| As an overview provided to the South American Workshop on Marine Biodiversity, this article presents the unique collaborative approach of the Census of Marine Life (CoML) to increasing our knowledge of the abundance, distribution and diversity of marine life throughout the world's oceans. Five elements comprise the foundation of the research program, providing information and methods useful for enhancing our understanding of marine biodiversity, both historically and today, and making sound predictions of biological diversity in the future. (1) A series of initial field projects will demonstrate techniques or technologies to be applied to future studies. Some of these will test new technologies in well-known areas of the ocean, but most will take place in... |
