30/07/2005 - The Australian
Antarctic Division (AAD) will lead a census
of Antarctic marine life as a major contribution
to the International Polar Year in the summer
of 2007-08, thanks to a generous grant from
the Alfred P Sloan Foundation.
Australian Minister for the Environment and
Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, has welcomed
the grant from the New York-based Sloan Foundation,
which today announced it would contribute
a grant of US$525,000 ($A695,000) for the
AAD to lead the historic census of the Southern
Ocean's marine life.
Senator Campbell said the project was a mammoth
task involving the major nations in Antarctic
research.
"The Census of Antarctic Marine Life
is an ambitious project, involving 20-30 nations,
up to 15 research ships and between 100 and
200 research scientists worldwide. The generous
grant from the Sloan Foundation enables scientific
coordination and planning activities to occur,
as well as facilitate coordinated sample storage
and data management," Senator Campbell
said.
"The Southern Ocean is a vast expanse
of water, greater than any other on earth.
Conducting a census of what lives within it,
and under its ice shelves, is an important
undertaking. The census is expected to reveal
many species new to science that will teach
us much about how the Southern Ocean ecosystem
is structured.
"The census will give a snapshot in
time of the abundance of whales, seals, penguins
and many other forms of wildlife.
"Since top predators are so dependent
on the myriad of small creatures in the ocean
the census will provide us with additional
knowledge about ecosystem linkages.
"Australia has a long and continuing
record of research in Antarctica and the Southern
Ocean, contributing to an ever expanding base
of global knowledge on Antarctic ecosystems.
"A concerted research effort like this
is a real shot in the arm for our knowledge
of the Southern Ocean as to what can be achieved
through intensive international cooperation,"
he said.
The Alfred P Sloan Foundation is currently
funding scientific coordination activities
for a ten-year Census of Marine Life, which
will produce a report in 2010 on the health
of Earth's oceans. The Census of Antarctic
Marine Life is one of 14 field projects being
supported by the foundation.
The Alfred P Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic,
nonprofit institution established in 1934
by Alfred P. Sloan Jr, the then President
and CEO of the General Motors Corporation.
Sloan was later elected Chairman of the Board
of General Motors and on his retirement was
made honorary chairman, a title he retained
until his death in 1966. For many years he
devoted a large share of his time and energy
to philanthropic activities, both as a private
donor to many causes and organizations and
through the Alfred P Sloan Foundation.
