ISSUED: June 9, 2000
CONTACT: Sue Knapp, (617) 973-5213, [email protected]
NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM SURVEYS UNTOUCHED OCEAN AREAS
From June 24 through July 15, 2000, New England Aquarium Conservation Director, Dr. Greg Stone, will lead an expedition to the Phoenix Islands as part of the Primal Ocean Project. The Aquarium's Primal Ocean Project is a global effort to document ecologically healthy regions of the ocean that resemble pre-human, or pre-exploitation, conditions. Human activities, such as fishing and coastal development have drastically altered most marine environments throughout the world.
The Primal Ocean Project has a scientific component that uses survey and census techniques to rapidly assess ocean areas, and a public education mission to develop films and educational materials on this topic for use in schools, aquariums, museums, and zoos. The Primal Ocean Project attempts to take a positive approach to marine conservation problems by highlighting robust ecosystems and identifying goals for rebuilding the oceans.
The project begins with this multi-disciplinary three-week scientific expedition to the Phoenix Islands in the South Pacific (approximately 1000 miles from Fiji) in June and July, 2000. Scientists, led by Greg Stone, will depart Fiji aboard the 120-foot steel motor sailer NAI'A for a five-day crossing to the research area. Other New England Aquarium experts on the expedition include Austen Yoshinaga (marine algae), Steve Bailey (tropical fishes) and David Obura (coral reefs).
Once there, these scientists will measure key aspects of the marine environment around distant and virtually uninhabited coral islands. These islands, which are part of the Kiribati Group, are rarely visited; this voyage will be the first systematic survey of this near-pristine marine habitat. Scientists will identify and quantify the abundance and distribution of marine mammals, the diversity and condition of the coral reefs, coral fish, and the distribution and diversity of marine algae. These data will then be compared to other marine environments in order to assess the impacts of human activity and to better understand the condition of the pre-human ocean.
Future sites to explore include a region in the Marshall Islands that has been off limits to fishing for 50 years.
PHOENIX ISLANDS SCIENCE PROJECTS
Marine mammal distribution and abundance in the South Pacific are known primarily from anecdotal accounts. This expedition will provide an opportunity to assess what is believed to be a major dolphin habitat. We will survey, photograph and video all dolphin and whale species observed during the voyage. The results will be presented to the International Whaling Commission to inform their debate on the need for a marine mammal sanctuary in the South Pacific. The sanctuary proposal has not advanced in recent years, partly because of the lack of data on what species and where the marine mammals occur in the South Pacific.
Coral reefs are threatened worldwide from bleaching, coastal development and other factors. This expedition will provide data on an unexplored equatorial reef system that will add an important dimension to the global perspective on coral reef health and biogeography. The research hopes to document the benthic (sea floor) community structure, better understand the local coral diversity and community, and determine the state of coral health.
Coral reef fishes will be surveyed for their distribution and abundance. The world's oceans contain nearly 14,500 species of fishes. This abundance of tropical marine fish species is thought to be most greatly affected by the biodiversity of other marine animals especially the reef-building corals. The Indo- West Pacific Region contains about 500 species of coral which is an astounding number when considering that the western Atlantic region has approximately 10 times less. The Phoenix Islands are situated at the eastern edge of this extremely rich region and given its remoteness should be an excellent example of uncompromised tropical fish diversity and abundance.
Marine algae species and distribution are unknown in this region. We will be working with University of the South Pacific phycologists to collect, record and analyze marine algae of the region. This will be the first algae survey of the region.
Background information on the Phoenix Islands is available.
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