May/June 2009
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CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE Census of Marine Life Education and Outreach Network www.coml.org [email protected] News from the Census May/June 2009 In This Issue July Synthesis Calendar Synthesis Calendar Don’t forget to check your July Jesse Ausubel Honored Synthesis Calendar. CReefs in Courier Mail Here are some important dates: Recent Census Publications Jul-Aug Internal review of Regional Synthesis Collection papers. MAR-ECO Website Feature CoML Animation in Spanish July 3-6 Oceanographic Basis of Marine Predator Movements Work- Ron O’Dor Recognized shop, Monterey, CA, USA. Recent Census Newsletters July 5-9 Australian Marine Sciences Polar Synthesis Meeting Association Conference, Adelaide, Australia. Octopus Research July 26-31 Xth SCAR International Position Announcement Biology Symposium, Sapporo, Japan To view the Synthesis Calendar click here. Census Program Director Receives Honorary Degree CReefs Featured in Brisbane Courier Mail Newspaper Census of Marine Life Pro- CReefs was featured gram Director, Jesse Ausubel, front and center in the has been awarded an hon- May 9-10, 2009 edi- orary Doctor of Laws degree tion of the Brisbane from Dalhousie University. Courier Mail’s week- One of the original champi- end color magazine, ons bringing attention to glob- QWeekend. Sport- al climate change, Jesse was ing a full color cover instrumental in the creation of image of a coral reef the Census as well as the En- octopus and a photo-rich feature article inside, QWeekend de- cyclopedia of Life. His work tails Census work on Australian coral reefs and the discover- as both Director of the Human ies that are being made. The article addresses the fact that Environment Program at Rockefeller University and Program despite how well known the Great Barrier reef may be, new Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation continue to promote species are popping up with every new field expedition. The the cause of the global ocean and increase awareness of glob- feature provide a nice overview of the Census as a whole, de- al climate change. Please join us in extending congratulations tailed information on CReefs work, including quotes from nu- to Jesse for this honor. For more information, please visit: Hon- merous members of the research team, illustrated by a host of orary Degree Recipients. stunning images. The article can be viewed online: QWeek- end CReefs Feature. May/June 2009 Page 1 Census of Marine Life | Office of Marine Programs | University of Rhode Island | Graduate School of Oceanography | Narragansett RI 02882 Recent Census Publications MAR-ECO Website: New Interactive Video Feature A recently released special issue of Zootaxa, entitled Deep- MAR-ECO has sea taxonomy - a contribution to our knowledge of biodiver- added a new, in- sity, focuses on the deep-sea taxonomic work of CeDAMar. teractive feature The issue features articles on new species and other discover- to its website. A ies from the Southern Ocean, the collection of vid- Southeast Atlantic, Brazil, the eos and anima- Northeast Atlantic, the Mediter- tions allows the ranean, the Indian Ocean and user to explore the Eastern Pacific. The full issue the deep-sea en- is available online at Zootaxa. vironment with its spectacular ar- A special issue of Deep Sea Re- ray of organisms, adaptations, and habitats. Exploring such search II released online in late themes as camouflage, vertical migration, and bioluminescence April 2009 is based on CO- and showcasing a wide range of organisms, this series of vid- MARGE research. This volume, eos is sure to appeal to and inform a broad audience. Videos entitled Deep-sea environment in this collection focus on subjects such as orange roughy, ma- and biodiversity of the West Afri- rine snow, cephalopods, jellies, and new species, and include can equatorial margin and edit- a description of the MAR-ECO project, its participants, and its ed by SSC member Myriam Sibuet, highlights the work of the technologies. To experience this interactive video series please Biozaire multidisciplinary deep-sea environment program from visit the MAR-ECO website: Virtual Deep-Sea Explorer. 2000-2005. It is available online from Science Direct in Articles in Press. CoML and POGO Animations Available in Spanish Another publication, just Census colleague released in mid-June 2009, Patricia Miloslavich is a book on the biodiver- has translated the sity of the Gulf of Mexico, Census of Marine written and edited by Cen- Life Overview and sus affiliates from the Harte Observing a Wa- Research Institute. Details ter Planet. Both of on some 15,419 species these animations, from 40 phyla inhabiting which were un- the Gulf of Mexico are pro- veiled at the 2007 all program meeting in Auckland, provide a vided. The manuscript was concise description of CoML and POGO via entertaining and col- written by 140 authors orful animations and Census imagery. The CoML amination is from 80 institutions and organizations in 15 countries. More available for viewing in both English and Spanish on the Census of information is available in a press release and on the Harte Marine LIfe portal: Video Gallery. Research Institute website. ArcOD has facilitated the trans- Census Scientist Honored by Canadian Geographic lation, from Russian to Eng- lish, of the first in a planned Census co-senior scientist, Ron O’Dor series of identification keys of was honored by Canadian Geo- Arctic invertebrates. Recently graphic in June when he was recog- released, this volume is part nized as the Environmental Scientist of a series of ArcOD synthe- of the Year. This annual award seeks sis products. The series edi- to honor those individuals who work tor is ArcOD member Boris to preserve natural environments, im- Sirenko, assisted by two vol- prove humankind’s interaction with ume editors, Stella Vassilenko them, and inspire activism or change. and Viktor Petryashov. This Please join us in congratulating Ron volume is available from Alas- on this award. ka Sea Grant. To read more, visit: Canadian Geographic. May/June 2009 Page 2 Census of Marine Life | Office of Marine Programs | University of Rhode Island | Graduate School of Oceanography | Narragansett RI 02882 Recent Census Project Newsletters Polar Synthesis Macroscope Meeting in France A number of CoML The Polar Synthesis Macro- projects have recently scope group met May 13- issued newsletters 16, 2009 at the Villefranche communicating recent Laboratory near Nice, activity or announce- France. A total of 11 partic- ments to the CoML ipants from CAML, ArcOD, community. Below are and the Mapping & Visual- some highlights and ization group, used the latest links to those commu- methods to explore biodiver- niqués. sity data of the ice oceans. Census research voyages during the International Polar Year have provided a comprehensive in- POST E-Blast Inaugural ventory of polar marine species: more than 6,000 verified spe- issue cies of animals at each pole and 251 species that occur at both poles. At the molecular level, DNA sequences are show- > Beginning of the ing differences among species that were previously thought to field research season be the same. The analyses showed a close connection between > POST sponsorship the species and their physical environment at various spatial of the 2009 State of the Salmon conference scales. > New collaboration with the Seymour Salmonid Society POST E-Blast second issue CAML Octopus Research: For Medicinal Purposes? > 6 million tracking pings since POST started Census work in the Antarctic may > POST funding available for cross-cutting projects have an unexpected outlet. While > Expansion of POST’s Puget Sound tracking array Antarctic octopod research con- ducted by the CAML has produced CenSeam E News a number of new species, it has > Training Awards for New Investigators also contributed to cephalopod > ICES Final Agenda venom investigations, which may have implications in the search for HMAP future biomedicines. Australian re- searcher Bryan Fry of the Univer- > Oceans Past Symposium sity of Melbourne’s Department of > Video reports from the Baltic and Asian HMAP Projects Biochemistry, has found that all oc- > New HMAP Brochure topuses, cuttlefish, and some squid > World Congress of Environmental History are venomous and share a com- mon ancient ancestor. His research has uncovered a wide range of venom compounds that have not yet been encountered, which may prove to be a treasure trove for research pursuing future bio- medicines. Fry’s work was published in the Journal of Molecular Evolution and has been highlighted by ABC Science. CAML/ArcOD Position Announcement The marine evolution, ecology and biogeography team at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) was awarded a grant from CAML to host a bipolar species science co-coordinator (part time, 2 days a week) for 5 months. The selected candidate will organize and assist the inter- national effort to ascertain how many of the recently publicized list of species suspected by Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and Arctic Ocean Diversity (ArcOD) to be present in both polar areas have valid testable specimens in museums, universities or institutes. The list includes species from all realms including benthic, pelagic and planktonic across a wide range of taxa. The chosen applicant will be based at BAS, Cambridge and will work with Bruno Danis (SCAR-MarBIN) and other marine biologists across the international communi- ty. Please contact Huw Griffiths at the BAS. The Census of Marine Life is a global network of researchers in more than eighty nations engaged in a ten-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. The world’s first comprehensive Census of Marine Life — past, present, and future —will be released in 2010. May/June 2009 Page 3 Census of Marine Life | Office of Marine Programs | University of Rhode Island | Graduate School of Oceanography | Narragansett RI 02882.