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CoML National and Regional implementation Committee (NRIC) Synthesis- Canada
Benthic Biodiversity in Canada’s Three Oceans
P. Archambault
Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski, Université du Québec à Rimouski
310 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, PQ G5L 3A1 Canada
P. Snelgrove
Canada Research Chair in Boreal and Cold Ocean Systems
Ocean Sciences Centre/Biology Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7 Canada
P. Lawton,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews Biological Station
531 Brandy Cove Road, St. Andrews, NB E5B 2L9, Canada
E. Kenchington
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth
Nova Scotia, B2Y 4A2, Canada
V. Tunnicliffe
Canada Research Chair in Deep Oceans,
Department of Biology/School of Earth & Ocean Sciences
University of Victoria PO Box 3020, Victoria BC V8W 3N5, Canada
A. Metaxas
Room 4636 LSC
Department of Oceanography
Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4J1, Canada
M. Cusson
Département des sciences fondamentales
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
555, boul. de l'Université
Chicoutimi,QC, G7H 2B1, Canada
J.M. Gagnon, K. Conlan
Musée canadien de la nature
C.P. 3443 SUCC D
Ottawa ON K1P 6P4 Canada
Note that the order is not definitive
ABSTRACT (500 WORDS MAX)
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1. INTRODUCTION (2-5 pages)
1.1 Facts about Canada’s Marine Realm and Comparisons with Other Regions
 Area of Canada Land= The total area of Canada is 9 984 670 square kilometres.
Of this, 9 093 507 square kilometres is land and 891 163 square kilometres is fresh
water (UN 2008- http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com).
1.1.1 Ocean areas1
 Canada = 2 687 667 km2 – 14.3% of the sea area of the world2

Europe (involving 27 countries of EU) 1 008 904 km2
 USA = 796 441 km2
1.1.2 Coastline length3
 Canada= Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world. The
coastline includes the mainland coast and also the coasts of offshore
islands. Its total coastline length is 243,791 km (151,485 mi). Canada has
16.2% of the world coastline.
 Europe of the 27 countries= 143 261.1 km
1.2 Canada Three Oceans description (Fig 1)
1.2.1 Atlantic (Fig. 1 a)-Short description of general bathymetry, hydrodynamic and seafloor
features
Arctic (Fig. 1b)- Short description of general bathymetry, hydrodynamic and seafloor
features
Pacific (Fig. 1c)- Short description of general bathymetry, hydrodynamic and seafloor
features
1.3 Ecological Marine Biodiversity and its Importance to Canada
The overwhelming value of biodiversity as an indication of environment health and for the
functioning of ecosystems (Grime 1997, Loreau et al. 2001, Hooper et al. 2005)) is now largely
recognized not only by academic scientists, but also by mass media, decision makers and public
opinion. However, marine biodiversity has received only a fraction of the attention accorded to
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Territorial Sea is defined under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the 12-nautical mile zone from the baseline
or low-water line along the coast. The coastal State's sovereignty extends to the territorial sea, including its sea-bed, subsoil, and air space
above it. Foreign vessels are allowed "innocent passage" through those waters. Even though the established limit for a territorial sea is 12
nautical miles, some countries claim larger areas. Territorial seas with overlapping claims from different countries are shown separately as
disputed territorial seas. UNCLOS is an international agreement that sets conditions and limits on the use and exploitation of the oceans. This
Convention also sets the rules for the maritime jurisdictional boundaries of the different member states. The UNCLOS was opened for
signature on 10 December 1982 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and it entered into force on 16 November 1994. As of January 2000, there are 132
countries that have ratified UNCLOS. Given the uncertainties surrounding much of the delimitation of the territorial seas, these figures . should
be used with caution. Please refer to the original source for further information on the variables and collection methodologies or to the
following Web site: http://www.mrj.com/. For more information in UNCLOS please refer to the United Nations Web page at:
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm.
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(Territorial sea data is from L. Pruett and J. Cimino, unpublished data, Global Maritime Boundaries Database (GMBD), Veridian - MRJ
Technology Solutions, (Fairfax, Virginia, January, 2000). (excluding Caspian sea and 2 867 050 km2 of disputed territorial)
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(Coastal length data are based on the World Vector Shoreline, United States Defense Mapping Agency, 1989. Figures were calculated by L.
Pruett and J. Cimino, unpublished data, Global Maritime Boundaries Database (GMBD), Veridian - MRJ Technology Solutions, (Fairfax,
Virginia, January, 2000).
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terrestrial environments (Ormond 1996, Roberts & Hawkins 1999). We know now that
biodiversity in the sea – especially in the deep sea – is probably as high as on land, but fewer
species have been described to date (Snelgrove 1998). There are two major domains in the ocean,
the benthic and the pelagic. Benthic organisms (animals, seaweeds and protists) account for 98%
of marine biodiversity, the remaining 2% is pelagic (Brunel 2006).
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Only Benthos for two major reasons- 98% of biodiversity and good coverage in general in
Atlantic and Arctic.
2. METHODS (2-6 pages)
Description of the existing databases for the three Oceans (see link to Google map) (Table 1 and
Fig. 2 with locations of samples). We will also explore OBIS as analytical tool, noting the match
or mismatch between available data sets and the taxonomic coverage in different areas. A metaanalysis will be performed only a subset of the database, because of the large variability in habitat
(e.g. intertidal rocky shore, soft-bottom, vents, etc.) and method to collect samples (e.g. grab,
video, quadrat, boxcore, trawl, etc). The focus will be on one type of habitat and sample gear
(subtital soft-bottom and grabs).
2.1. Atlantic- 61 database
(analysis of species diversity and assemblages)
2.2. Arctic- 15 database (analysis of species diversity and assemblages, see (Cusson
et al. 2007, Conlan et al. 2008)
2.3. Pacific- 4 –5 database
(analysis of species diversity and assemblages)
2.4. Link among the three Oceans and comparison (analysis of species diversity and
assemblages)
3. RESULTS (3-6 pages)
3.1. Description of the available database and their variability in habitat and sample
method
3.2. Atlantic (Figs 3 & 4)
3.3. Arctic (Figs 5 & 6)
3.4. Pacific(Figs 7 & 8)
3.4. Link among the three Oceans and comparison (Figs 9-10)
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4. DISCUSSION (6-15 pages)
(Points to discuss, note that they are not in particular order and will evolve with the data
analysis)





Complexity of the standardisation of database with the different methods and habitats (How
to compile them, How to make them available ?
Capacity issues in Canada (e.g. science infrastructure, resources outside of universities such
Natural Museum, etc)
Importance of CHONe (Canadian Healthy Ocean Network) in addressing gaps and filling
the biodiversity niche beyond 2010.
Under-represented areas (Pacific and Arctic- deep areas) and missing resources in
taxonomy (Canada could not have mostly cosmopolitan species !!!) and dedicated
mission to update database.
Discussion of the results (i.e. hotspots)
5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (1 paragraph).
NSERC-Strategic Network, DFO, all authors of database,…….
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6. REFERENCES (1-3 pages)
Brunel, P (2006), MARINE BIODIVERSITY, in Oceanography, [Eds. Chen-Tung Arthur Chen,
and Jacques C.J. Nihoul], in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), Developed
under the Auspices of the UNESCO, Eolss Publishers, Oxford ,UK,
[http://www.eolss.net]
Conlan K, Aitken A, Hendrycks E, McClelland C, Melling H (2008) Distribution patterns of
Canadian Beaufort Shelf macrobenthos. Journal of Marine System xx:xx
Cusson M, Archambault P, Aitken A (2007) Biodiversity of benthic assemblages on the Arctic
continental shelf: historical data from Canada. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 331:291304
Grime JP (1997) Ecology - Biodiversity and ecosystem function: The debate deepens. Science
277:1260-1261
Hooper DU, Chapin IFS, Ewel A, Inchausti HP, Lavorel S, Lawton JH, Lodge DM, Loreau M,
Naeem S, Schmid B, Setälä H, Sysstad AJ, Vandermeer J, Wardle DA (2005) Effects of
biodiversity on ecosystems functioning: a consensus of current knowledge. Ecological
Monographs 75:3-35
Loreau M, Naeem S, Inchausti P, Bengtsson J, Grime JP, Hector A, Hooper DU, Huston MA,
Raffaelli D, Schmid D, Tilman D, Wardle DA (2001) Biodiversity and ecosystem
functioning: current knowledge and future challenges. Science 294:804-808
Ormond RFG (1996) Marine biodiversity: Causes and consequences. Journal of the Marine
Biological Association of the United Kingdom 76:151-152
Roberts CM, Hawkins JP (1999) Extinction risk in the sea. Trends in Ecology & Evolution
14:241-246
Snelgrove PVR (1998) The biodiversity of macrofaunal organisms in marine sediments. Biodiv
Conservation 7:1123-1132
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