NaGISA
Encyclopedia
NaGISA is an international collaborative effort aimed at inventorying, cataloguing, and monitoring biodiversity
of the in-shore area. So named for the Japanese word "nagisa" ("where the land meets the sea"), it is an Apronym. NaGISA is the first project of the larger CoML effort (Census of Marine Life
) to have global participation in actual field work. The actual procedures of this project involve inexpensive collection equipment (for easy universal participation). This equipment is used to photograph sampling sites, to actually take samples from the sites, and to process these samples. At each site throughout the world, samples are taken from the intertidal zone
out to a depth of 10 meters (and optionally out to 20 meters depth). These samples are then processed (the organisms are isolated) and then analyzed and catalogued. The information (regarding the kind and number of organisms analyzed) is sent to the global headquarters of NaGISA- the University of Kyoto in Japan. All of this information is then collated on the Ocean Biogeographic Information System
(OBIS website). The end goal of the larger CoML effort is to find what was, what is, and what will be in the world's oceans. For NaGISA the goal is to find this in the world's in-shore areas.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
of the in-shore area. So named for the Japanese word "nagisa" ("where the land meets the sea"), it is an Apronym. NaGISA is the first project of the larger CoML effort (Census of Marine Life
Census of Marine Life
The Census of Marine Life was a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans...
) to have global participation in actual field work. The actual procedures of this project involve inexpensive collection equipment (for easy universal participation). This equipment is used to photograph sampling sites, to actually take samples from the sites, and to process these samples. At each site throughout the world, samples are taken from the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
out to a depth of 10 meters (and optionally out to 20 meters depth). These samples are then processed (the organisms are isolated) and then analyzed and catalogued. The information (regarding the kind and number of organisms analyzed) is sent to the global headquarters of NaGISA- the University of Kyoto in Japan. All of this information is then collated on the Ocean Biogeographic Information System
Ocean Biogeographic Information System
The Ocean Biogeographic Information System is a web-based access point to information about the distribution and abundance of living species in the ocean.-History:...
(OBIS website). The end goal of the larger CoML effort is to find what was, what is, and what will be in the world's oceans. For NaGISA the goal is to find this in the world's in-shore areas.