Vol. 3, No. 1 Contents
Headline Back Issues
Winter 1998
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Conserving the Gulf's biodiversity Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management On a recent flight between Boston and Halifax I found myself gazing at the sunlit beauty of the waters of the Gulf of Maine almost as if I were seeing them for the first time. It was one of the those brilliant, crystal-clear winter mornings with no evidence of a winter storm on any horizon. Surveying the Gulf in all its natural splendor literally took my breath away. With the anticipation of a child boarding an amusement ride, I quickly sought out a seat on the plane's starboard side so I could test my recollection of the coves and harbors on Cape Ann. Next, I slid over to the port side windows to try my geography skills on the Isles of Shoals and the New Hampshire coastline. As the land receded from sight, I found myself closing my eyes and wondering what would become of this rich body of water that has provided so much to so many. I thought back to the many stories of the first European fishermen arriving on the Isles of Shoals centuries ago, making the best of the plentiful supply of fish they found. What was it like to see those islands and waters for the first time? How much fish did they really catch in their nets? What creatures did they discover in the tide pools and on the cobble bottom? Discovery in the Gulf of Maine continues. Today, the Isles of Shoals are home to Cornell University's Shoals Marine Laboratory, a summer research facility for college students eager to study marine sciences at the Gulf's threshold. The Shoals lab, the Sea Education Association, along with many education and research programs throughout the Gulf, attract hundreds of students to their institutions each year. These institutions introduce groups of students and visitors to the Gulf of Maine, often for the very first time. They provide an opportunity for students to increase their awareness about the fragility of marine ecosystems as they become immersed, literally and figuratively, in their studies of the intricate processes of the Gulf of Maine and the complex marine organisms that inhabit this ecosystem. (These institutions also generate a body of data and information about the Gulf of Maine, but, unfortunately, this information is often confined to student notebooks and computer files, with only a small fraction finding its way to the public.) When I was studying marine sciences in college too many years ago to mention here, my professors would often use the term "biological diversity" to label the diverse nature not only of individual species but also the composition of their genetic makeup, their reproductive strategies, their functional roles, and their habitats. The term was shortened to ÒbiodiversityÓ in the 1980s when scientists and conservationists began writing about the alarming rates of change in species diversity within global ecological hot spots such as the tropical rain forests of South America. At the time, researchers were aware of the importance of species richness, but were just beginning to understand the complex connection among the players within marine ecosystems. Originally, scientists assumed the importance of a species to an ecosystem was proportional to its abundance. However, Robert Paine found in 1969 that the Pacific ochre sea star affected the physical structure and species composition of the rocky shoreline community, despite its low abundance. The finding inspired the concept of "keystone" species that play a critical role within an ecosystem. Today much more is known about the relationships and functional roles among marine species and their habitat, yet increasing threats to biodiversity create a growing need to disseminate this information beyond our traditional spheres. Scientists conducting research within the Gulf of Maine have reported a decline in the Gulf's biodiversity, which they attribute to the displacement or conversion of one species for another, habitat fragmentation, and simplification of the ecosystem as a result of human activity such as farming. With estimates predicting a global population of 5.9 billion in 2000 and doubling expected by 2050, evidence points to the likelihood that even more dramatic human-influenced changes, possibly catastrophic for some marine ecosystems, will take place. The message from scientists is that there is a growing sense of urgency to slow the rate of biological change caused by human activities in the ecosystem, and to implement conservation strategies such as setting aside reserves or conservation areas. But while public awareness of the need for conservation increases, little is known about the results of marine conservation strategies being employed today. Some believe the conservation efforts are misguided and unrealistic. But the opportunity exists to build an effective Gulf of Maine conservation strategy. What if every new marine science student attending an institution in the Gulf of Maine were given an opportunity to participate in a comprehensive Gulf-wide conservation initiative? Linking educational, research, and public resources in this way might create an ideal model. National Geographic devoted its entire February edition to biodiversity as part of the publication's millennium series. Their web site offers a detailed description of research in the Gulf of Maine that is examining the unique features of the benthic cobble community and its importance to lobster populations (www.nationalgeographic.com/ 2000/biodiversity/biomes). There are many models and predictions about the biological integrity of the Gulf of Maine, although more research is necessary to verify these predictions. The Gulf of Maine Council along with other regional marine policy and scientific leaders must redouble our collective efforts to bridge the information gap that exists concerning the biological diversity of the Gulf of Maine and work toward developing a conservation strategy to insure its future. |
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