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Marine biodiversity – Vital Essence of Our Oceans: > Life on Earth is inextricably linked to the ocean. It covers around 71 per cent of the Earth's surface and is the largest habitat on our planet. So far, we only know bits and pieces about its biodiversity. However, it is essential for the well-being of humanity. The healthier and more diverse marine life is, the better it is for humans and nature. But what species live in the sea, and what environmental factors determine their distribution or the size of their habitat? Why is the ocean's biodiversity declining, and how can it be successfully protected? Answers to these and many other questions about marine life can be found in the new edition of the World Ocean Review.

Life in the ocean – species richness that counts

> As a habitat, the ocean exceeds all dimensions. No other habitat on the planet is as vast, diverse and unexplored as the global ocean. The variety of shapes and colours displayed by marine life is unparalleled. Measuring, understanding and, above all, conserving and enhancing this diversity is a major challenge in an era of climate change and natural resource overexploitation.

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The distribution of life in the ocean

> Finding answers to the question as to why marine organisms occur in their ancestral habitats and not elsewhere is a major challenge for science. The factors and mechanisms that determine the distribution of species in the ocean are not yet fully understood or documented. For marine animals, water temperature, food supply and interactions with other species are particularly important. But there are other factors at play that need to be considered.

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What marine nature and marine life mean to us

> Marine biological communities are a part of nature, to which people assign very different values. Depending on where we were born, the culture we grew up in and how close we live to or with the oceans, we assign different meanings to marine life. Different perspectives result in disparate approaches to nature, which explains why successes in marine protection up to now are few and far between.

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Pressure from all sides

> Marine wilderness that is untouched by humans is almost a thing of the past. Be it underneath the Antarctic ice shelves or in remote deep-sea trenches, traces of human activity can be found everywhere, in the form of noise, plastic particles or rising water temperatures. What makes this so fatal is that humanity’s demands on ocean resources are increasing while the number of stressors threatening marine life is rising in tandem.

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Newcomers on board

> The immigration and spread of non-indigenous species is one of the drivers of species turnover. In many parts of the global ocean, newcomers have already altered established biological communities by preying on keystone species, displacing native species, or introducing diseases. But not everything is black and white. In the Wadden Sea of the south-eastern North Sea, newcomers and long-established species live in mutually beneficial coexistence.

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Scenarios conducive to rebuilding marine life

> Although many marine habitats are severely overexploited and degraded, experts are convinced that it is possible to rebuild marine flora and fauna by 2050. Their optimism rests on the many minor successes achieved in marine conservation and the lessons learned from them. However, a genuine comeback of marine ecosystems will only be within reach if the international community takes resolute action and human interventions in the ocean do much less damage in future.

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When marine sanctuaries benefit biodiversity

> Marine protected areas (MPAs) are regarded as a key tool in combating overexploita tion and species extinction in the oceans. Their purpose is to protect marine organisms and their habitats by prohibiting or regulating certain human activities. Their number has increased significantly in recent years, and yet in many places, success remains elusive, for all too often, the planned conser vation measures are implemented and monitored halfheartedly or not at all.

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A new start for marine management

> Who is permitted to use the ocean, and how? This is determined by a diverse array of players and just as many rules, laws and agreements. So far, however, states have failed to curb the overexploitation of the marine environment and halt species decline. New governance principles and the UN High Seas Treaty help preserve and protect the remaining life in the ocean and its diversity. To suc- ceed, however, the countless commitments must be followed by action.

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