Physical Materials
The Physical Nature of Marine Organisms
Many, if not most, organisms exist both within and beyond national jurisdiction. Creatures in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) swim or drift across borders, which could present issues for identifying where the organism originated. Another matter to consider is the vast differences in physicality of marine organisms. There is a marked difference in physicality among marine genetic resources (MGRs), from the familiar expansive coral reefs and larger charismatic sea turtles (Figures 1A and 1B respectively) to the very unusual mouthless gutless deep sea tubeworms that feed off of toxic chemicals to the flabby-bodied deep sea fishes that hardly swim (Figures 1C and 1D respectively).
Figure 1: 1A is a Coral reef © Petr Kratochvil; 1B is a sea turtle © Wkipedia Commons; 1C are deep sea vent tubeworms © Peter Girguis; 1D is a deep sea goosefish © Ian McDonald.
Microorganisms are also ubiquitous throughout the world ocean, and make up about 60% of the biomass in the ocean, with an estimated 1028 cells. Despite being invisible to the human eye, these organisms (collectively known as the ocean’s microbiome) are responsible for the health and wellbeing of our ocean. Photosynthetic microbes in the ocean contribute 50% of the oxygen we breathe, provide the food for all larger organisms, recycle nutrients and waste, and keep our planet habitable by performing many other essential functions.
It is important to keep in mind the vast differences between microorganisms and larger marine life, since the BBNJ Treaty does not differentiate the size or the characteristics of the organisms, and all are considered MGRs. For example, one milliliter (or approximately a teaspoon) may contain millions of microorganisms, many of which we know little about. Moreover, nearly every animal in the ocean has its own microbiome, which means that each animal collected is itself an assemblage of organisms. Many completely new species, both microbes and animals, are discovered during many collection activities in ABNJ, and these new species take years to describe. Finally, the very concept of species (established by Carl Linneaus in the 18th century) does not easily translate to microorganisms, and our understanding of marine microbial diversity is still in its infancy (Murray et. al. 2020). Such aspects create significant difficulties for microbiologists to identify and catalog microorganisms in the same manner as animals.
Figure 2: Illustration of the ocean microbiome’s influence on ocean health and ecosystems. © Chris Bowler, Tabea Rauscher, and Rayne Zaayan-Gallant.
