AAAS 2010

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Bridging Science and Society
San Diego, CA
February 18 – 22, 2010

U.S. CoML Session entitled:
“One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, New Fish: Society Needs Marine Biodiversity Research”

(l-r) Dr. Shirley Pomponi, Dr. Huw Griffiths, Dr. Jason Hall-Spencer, Ms. Kristina Gjerde, Dr. Ron O'Dor participate in a AAAS press briefing.

A school of fish the size of Manhattan Island, a crab with fur, a habitat at the bottom of the ocean that reaches 407 degrees Celsius, yet sustains an ecosystem – these discoveries represent just a small sliver of what can be found in the ocean, which is largely unexplored. For the first time, through the Census of Marine Life, researchers are assembling a comprehensive picture of what lives in the ocean. What they have found, however, goes far beyond the discovery of individual species to confirming real connections to human society. Seafood is a vital component of human diets around the world. Millions of jobs rely on marine life, including the transportation and marketing of seafood products, as well as the industries of commercial and recreational fishing and tourism. Advances in medicine, health and the pharmaceutical industry become possible with the discovery and analysis of new species. Each organism in the ocean plays a role in providing these services in the overall ocean ecosystem, the majority of which we are just beginning to understand. This symposium will explore the areas in which research, technology and discoveries from the marine biodiversity research can benefit society through informing the development of sustainable fisheries and marine protected areas, monitoring endangered species, understanding the impacts of climate change, and providing open access to data and biological ocean observing.

• Census of Marine Life Overview Images (PDF)
• Press Release
• Link to AP News Article: Marine Census Grows Near Completion

Speakers and Presentations:

• Audio Recording (25MB)
  (Session Introduction by Mr. Michael Feldman, U.S. CoML Program Coordinator)
• Dr. Ellen Prager, Earth2Ocean, Inc and Aquarius Reef Base (Moderator) (talk begins at 6:26 minutes on audio recording)
• Dr. Huw Griffiths, British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council
  Understanding Global Climate Change through New Breakthroughs in Polar Research
  (Presentation PDF) (very large file ~18MB) (talk begins at 12:35 minutes)
• Dr. Jason Hall-Spencer, University of Plymouth
  Census of Seamounts: Identifying Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity Hotspots
  (Presentation PDF) (talk begins at 31:00 minutes)
• Dr. Ron O’Dor, Dalhousie University and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership
  How New Tracking Technologies Can Help Manage Sustainable Fisheries
  (Presentation PDF) (talk begins at 47:40 minutes)
• Ms. Kate Stoeckle, Johns Hopkins University (Discussant)
  Sushigate: DNA Barcoding Reveals Mislabeled Fish in New York City Markets
  (Presentation PDF) (talk begins at 1:07:20 minutes)
• Ms. Kristina Gjerde, International Union for Conservation of Nature
  How Marine Biodiversity Research Helps Establish Marine Protected Areas
  (Presentation PDF) (talk begins at 1:17:00 minutes)
• Dr. Shirley Pomponi, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
  Marine Biodiscovery: New Drugs from Unlikely Sources
  (Presentation PDF) (talk begins at 1:35:09 minutes)

*Unfortunately Dr. Dirk Steinke was unable to join us for the panel as advertised*