New database of all marine species biological and traits

Abstract

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is being expanded to include species biological and ecological traits, and their socio-economic status. In contrast to traits, a species status may vary in place and time. However, a species status is of great importance to society and thus species of conservation concern, introduced, fishery or aquaculture resource, harmful, or used as an ecological indicator, are so noted in the database. WoRMS is a complete inventory of named marine species, managed by over 200 experts, and contains additional information and links on many species. We prioritised inclusion of traits where they could be applied to most taxa, were easily available, and their inclusion would result in new research and/or management applications. Numerical traits were favoured over categorical. The top ten prioritized were taxonomic classification, environment, geography, depth, substratum, mobility, skeleton, diet, body size and reproduction. Habitat can be derived from a selection of these traits. New use-cases may further subdivide and expand upon these traits. Each new attribute (trait or status) multiplies the number of analyses possible from the database. Contributions and enquiries are welcomed.