WWF Shining a spotlight on the biodiversity of ... - MarineNZ.org.nz

3.5 Information gaps and other
obstacles to assessing marine
biodiversity
Experts identified multiple deficiencies
in spatial information about the marine
environment and the challenges of filling
such gaps. These include: significant gaps
in the distribution of intertidal organisms;
under-representation of sampling for all
species and habitats deeper than 1,500m;
a sampling bias for specimens larger
than 2 mm, since smaller organisms can
escape from the net; the ability of nekton
to avoid sampling efforts by swimming
away, resulting in under-representation in
sampling; only recent knowledge of deep-sea
features; a fisheries bias in the information
source, resulting from a large portion of
data that is generated through commercial
fishing activities and research; and
virtually complete ignorance about trench
environments.
Deficiencies in information about ecosystem
process and interactions that workshop
participants identified include: very sparse
interactive studies; limited understanding
of trophic interactions; gaps in population
dynamics and recruitment studies;
incomplete information on ocean currents;
and ignorance about the history of marine
processes and floral/faunal composition,
particularly how the environment has
changed since human settlement.
Workshop participants voiced a high level
of concern about the scarcity of specialists
with taxonomic expertise in New Zealand.
Taxonomy is the integrative basis for
understanding, use, and management of
marine biological resources. Fundamentally,
taxonomic capacity dictates the speed at
which organisms can be identified and
classified. The taxonomic deficiency
is particularly severe for the benthic
environment. Amelioration of the taxonomic
specialist shortage is not foreseen in the
near future because the subject is not a
fundamental component of the biology
curriculum at tertiary institutions. The
shrinking level of taxonomic expertise has
implications for New Zealand at a national
level because taxonomy has wide application
in areas such as biosecurity, biotechnology,
fishing impacts, and conservation.
3.6 Future steps for the assessment/
conservation of biodiversity;
and a common statement for
the conservation of New Zealand’s
marine biodiversity
During the discussions concerning the identification
of future steps for the assessment
and conservation of biodiversity, the following
actions were widely supported by all
workshop participants: train and recruit more
competent taxonomists; raise public/government
awareness of marine environment and
promote an ethic for its care; make greater
use of geographic mapping techniques to
identify areas of ecological importance;
increase the amount of the marine environment
scheduled for protection; develop and
fund a national plan of marine exploration;
effectively direct adequate and appropriate
biological information to government science-funding
agencies; appraise appropriate
national authorities of the results of the
present workshop; harness the passion that
scientists and others have for the marine
environment and translate it into action.
The workshop participants’ statement on
the state of knowledge for New Zealand’s
marine biodiversity:
74 ■ BIODIVERSITY – NEW ZEALAND’S MARINE ECOREGION