View source for Global Census of Marine Life on Seamounts

{{Short description|Global scientific initiative}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
'''Global Census of Marine Life on Seamounts''' (commonly '''CenSeam''') is a global scientific initiative, launched in 2005, that is designed to expand the knowledge base of marine life at [[seamount]]s.<ref name="censeam-home"/> Seamounts are underwater mountains, not necessarily volcanic in origin, which often form subsurface archipelagoes and are found throughout the world's ocean basins, with almost half in the Pacific. There are estimated to be as many as 100,000 seamounts at least one kilometer in height, and more if lower rises are included.<ref name="eoearth">{{Cite web|title=Seamount|url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Seamount|publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Earth]]|accessdate=22 July 2010|date=9 December 2008|archive-date=11 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711114917/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Seamount|url-status=live}}</ref> However, they have not been explored very much&mdash;in fact, only about half of one percent have been sampled&mdash;and almost every expedition to a seamount discovers new species and new information. There is evidence that seamounts can host concentrations of biologic diversity, each with its own unique local ecosystem; they seem to affect [[oceanic currents]], resulting among other things in local concentration of [[plankton]] which in turn attracts species that graze on it, and indeed are probably a significant overall factor in [[biogeography]] of the oceans. They also may serve as way stations in the migration of whales and other pelagic species. Despite being poorly studied, they are heavily targeted by [[commercial fishing]], including [[fishing dredge|dredging]]. In addition they are of interest to potential [[deep sea mining|seabed mining]].<ref name="censeam-home">{{Cite web|title=Welcome to CenSeam: a Global Census of Marine Life on Seamounts.|url=http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/home|publisher=CenSeam|accessdate=22 July 2010|archive-date=25 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425152942/http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/home|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The overall goal of CenSeam is "to determine the role of seamounts in the biogeography, biodiversity, productivity, and evolution of marine organisms, and to evaluate the effects of human exploitation on seamounts." To this effect, the group organizes and contributes to various research efforts about seamount biodiversity.<ref name="censeam-overview"/> Specifically, the project aims to act as a standardized scaffold for future studies and samplings, citing inefficiency and incompatibility between individual research efforts in the past.<ref name="censeam-science"/> To give a scale of their mission, there are an estimated 100,000 seamounts in the ocean, but only 350 of them have been sampled, and only about 100 sampled thoroughly.<ref name="censeam-overview">{{Cite web|title=CenSeam Mission|url=http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/censeam_about|publisher=CenSeam|accessdate=22 July 2010|archive-date=24 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524081850/http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/censeam_about|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ISA"/> Although sampling all 100,000 seamounts is infeasible, major seamounts can be sampled in such a way.<ref name="censeam-science">{{Cite web|title=CenSeam Science|url=http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/science|publisher=CenSeam|accessdate=22 July 2010|archive-date=25 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425152955/http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/science|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Explorers Marvel At 'Brittlestar City' On Seamount In Powerful Current Swirling Around Antarctica|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080518122148.htm|publisher=[[Science Daily]]|accessdate=28 July 2010|date=18 May 2008|archive-date=5 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505175930/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080518122148.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Earth and Ocean Sciences Academic staff: Martin White, PhD|url=http://www.nuigalway.ie/eos/staff/academic_staff/white_m/white_m.html|accessdate=28 July 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609220636/http://www.nuigalway.ie/eos/staff/academic_staff/white_m/white_m.html|archivedate=9 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
CenSeam is a subdivision of the [[Census of Marine Life]] program.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (CenSeam)|url=http://coml.us/the-global-context/projects/ocean-realm-field-projects/active-geology/censeam/|publisher=[[Census of Marine Life]]|accessdate=28 July 2010|archive-date=25 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425154343/http://coml.us/the-global-context/projects/ocean-realm-field-projects/active-geology/censeam/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Organisationally, the components of CenSeam consist of a secretariat (Malcolm Clark, Mireille Consalvey, Ashley Rowden and Karen Stocks) which is hosted by the [[National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research]] in [[Wellington]], New Zealand; an international steering committee; a [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] advisory panel; and two working groups, Data Analysis and Standardisation.<ref name="team-censeam">{{Cite web|title=Team CenSeam|url=http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/science/censeam_science_team|publisher=CenSeam|accessdate=2 August 2010|archive-date=22 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622055712/http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/science/censeam_science_team|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2008 CenSeam began collaborating with the [[International Seabed Authority]] to study effects of seabed mining on seamount ecosystems.<ref name="ISA">{{Cite web|title=CenSeam Project: Assessing Biodiversity Patterns on Seamounts to Identify Knowledge Gaps|url=http://www.isa.org.jm/files/documents/EN/efund/CenSeam.pdf|publisher=[[International Seabed Authority]]|accessdate=28 July 2010|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716171156/http://www.isa.org.jm/files/documents/EN/efund/CenSeam.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also==
* {{section link|Seamount|Conservation}}
* [[Bowie Seamount]]
* [[Davidson Seamount]]
* [[Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute]]
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110108014757/http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/ SenSeam website]
* [http://seamounts.sdsc.edu/ Seamounts Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220064706/http://seamounts.sdsc.edu/ |date=20 February 2012 }}, SenSeam's ecological sampling database.
* [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Seamount Encyclopedia of Earth entry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711114917/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Seamount |date=11 July 2010 }}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Global Census Of Marine Life On Seamounts}}
[[Category:Marine biology]]
[[Category:Biological censuses]]