Spatio-temporal assessments of biodiversity in the high seas

Abstract

Biological diversity is one of the most important measures for marine conservation in the high seas. However, data and tools to assess and quantify biodiversity in the high seas are still not well developed. This hinders the development of the open-access tools necessary to assess biodiversity across space and time. Here, we examine prototype online mapping and visualization tools we developed within the OBIS-SEAMAP data center, a thematic node of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) specializing in marine mammal, seabird and sea turtle observations, to facilitate spatiotemporal assessments of biodiversity in the high seas. Our aims are to (1) summarize basic data needs for assessing biodiversity issues in the high seas; (2) discuss technical challenges to address such needs and establish a publicly accessible framework for biodiversity assessments; and (3) demonstrate how our prototype framework facilitates these assessments using a preliminary case study. We anticipate that this will serve as a model for marine researchers and managers to develop similar frameworks or improve the existing ones for ecological assessments. Of special importance is the application of these assessment tools to emerging high seas biodiversity identification processes such as the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas.