The Saba Bank is a large submerged atoll off the coast of the island of Saba. It is the largest such atoll in the Atlantic Ocean, and the diversity of marine life found there is considered to be outstanding in the Caribbean region.
At present, an effort is being made to have the Saba Bank designated as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area. In order to demonstrate the Saba Bank’s “significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities”, scientific data was needed. And so open-access journal publishers Biodiversity of Saba Bank Collection:
we are pleased to announce that PLoS ONE has published the Biodiversity of Saba Bank Collection, a new collection of articles from an international collaboration of marine scientists who set out to characterize the richness, diversity and habitat of marine life on Saba Bank, the largest submarine atoll in the Atlantic Ocean.
This bank is adjacent to the nearby island of Saba, in the Netherlands Antilles. The submerged platform is vast, ~2200 sq km, with a 50 km fringing reef crest along the platform edge at an average depth of 25 m. Large vessels traveling to and from an oil terminal on nearby St. Eustatius Island routinely anchor on it, damaging ocean floor habitats. Marine biodiversity research was necessary to help inform any national and international protective measures.
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This previously poorly studied region of the Caribbean was found to have unusually high biodiversity, including several undescribed species. PLoS ONE is delighted to be able to bring this important work together in one freely accessible collection for the benefit of the Biodiversity community and others who are interested in this field.
Read more at the PLoS ONE community blog, and click here to see the articles included in the the Saba Bank Collection.
[Photo: Paul Cizek]
