Past Knowledge, Present Status and Future Threats: A Personal Reflection of the Status of Coastal Biology in China

Abstract

The science of marine biology in a region tends to evolve through three phases: a descriptive baseline phase, identifying species and their distribution; an ecological phase, describing species assemblages and interactions; and finally a community phase, to understand the functioning and hence sustainability of these systems. Traditionally, studies have focused on natural resources, and hence have often been nurtured from fisheries institutions. With time, the birth of academically-driven marine laboratories provided the catalysts for advancing marine biology, and became local hotspots of knowledge. For a variety of reasons, despite having one of the world’s longest coastlines and a heavy reliance on marine resources, China’s progression along this road has been irregular. China’s marine laboratories have maintained a traditional focus, and baseline knowledge of species distributions and interactions is patchy. This lack of primary knowledge, coupled with a strong emphasis on aquaculture and food security and exacerbated by ever increasing urban development, is quickly impacting marine biodiversity along China’s coast. This impact is largely insidious, as the lack of a baseline with which to compare present day systems creates false impressions of biodiversity richness. As a result, China is probably losing more of its marine biodiversity before it has a chance to describe it, but ironically will probably not even realise this. Fundamental information is, therefore, urgently needed to establish national databases and species distribution patterns to document present day biodiversity and, more importantly, to create the framework to empower effective future management of China’s coastal marine systems.