Life in the oceans is extremely diverse. The oceans contain numerous organisms that are found nowhere else on Earth. Marine species range in size from microscopic plankton to blue whales, the largest animals on the planet. They also range in complexity from simple viruses to hexacorals and cephalopods. For these reasons, scientists cannot hope to understand the impact that humans have on the oceans without knowing what organisms live where and how they interact on a species level. The need for a greater understanding of marine ecosystems, of changes occurring in the sea and the implications on human life, and of the requirements for improved management of exploited living resources is one of the driving forces behind the Census of Marine Life.

The elements of the CoML are designed to assess and explain the diversity, distribution and abundance or organisms throughout the world’s oceans. The projects will provide data, information and methodology useful for enhancing our understanding of marine biodiversity, both historically and today, as well as a basis for predictions of biological diversity in the future. These elements are centered around the questions:

What did live in the oceans?
The History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP): the historical component of the CoML

What lives in the oceans now?
Ocean Realm Field Projects: to demonstrate the use of novel techniques or technologies that can be applied to future studies

What will live in the oceans?
The Future of Marine Animal Populations (FMAP): the modeling component of the CoML

Other Important Elements of CoML:

Data Management & Analytical Tools
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS): information component of the CoML

Technology
Scientific Comittee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Working Group on New Technologies for Observing Marine Life: advises CoML projects on technologies, with partial goal of moving recent technological advances into the field

Outreach & Education
CoML Outreach Network: brings comprehensible information about the CoML and marine biodiversity to the public

Known, Unknown & Unknowable
The CoML is sponsoring a series of workshops on the Known, Unknown & Unknowable (KUU) of Marine Biodiversity - Past, Present and Future to help define the context for the science

DNA Barcoding
Following the “Taxonomy and DNA” conference held March 9-12, 2003 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, CoML has also adopted a protocol for DNA Barcoding. This protocol is based on the Barcode of Life initiative.