The NaGISA Project is a Census of Marine Life field project with 8 regional offices and currently over 128 sampling sites along the near shores of 51 countries. Using global standards to answer local questions NaGISA members (researchers, managers and students) are producing the worlds first near shore habitat specific global census.

Project Goals

NaGISA is set to complete a habitat specific, qualitative survey of the worlds ocean shores. The protocols used are simple, cost efficient and low-tech so that they can be adopted by research groups around the world. NaGISA`s primary goal is a series of globaly well-distributed standard transects from the high inter-tidal zone to a depth of 20m, which can be repeated over a 50-year or greater time frame.

Specific scientific goals: To elucidate the scale (s) of variability while creating the first global baseline of coastal biodiversity.

Long-term aspirations: To increase coastal community marine awareness and improve the state of benthic taxonomy.

Project History

NaGISA joined the Census of Marine Life (CoML) in 2002. As the Census` s first global field project NaGISA has developed the role of international marine ambassador, linking CoML goals (ocean discovery, scientific advancement) and local interests (conservation, invasive species) while encouraging international cooperation and capacity building.

The international headquarters of NaGISA are in Kyoto Japan and regional centers are Shirahama Japan, Mombassa Kenya, Fairbanks USA, Pisa Italy, Caracas Venezuela and  St. Andrews Canada.

Project Specifics

The two target habitats focused on by NaGISA are rocky bottom algal and soft bottom sea-grass communities, chosen for their global distribution, community complexity and the poor state of current knowledge. For each study site, replicate samples are collected at high, mid and low inter-tidal levels, and at 1, 5 and 10m sub-tidal depth (where possible also at 15 and 20m). The NaGISA protocol constitutes the minimum standardized sampling requirements for biodiversity determination, although scientists are welcome to incorporate additional sampling parameters at local sites. The standardized protocol includes: (1) Passive sampling, consisting of photography and observational techniques, estimates of percent cover of colonial invertebrates and rhizoidal macro algae, and counts of algal stripes and solitary fauna within quadrats. (2) Active sampling, using core samples of sea grass beds, and careful removal of organisms from small quadrats within macro-algal sites. (3) Assessment, measurements of surface and bottom seawater temperature and a visual classification of substrata. Data collected through the NaGISA project is incorporated in the Census` Ocean Biogeography Information System (OBIS), an online global atlas for accessing, modeling and mapping marine biological data in a multidimensional geographic context.

The Reasoning Behind the Project

Biodiversity can be used as a measure of ecosystem health and of biological interactions such as competition, disturbance, facilitation, predation, recruitment, and the productivity of a system. On a larger scale, biodiversity measurements can serve as indicators of the balance between speciation and extinction. Inventorying and monitoring biodiversity are crucial tasks for identifying and clarifying activities that impact ecosystems. NaGISA will provide baseline data for long-term monitoring, as well as information needed to answer fundamental questions concerning changes in biodiversity with latitude and longitude. The great strength of NaGISA is the meeting of CoML goals of global biodiversity coverage by locally vested interests around the world, while creating a standardized data matrix suitable for testing a wide range of ecological theories and solving practical problems.

No other project has ever dealt with biodiversity information with such fine resolution on such a wide scale. Because of the large international and geographic scope of the program, NaGISA researchers have proposed the development of new methods for the taxonomic study of meiofauna using flow-cytometry techniques, gel suspension and holographic imaging. By improving modern methods of taxonomic study, a more thorough and accurate characterization of biodiversity may be achieved.

• NaGISA is a collaborative effort aimed at inventorying and monitoring costal biodiversity, interested parties are encouraged to Contact Us. 
• The Japanese word nagisa, refers to the narrow coastal zone where the land meets the sea; the area people know best and impact most and hence where their is a lot of interest Collaborators & Supporters.