A scientific basis for conservation of marine biodiversity

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Marine biodiversity has emerged as a hot topic in ecology over the last five years, in part because of concern over biodiversity loss and deterioration of ocean function. Nonetheless, there is currently little scientific basis for marine conservation in cold ocean environments and decisions regarding prioritization are typically made based on static measures rather than on processes. Thus, there is often greater concern for charismatic or economically valuable species and habitats rather then establishing an understanding of processes that underlie persistence of populations, communities, and habitats while developing objective predictive tools that can assist scientists and managers in protecting and managing marine biodiversity. I propose to utilize new technologies - specifically ocean observatories and manipulative laboratory and field experiments - to improve our understanding of key sources of new recruits, the role of habitats needed for some species to flourish, and to establish approaches that will allow us to extrapolate from individual measurements to broader understanding of factors that contribute to health of seafloor environments. Experimental work in field and laboratory settings will examine larval transport and settlement processes and how these variables contribute to population structure and patterns of biodiversity, why some environments are hotspots of biodiversity where others are not, and how living organisms interact with their environment to maintain ocean health and production.