However, these types of data are currently unavailable for seagrass bed, offshore pelagic, and deep-sea ecosystems; thus, it is difficult to use this criterion for EBSA selection for these ecosystems. Even in references regarding this criterion [35], the application of this criterion in the deep sea was considered difficult in many cases. INK128 As a result, criterion 2 is difficult to be employed in most ecosystems because

of a lack of data. This occurred in the case study on EBSA selection on a wider Asian regional scale (Uchifune et al. under review). This criterion does not need to include quantitative data from across the entire ocean, considering the underlying concept that includes qualitative information regarding breeding areas that are already known.

However, basic data collection on habitat use by major mobile species in Asian waters during their life histories, such as use of spawning grounds, is insufficient. Fisheries statistics can be used as substitutes for stock data regarding the kelp community. Although the availability of fine-scale reliable data is limited, rough spatial resolution, such as regional analysis, is better to avoid conflict between conservation and fisheries in this case. Research on animal tracking by bio-logging to investigate the movement of marine organisms has recently been increasing [37]. Data sharing and gathering after initial publication are useful to when utilizing these types of data for selecting important sites with respect to the life history of certain species. This is criterion is defined as an “area containing habitat for the survival selleck products and recovery of endangered, threatened or declining species or area with significant assemblages of such species,” [5]. This criterion targets threatened, endangered, or declining species and their habitats for consideration. As discussed for criterion 1, the selection of endangered species depends on the individual study areas. If the research target is limited to certain areas (e.g., within the Japanese coast as in the present study), locally endangered species should be used even if they are still abundant in other regions worldwide. Doxacurium chloride The present

research program used the area and the species number of endangered species listed in the IUCN red list as well as the endangered species list of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. In the case of kelp forest ecosystems, the distributions of 5 kelp species listed in the Ministry of the Environment red list were used to rank the sites according to this criterion. For seagrass bed and coral reef ecosystems, both the Ministry of the Environment endangered species list and the IUCN red list can be used. However, these lists do not include any endangered species among offshore deep-sea chemosynthetic benthic organisms or oceanic plankters. Therefore, additional information on engendered species is required to apply this criterion.