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Adopting best practices to better understand life on the ocean floor

So far, about 240,000 marine species have been described and 180,000 are recorded in the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). Thanks to innovations in science and technology, researchers are describing about 2,000 new species each year. Recent estimates suggest that up to one million marine species exist, of which many are yet unknown species of macroinvertebrates like snails and sponges.

Improving our knowledge and understanding of these species and the ecosystems they rely on is critical for informing management policies that aim to protect and ensure sustainable use of ocean resources. This requires access to reliable and comparable data for distinguishing natural and human caused variations that result from pressures like deep-sea mining, coastal development, and climate change.

However, combining, analysing, and comparing data that has been collected for biological communities below the ocean surface has historically posed many challenges. For example, marine invertebrates like snails, sponges, crabs, corals, and sea cucumbers are an important and ubiquitous part of marine communities on every ocean floor. To date, it has not been easy for scientists to determine abundance and distribution patterns because the incredible species diversity and wide range in body size makes it difficult for researchers to move beyond individual studies and bring data together so that broad-scale patterns can emerge.


Scientists collect a lot of data about seafloor invertebrates, but have struggled to move beyond individual studies. Seeing broad-scale patterns is critical to building ecological assessments that can inform management and policy. New research practices will help resource managers more easily get a snapshot of ecosystem health. Image: © 2011 MBARI

As the gateway to the world’s ocean biodiversity and biogeographic data and information, the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) of the IOC-UNESCO joined a team of international researchers to develop a new set of best practices to help standardise the information collected for seafloor invertebrates - in part, through the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS) and Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). These findings, published in Limnology and Oceanography Letters, were led by Henry Ruhl, Director of the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS). This work will help ensure that biological datasets from various sources and methods can be more easily combined and allow for integrated assessments and modelling.

We’re highlighting a common pathway for ecologists studying seafloor invertebrates. These best practices will make it much easier to combine data from various sources and methods. By standardizing the data we collect, we can provide more of the critical information that policymakers need to sustainably manage and protect the ocean.
Henry A. Ruhl, CeNCOOS

CeNCOOS joins 11 other national regions to form the US Integrated Ocean Observing System, which in turn forms part of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) which is also led by the IOC of UNESCO. Since 1991, GOOS has been spearheading the development of a global ocean observing system that delivers the essential information needed for sustainable development, safety, wellbeing, and prosperity of the ocean. This includes the development of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs). The aim is to ensure consistent and standardised measurement of EOVs which then serve as a means to monitor and assess changes to the Earth’s systems, including the ocean.


From giant crabs that lumber along the ocean floor to tiny crustaceans (like this cumacean) that live in the mud, benthic invertebrates come in many sizes. The wide range of sizes creates diverse data products. New research practices can unify these disparate products and provide the critical ecosystem data that policymakers need for resource management. Image: © MBARI

The researchers of this study hope the following standards for “Benthic Invertebrate Abundance and Distribution” will be adopted for seafloor communities as part of the GOOS Essential Ocean Variable (EOV). This will help ensure that collected data is harmonised and will better guide future policies that aim to protect ocean ecosystems and resources.

All life on Earth depends on the ocean, but we can’t manage or monitor the ocean without good data. Our team has identified how scientists around the world can harmonise the data they’ve collected about the ocean. Working together, this trove of biological data can guide sound policy to protect vital ocean resources.
Henry A. Ruhl, CeNCOOS

In a nutshell, the authors make the following recommendations for the GOOS EOV for Benthic Invertebrate Abundance and Distribution:

  1. Quantify individual body size.
  2. Identify the well-quantified portions of sampled body-size spectra.
  3. Take advantage of automated and semi-automated information processing via artificial intelligence and machine learning.
  4. Apply metadata standards, such as Darwin Core and Ecological Metadata Language (EML).
  5. Make data available through internationally recognized access points, such as OBIS.

Research Publication: Ruhl, H.A., B.J. Bett, J. Ingels, A. Martin, A.R. Gates, A. Yool, N.M.A. Benoist, W. Appeltans, K.L. Howell, and R. Danovaro (2023). Integrating ocean observations across body-size classes to deliver benthic invertebrate abundance and distribution information. Limnology and Oceanography Letters. doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10332