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1. Why the Name NaGISA‎

   There are two reasons.

   1) NaGISA is the Acronym for Natural Geography In Shore Areas.

   2) Nagisa is the Japanese word for the area where the ocean meets the shore. Some times translated as coast or beach the word nagisa refers to the whole ecosystem. The NaGISA project is attempting to get a complete picture of the coastal area from 0 to 20m depth and so the word nagisa fits perfectly.

2. What are NaGISA's objectives‎

   NaGISA plans to inventory and monitor the biodiversity in the narrow inshore zone of the world’s oceans at depths of less than 20m.

   This means that LOTS of different countries will be involved so far the list includes institutes in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Russia. See the map of current locations here.

3. How will NaGISA reach its Goals‎

   With a lot of help from a lot of people but the process will go something like this:

   1) Sampling in the field:

   

   For each study site, replicate samples will be collected at each designated height (high, mid and low inter-tidal and 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20m sub-tidal depths). The NaGISA protocol is standardized and includes assessment as well as passive and active sampling. Some of the techniques used are one that allow an estimate of percent cover within quadrates, careful removal of organisms from small quadrants, measurements of surface and bottom seawater temperature and a visual classification of substrata.

   2) Sorting the organisms:

   

   This is a time consuming process that requires skill and knowledge of taxonomy. The organisms must be separated from the sediment, identified and classifed into taxonomic groups and stored separately according to each taxon.

   3) Entering the data:

   In order to make conclusions about what lives where and in what quantity we must put all the information on each specimen that we find in to a database. Along with all the scientific information the database will register each specimen along with where and when it was found, by who and where it was stored so that we can go back and look at it later.

4. Why now‎

   

   2001-2002 was the International Year of Biodiversity Observation. At that time four important questions were put forward: 1) What biodiversity do we have and where is it? 2) How is biodiversity changing‎ 3)What goods and services does biodiversity provide‎ 4) How can we conserve biodiversity‎

   At the same time the Census Of Maine Life was just beginning its attempt to explain the diversity and distribution and abundance of life in the world`s oceans.

   

   Scientists who belonged to both groups thought that the mutual goals could be reached by a project on the diversity of the coastal zone with the participation of local researchers and hence the birth of NaGISA.

5. What is so important about NaGISA‎

   We are facing major changes in our near shore areas (global warming is just part of the whole story). We are all slowly realizing that the water is lapping at our door, and yet we do not known what is in it. With all the interest in invasive species and change it is very important to know what is actually supposed to be there!

6. What does NaGISA offer me‎

   We can`t all afford to join a space mission but we can take a bucket and a book to the beach and get lost in the last frontier, where the giant squid stands guard over mountains stretching further than the Himalayas. NaGISA offers everyone from school students to researchers an opportunity to learn what makes up our coastal ecosytem.

7. What is meiobenthos‎

   Meio implies microscopic and Benthos refers to the animals and plants that live on the bottom of the ocean.

   Meiobenthos is a very important part of coastal ecosystem often being responsible for the cycling of nutrients. These important players are often over looked because of there small size but they must documented and recorded along with all the other animals and plants to get a complete picture of the near shore.

   The picture below was taken while looking down a microscope at the meiobenthos found in a handful of sediment from the near shore.