Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

"One of the greatest scientific challenges facing society today is understanding, protecting, managing, and restoring biodiversity in our oceans."

       -Nancy Knowlton
        Founding Director CMBC

At the simplest level, biodiversity is defined by the number and abundance of species in a given place. True biodiversity encompasses many levels ranging from genes to ecosystems.

Although 70% of the surface of the planet is covered by oceans, marine organisms and ecosystems are far less well known than their terrestrial counterparts. Scientists estimate that there may be millions of unknown species in the oceans and they are just beginning to grasp the complex ways in which living organisms interact with one another, their environments, and with humans. These organisms provide many valuable services to mankind - food, recreation and pharmaceuticals to name just a few.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography is leading the way in the scientific research essential for understanding and conserving marine biodiversity. As scientists learn more, they can find better ways to address the threats faced by ocean life.

Past to Future

"Historical data not only help to clarify the underlying causes of ecological change, but they also demonstrate achievable goals for restoration and management of marine ecosystems."

       -Jeremy Jackson
        Director CMBC

To understand where we are now, we must understand where we have been.

The past condition of marine ecosystems can be uncovered using archaeological, paleoecological, and historical data. Such data present a clearer picture of what once lived in the oceans and how marine ecosystems have been altered over time by human impacts as well as ongoing natural variability.

By documenting changes in the abundance and distribution of organisms, Scripps scientists:

* reveal the biodiversity of the past
* gain insights into what is affecting biodiversity today
* formulate remedies to reverse the decline in biodiversity and ensure the health of our oceans in years to come.

Overfishing of marine species from oysters to turtles to large fishes and mammals has impacted the world's oceans for hundreds of years. Scripps scientists are now working with government agencies and environmental groups to implement a system of marine protected areas in southern California, Mexico's Gulf of California, and elsewhere around the globe.

Microbes to Mammals

"Remarkably, we do not know the true number of species on Earth, even to the nearest order of magnitude."

       -E. O. Wilson
       Naturalist
      

Unidentified species and ecosystems may be changing or disappearing before scientists even know they exist.

In the field and in laboratories, Scripps scientists are working to assess the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the world's oceans. Exciting new tools and techniques are helping scientists identify species, track their movements, interpret evolutionary relationships, and estimate abundance.

Local to Global

"The diversity of life in the ocean is being dramatically altered by the effects of activities associated with human population expansion."

       -Understanding Marine Biodiversity (1995)
       National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences

Human activities directly affect biodiversity and the health of the oceans. Scripps scientists are studying these links to determine the nature and extent of human impacts. To that end, their research spans the globe, from local wetlands and kelp forests to coral reefs and the deep sea.

Scripps scientists communicate the results of their research to resource managers, fishers, non-government agencies, government leaders who make policy decisions, and the public.

Scientists have documented rapidly accelerating coral bleaching and death over the past 20 years, caused primarily by rising ocean temperature.

The San Diego kelp beds, once abundantly populated by large marine fishes and invertebrates, are now so depleted that some scientists refer to them as ghost forests.

Biodiversity and Conservation Science at Scripps

Scripps Institution of Oceanography recognizes that solving complex problems will require the support of compelling science.

Scripps scientists at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation represent a wide spectrum of disciplines, including the physical, biological, social, and information sciences. The Scripps Biological Collections contain over 100 million specimens and are used to conduct and support research on marine biodiversity worldwide. Other Scripps researchers are employing genomics as a new and powerful tool in marine research which may provide important medical and technical breakthroughs.

Scientists at Scripps also collaborate with social scientists from the University of California, San Diego, and other academic institutions; local, national, and international leaders in government and industry; and conservation agencies and scientists around the world.

Scripps is training the next generation of marine scientists in this interdisciplinary approach so that they will have the skills to help protect, manage, and restore marine biodiversity and achieve a sustainable future for the world's oceans.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers for global science research and graduate training in the world. The scientific scope of the institution has grown enormously since its founding in 1903. A century of Scripps science has had an invaluable impact on oceanography, on understanding of the earth, and on society. More than 300 research programs are under way today in a wide range of scientific areas.

Half of the world's population lives within 60 miles of the coast and two thirds are expected to inhabit coastal lands by 2025. Ocean health is essential for human well being.

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