New marine life database touted as tool for ocean research

Biologists have launched a database of marine animals’ body sizes that they say could help preserve biodiversity in Earth’s oceans.

Why bother measuring animals’ body size? In an article in Global Ecology and Biogeography, researchers write that body size affects animals in a multitude of ways, from their behavior and favorite foods to their physiology and habitat choices.

Despite the existence of other body-size databases and the relative ease of measuring an animal’s size, the researchers write, there was not an extensive body-size database for marine animals – until now.

In the article, the researchers introduce the Marine Organismal Body Size Database . The database reports the maximum size of 85,204 marine species contained in the World Register of Marine Species, a comprehensive list of known sea-dwelling species.

So far, the data covers about 40% of marine species, the researchers say. But it already reflects the diversity of marine animals, ranging from tiny sea worms and plankton to mollusks, fish and whales.

The database is fueling research, they write, including an analysis that suggests data collection has been biased toward larger marine species – over smaller ones – until recent years.

“Put simply, biologists have tended to focus on bigger organisms,” said Tom Webb, a senior lecturer in biosciences at the University of Sheffield and a study co-author, in a news release. “And as a result, a lot of our understanding of how marine food webs and ecosystems work is based on knowledge of these larger species. But we also know that small-bodied species are really important: they constitute the majority of biodiversity, and are likely to fulfil unique and important functions within their ecological communities.”

More entries in the database mean more accurate assessments of marine biodiversity, Webb says. The researchers conclude that the study will make deeper marine biodiversity investigations possible while acting as a tool for conservationists who consider body size in their efforts.