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New Tool for Marine ConservationJune 28, 2007
In the July/August 2007 issue of BioScience, Mark D. Spalding and colleagues describe a new biogeographic classification of the world’s marine coastal and shelf areas: Marine Ecoregions of the World, or MEOW, is expected to be a valuable tool for conservation planning. This hierarchical system is synthesized from existing global and regional classifications and extensive expert consultation. It comprises 232 ecoregions, each of which has a relatively homogenous and distinct species composition, nested within 62 provinces that are grouped into 12 realms. MEOW, the most detailed comprehensive marine classification system to date, covers all coastal and shelf waters to a depth of 200 meters. Coastal and shelf waters have greater species numbers and higher productivity than the adjacent deep ocean, and are biogeographically distinct. Spalding, a conservation scientist with The Nature Conservancy, and his 14 colleagues from around the world believe MEOW will enable marine gap analyses (an important approach for identifying areas crucial for conserving endangered species) and support various other types of studies on coastal and shelf biodiversity. The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund already have begun to use the MEOW system. The complete list of research articles in the July/August 2007 issue of BioScience is as follows: Patterns and Power of Phenotypic Selection in Nature Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas Detective Work in the West Indies: Integrating Historical and Experimental Approaches to Study Island Lizard Evolution Watersheds and Coral Reefs: Conservation Science, Policy, and Implementation Revisiting Chamberlin: Multiple Working Hypotheses for the 21st Century Crocodile Tears: And thei eten hem wepynge The Cost Implications of Open-access Publishing in the Life Sciences ContactJennifer Williams
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