Biodiversity Science forCanada’s Three Oceans

A partnership of universities, government departments,and international research organizations around the globeto develop scientific guidelinesfor sustainable ocean usage

The marine worm Chone(pronounced Ko-Nee) is a“canary of the oceans”:it occurs in all of Canada’sthree oceans andcharacterizes healthy benthichabitats. When it disappears ithabitats. When it disappears itsuggests a habitat under stress.

Launched in 2008, the NSERC Canadian Healthy Launched in 2008, the NSERC Canadian Healthy Oceans Network (CHONe) is a national research program and a strategic university/government partnership, created to provide new insights into biodiversity in Canada’s three oceans, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Arctic.

CHONe’s objectives are to:

•• Provide marine biodiversity science knowledge, new tools and strategies for conservation-based decisions.

• Produce a marine biodiversity database for Canada’s three oceans that represents a rich resource for future generations.

• Former la prochaine génération de jeunes scientifiques sur les enjeux relatifs à la pérennité scientifiques sur les enjeux relatifs à la pérennité des océans.

• Train the next generation of young scientists in sustainable ocean issues.

• Raise public awareness of Canada’s rich marine biodiversity and its importance to future generations.

What is CHONe?

National laws and international agreements commit Canada to protect marine habitat, biodiversity, and ocean health.

CHONe has developed a suite of products for policy application:

• Taxonomic baseline maps, databases, and barcodes as tools to monitor future change;

•• Baseline data to understand oceans, their ecosystems, and processes;

• Predictive tools to maximize knowledge on biodiversity patterns in marine environments;

• Analytical and sampling tools to characterize and assess biodiversity and habitat relationships;

• Decision-making frameworks for sustainable, integrated ocean management; and

• New findings on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

CHONE Products for Policy

Theme I: Biodiversity Characteristics & Tools

What is the nature of cryptic diversity, the spatial distribution of biodiversity, & temporal changes in biodiversity?

Theme II: Ecosystem Function

How is ecosystem function linked to biodiversity & agents of disturbance

(natural and anthropogenic)?

Theme III: Dispersal Dynamics

How does dispersalinfluence patterns of diversity, resilience, and source/sink dynamics of species and communities?

Canada, like other nations, is shifting towards an ecosystem- based management approach to respond to the numerous threats oceans face. Using this threats oceans face. Using this approach, CHONe’s research program is organized into three intersecting themes to help ensure healthy oceans while utilizing ocean resources for the benefit of all Canadians.

• Marine Biodiversity• Ecosystem Function•• Population Connectivity

Science forHealthy Oceans

CHONe explores marine biodiversity from the near shore to the deep ocean.WWe explore frontier areas and vulnerable regions and species with new technologies, such as remotely operated vehicles; seafloor mapping tools, high resolution underwater imagery, and image recognition tools to automatically identify organisms. Many scientists now believe that for every Many scientists now believe that for every species we know, there may be as many as nine that remain undiscovered. Recent exploration of the Arctic Corridor uncovered a more diverse Arctic than expected, but also one with severely endangered marine mammals and unknown impacts as the Arctic continues to warm. In most cases we know little of the warm. In most cases we know little of the importance of these myriad species to how the oceans work, and can rarely predict how their loss will impact ocean health.

A Diverse & Changing Ocean

In addition to financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), other major sources of funding come from: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Memorial University.

In kind support is contributed by: ArcticNet; Atlantic Reference Centre of the Huntsmen Marine Science Centre, Canadian Museum of Nature, and Natural Resources Canada.

University Participants include: University ofUniversity of Alberta, Dalhousie University, McGill University, Memorial University, Mount Allison University, University of British Columbia, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Université Laval, University of Prince Edward island, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria. International Partners include:CHARM III, Channel HabitatCHARM III, Channel Habitat Atlas for Marine Resource Management; CERF, The Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities; ESONET, the European Seas Observatory Network; HERMIONE, Hotspot Ecosystem Research & Man's Impact on European Seas; ICES, the International Council for Exploration of the Sea; TRACES, Trans-Atlantic Coral Ecosystem Study; PISCO, Partnership for Coral Ecosystem Study; PISCO, Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans; PICES, North Pacific Marine Science Organization.

Memorial University, the lead institution, is home to the CHONe Head Office and the Network Director, Dr. Paul Snelgrove.

Canadian Healthy Oceans NetworkEarth Sciences Building, Room ER6036Memorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, A1C 5S7

Tel: 709-864-6797 Fax: 709-864-6983Web: www.chone.ca

Photo Credits: Anna Metaxas, CSSF/ROPOS, Honorata Kaczmarek - Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, K. Raskoff; NOAA/V. Tunnicliffe; B. Bluhm.

Partners and Sponsorship