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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) 1 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 1 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. 2 (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) 3 (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). 2 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). - 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) 3 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,……. 4 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 5