Publication and application of marine biological information

Abstract

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) built the database, Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL), to integrate and publish biodiversity information collected by JAMSTEC. Among the information handled on BISMaL, occurrence records of marine organisms has been compiled to Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) to share marine biodiversity information internationally and has been used for researches in related fields. However, the information about the Japanese species and deep-sea taxa are still insufficient. Therefore, JAMSTEC started to provide the data to OBIS via BISMaL. Furthermore, a new framework, the Japan Regional OBIS Node, to collect data of marine species around Japan was launched, and the data publication through BISMaL was started. These efforts will be further progressed and contribute to marine biodiversity studies around Japan.