Ocean biodiversity: Depths of ignorance
A rash of projects probing everything from life under the Arctic ice to the global movements of marine mammals is providing the information that conservationists badly need. It is now clear that hotspots do exist even out in the open ocean. However, these are not quite like their counterparts on land. For a start, they do not necessarily stay in the same place. Places with the highest biodiversity may not be the best habitats for the species that live there. Meanwhile, some seemingly inhospitable areas turn out to be thronging with life.