 70 Floridian 2 Northern European Seas 13 North Brazil Shelf 20 South and West Iceland 71 Guianan 21 Faroe Plateau 72 Amazonia 22 Southern Norway 14 Tropical Southwestern Atlantic 23 Northern Norway and Finnmark 73 Sao Pedro and Sao Paulo Islands 24 Baltic Sea 74 Fernando de Naronha and Atoll das Rocas 25 North Sea 75 Northeastern Brazil 26 Celtic Seas 76 Eastern Brazil 3 Lusitanian 77 Trindade and Martin Vaz Islands 27 South European Atlantic Shelf 15 St. Helena and Ascension Islands 28 Saharan Upwelling 78 St. Helena and Ascension Islands 29 Azores Canaries Madeira 16 West African Transition 4 Mediterranean Sea 79 Cape Verde 30 Adriatic Sea 80 Sahelian Upwelling 31 Aegean Sea 17 Gulf of Guinea 32 Levantine Sea 81 Gulf of Guinea West 33 Tunisian Plateau/Gulf of Sidra 82 Gulf of Guinea Upwelling 34 Ionian Sea 83 Gulf of Guinea Central 35 Western Mediterranean 84 Gulf of Guinea Islands 36 Alboran Sea 85 Gulf of Guinea South 5 Cold Temperate Northwest Atlantic 86 Angolan 37 Gulf of St. Lawrence - Eastern Scotian Shelf 38 Southern Grand Banks - South WESTERN INDO-PACIFIC Newfoundland 18 Red Sea and Gulf of Aden 39 Scotian Shelf 87 Northern and Central Red Sea 40 Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy 88 Southern Red Sea 41 Virginian 89 Gulf of Aden 6 Warm Temperate Northwest Atlantic 19 Somali/Arabian 42 Carolinian 90 Arabian (Persian) Gulf 43 Northern Gulf of Mexico 91 Gulf of Oman 7 Black Sea 92 Western Arabian Sea 44 Black Sea 93 Central Somali Coast 20 Western Indian Ocean TEMPERATE NORTHERN PACIFIC 94 Northern Monsoon Current Coast 8 Cold Temperate Northwest Pacific 95 East African Coral Coast 45 Sea of Okhotsk 96 Seychelles 46 Kamchatka Shelf and Coast 97 Cargados Carajos/Tromelin Island 47 Oyashio Current 98 Mascarene Islands 48 Northeastern Honshu 99 Southeast Madagascar 49 Sea of Japan 100 Western & Northern Madagascar 101 Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast EASTERN INDO-PACIFIC 102 Delagoa 37 Hawaii 21 West and South Indian Shelf 152 Hawaiian Islands 103 Western India 38 Marshall, Gilbert and Ellis Islands 104 South India and Sri Lanka 153 Marshall Islands 22 Central Indian Ocean Islands 154 Gilbert/Ellis Islands 105 Maldives 39 Central Polynesia 106 Chagos 155 Line Islands 23 Bay of Bengal 156 Phoenix/Tokelau/Northern Cook Islands 107 Eastern India 157 Samoa Islands 108 Northern Bay of Bengal 40 Southeast Polynesia 24 Andaman 158 Tuamotus 109 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 159 Rapa-Pitcairn 110 Andaman Sea Coral Coast 160 Southern Cook/Austral Islands 111 Western Sumatra 161 Society Islands 41 Marquesas CENTRAL INDO-PACIFIC 162 Marquesas 25 South China Sea 42 Easter Island 112 Gulf of Tonkin 163 Easter Island 113 Southern China 114 South China Sea Oceanic Islands TROPICAL EASTERN PACIFIC 26 Sunda Shelf 43 Tropical Eastern Pacific 115 Gulf of Thailand 164 Revillagigedos 116 Southern Vietnam 165 Clipperton 117 Sunda Shelf 166 Mexican Tropical Pacific 118 Malacca Strait 167 Chiapas-Nicaragua 27 Java Transitional 168 Nicoya 119 Southern Java 169 Cocos Islands 120 Cocos-Keeling/Christmas Island 170 Panama Bight 28 South Kuroshio 171 Guayaquil 121 South Kuroshio Current 44 Galapagos 29 Tropical Northwestern Pacific 172 Northern Galapagos Islands 122 Ogasawara Islands 173 Eastern Galapagos Islands 123 Mariana Islands 174 Western Galapagos Islands 124 East Caroline Islands 125 West Caroline Islands TEMPERATE SOUTH AMERICA 30 Western Coral Triangle 45 Warm Temperate Southeastern Pacific 126 Palawan/North Borneo 175 Central Peru 127 Eastern Philippines 176 Humboldtian 128 Sulawesi Sea/Makassar Strait 177 Central Chile 129 Halmahera 178 Araucanian 130 Papua 46 Juan Fernández and Desventuradas 131 Banda Sea 179 Juan Fernández and Desventuradas 132 Lesser Sunda 47 Warm Temperate Southwestern Atlantic 133 Northeast Sulawesi 180 Southeastern Brazil 31 Eastern Coral Triangle 181 Rio Grande 134 Bismarck Sea 182 Rio de la Plata 135 Solomon Archipelago 183 Uruguay-Buenos Aires Shelf 136 Solomon Sea 48 Magellanic 137 Southeast Papua New Guinea 184 North Patagonian Gulfs 32 Sahul Shelf 185 Patagonian Shelf 138 Gulf of Papua 186 Malvinas/Falklands 139 Arafura Sea 187 Channels and Fjords of Southern Chile 140 Arnhem Coast to Gulf of Carpenteria 188 Chiloense 141 Bonaparte Coast 49 Tristan Gough 33 Northeast Australian Shelf 189 Tristan Gough 142 Torres Strait Northern Great Barrier Reef 143 Central and Southern Great Barrier Reef TEMPERATE SOUTHERN AFRICA 34 Northwest Australian Shelf 50 Benguela 144 Exmouth to Broome 190 Namib 145 Ningaloo 191 Namaqua 35 Tropical Southwestern Pacific 51 Agulhas 146 Tonga Islands 192 Agulhas 147 Fiji Islands 193 Natal 148 Vanuatu 52 Amsterdam-St Paul 149 New Caledonia 194 Amsterdam-St Paul 150 Coral Sea 36 Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands TEMPERATE AUSTRALASIA 151 Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands 53 Northern New Zealand 195 Kermadec Island 196 Northeastern New Zealand 212 Macquarie Island 197 Three Kings-North Cape 213 Heard and Macdonald Islands 54 Southern New Zealand 214 Kerguelen Islands 198 Chatham Island 215 Crozet Islands 199 Central New Zealand 216 Prince Edward Islands 200 Southern New Zealand 217 Bouvet Island 201 Snares Island 218 Peter the First Island 55 East Central Australian Shelf 60 Scotia Sea 202 Tweed-Moreton 219 South Sandwich Islands 203 Manning-Hawkesbury 220 South Georgia 56 Southeast Australian Shelf 221 South Orkney Islands 204 Cape Howe 222 South Shetland Islands 205 Bassian 223 Antarctic Peninsula 206 Western Bassian 61 Continental High Antarctic 57 Southwest Australian Shelf 224 East Antarctic Wilkes Land 207 South Australian Gulfs 225 East Antarctic Enderby Land 208 Great Australian Bight 226 East Antarctica Dronning Maud Land 209 Leeuwin 227 Weddell Sea 58 West Central Australian Shelf 228 Amundsen/Bellingshausen Sea 210 Shark Bay 229 Ross Sea 211 Houtman 62 Subantarctic New Zealand 230 Bounty and Antipodes Islands SOUTHERN OCEAN 231 Campbell Island 59 Subantarctic Islands 232 Auckland Island

Ecoregions Provinces

Realm Total No with Total Proportion No with Total Proportion

Ramsar Ramsar No. with Ramsar Ramsar No. with Ramsar

sites sites representation sites representation

Arctic 26 10 19 53% 1 1 100%

Temperate 374 21 25 84% 6 6 100%

Northern Atlantic

Temperate 38 12 17 71% 4 4 100%

Northern Pacific

Tropical Atlantic 117 17 25 68% 4 6 67%

Western Indo- 41 14 25 56% 7 7 100%

Pacific

Central Indo- 35 16 40 40% 10 12 83%

Pacific

Eastern Indo- 1 1 12 8% 1 6 17%

Pacific

Tropical Eastern 29 8 11 73% 2 2 100%

Pacific

Temperate South 14 9 15 60% 3 5 60%

America

Temperate 9 3 5 60% 2 3 67%

Southern Africa

Temperate 25 9 17 53% 5 6 83%

Australasia

Southern Ocean 0 0 21 0% 0 4 0%

TOTALS 709 120 232 52% 45 62 73%

Arctic Arctic

Temperate Temperate Temperate Northern Pacific Northern Atlantic Northern Pacific

Eastern Tropical Central Indo-Pacific Eastern Pacific Tropical Atlantic Western Indo-Pacific Indo-Pacific

Temperate Southern Africa Temperate South America Temperate Australasia

Southern Ocean

1 2 10 8 7 5 4 6 3 9 6 11 28 37 25 19 23 12 21 16 18 29 43 24 13 26 30 38 44 17 22 39 41 14 31 15 20 32 27 40 34 45 33 35 42 50 35 46 58 55 47 51 57 36 53 53 49 52 56 54 59 48 62 60

61 61

1 10 17 16 9 18 15 13 12 11 7 2 23 2 3 22 19 4 20 21 14 8 6 24 54 46 26 25 45 53 55 5 53 56 37 38 57 47 38 27 30 44 40 39 35 49 41 29 34 48 58 36 31 50 33 32 42 62 29 51 59 28 52 43 70 60 90 121 122 152 61 63 87 91 113 122 69 103 108 164 68 65 92 112 152 166 64 79 80 88 107 123 167 67 66 114 165 89 109 115 116 127 153 168 110 71 81 104 126 125 124 169 83 93 172 170 82 105 118 128 72 73 117 129 155 173 84 94 111 133 130 174 171 134 74 85 131 154 106 139 135 154 175 75 78 95 96 138 136 156 162 119 132 86 120 120 142137 157 100 97 141 140 161 176 78 148 147 158 101 144 150 147 146 76 77 98 149 160 190 145 143 159 179 180 102 99 210 159 163 202 195 177 191 211 151 181 151 195 179 193 208 203 197 182 192 207 196 178 209 196 183 194 206 204 189 199 198 188 184 205 216 215 200 185 214 201 230 232 230 186 231 187 220 217 213 212 219 222 221 223 225 224 218 226 228 229 227 229