Scientists announce major progress towards historic Census of Marine Li...(e: Distribution of animals in the...)

• Distribution of animals in the ocean and their changing ranges;
• Diversity as the total number of species in the ocean (known and unknown);
• Abundance of major species groups and how they have changed over time;

With regard to distribution, the Census will offer:

• Range maps for known marine species;
• Major global traffic patterns of top marine species;
• Global maps of species richness, showing hotspots and the extent of biodiversity in the oceans

With regard to diversity, the Census will offer:

• A complete list of named marine species, likely to range between 230,000-250,000, as well as fresh estimates of species yet to be discovered;
• Web pages for the great majority of the named species, compiled in cooperation with the Encyclopedia of Life;
• DNA identifiers ("barcodes") for many species

With regard to abundance, the Census will offer:

• New estimates of biomass at various levels in the food chain and for selected species;
• Estimates of changes in the relative frequency of small versus large animals;
• Estimates of abundance that has been or might be lost soon.

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