Unlocking the Treasures of the Deep

1. Unlocking the Treasures of the Deep ‘semper aliquid novi Africam adferre’Africa is always producing some novelty. Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) Copied from Aristotle Digitization of South African Museum’s Marine Biology Data Wayne K. Florence Curator: Marine invertebrate Collections, Iziko Museums

2. 12 914 species (Griffths et al 2010) 3rd highest spp richness/area – CoML (Costello et al 2010) 28% spp endemic to South Africa. What do we know aboutSA Marine Biodiversity? • Knowledge largely incomplete, outdated and fragmented • Commercial bias • Capacity Shortages

4. Great ExpeditionsChallenger Expeditions1800’s

5. The Inventory of SpeciesResearch and Collections

6. History of the Marine Biology Collections Early European researchers habitually sent their material overseas so, although the collection became established in 1896, there were only occasional accessions before that date. Some special collections include: 6

7. South African Museum’s Meiring Naude cruises – 1970’s

8. DEA/DAFF – Annual Surveys

9. Prep and Taxonomy

10. Holdings • Total Specimens in Collection - at least 151 324 specimens of marine invertebrates, fishes and marine mammals • 77 292 Catalogued

11. Digitisation • Muse – Specify 3 – Access – Specify 6 • AfrOBIS (57 095): • Crustaceans – 13 127 • Molluscs - 6078 • Fishes -15048 • Marine Mammals - 1184 • SABIF (10 984): • Porifera, Cnidaria, Bryozoa, Annelida (Polychaeta), Echinodermata and other mixed invertebrates (ie., Dinoflagellata, Foraminifera, Helminth worms and Nemertea, Annelida, Brachiopoda, Pycnogonida and Ascidiacea)

12. Iziko MB Digital records Specify Records – 77 292 • Marine Invertebrates – 55 968 (45% Georeferenced & 1493 types) • Fishes – 19 826 (45% Georeferenced & 408 types) • Marine Mammals – 900 Cetacea and 598 Pinnipedia

14. SA Marine Bioregions South Africa’s nine marine bioregions (taken from Lombard et al. 2004)

15. Way Forward Marine Biodiversity Sector Improved coordination between institutions, including museums, fisheries institutes, government and intergovernmental agencies, and universities • formally agree on key gaps in knowledge, • appoint staff to fill gaps strategically and create positions, • facilitate graduate training to address gaps, and specifically to cope with the progressive loss of taxonomic expertise, • host workshops (including field studies) and symposia to generate team-building and a sense of urgency and momentum amongst participants to address gaps, • support low-cost, open-access publication of knowledge through e-journals and authoritative online species information systems (including digital species identification guides), • develop new technologies for ocean exploration, knowledge discovery, data management and dissemination of results, and • encourage international collaboration between countries to facilitate field work, strategically build specimen collections, and publish data and knowledge online. Major gaps in basic knowledge of marine biodiversity, taxonomically and geographically remain and therefore science and society would thus benefit from investing in discovery

16. Acknowledgements