Marine scientists are increasingly faced with demands to provide data that will permit wise management of ocean systems. The desire for multiple---and apparently conflicting---uses of the same system, the same body of water, continues to expand at an alarming rate. A sound, a bay, a coral reef are perceived by some as the source of food, recreation, and tourism, and by others as sites for waste disposal, urbanization, and industrialization. There is also increasing realization of the vulnerability of the oceans to human perturbation. Thus, because the ``edge'' beyond which system collapse may occur is unknown, so too is knowledge of current proximity to this edge.
These demands require an improved understanding of marine biodiversity, and how this diversity regulates the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. Future research, building upon and expanding well beyond the topics described herein, should provide the basic information needed for marine policy decisions that address the environmental issues threatening to irrevocably change life in the seas.
Acknowledgments. We are most grateful to the participants of the workshop for sharing so freely their ideas and insights. We especially thank R.S. Alberte, B.W. Bowen, S.W. Chisholm, E.F. DeLong, N. Knowlton, S.R. Palumbi and C.R. Smith. We also thank the contributors to Table 1 for allowing use of their unpublished data. P.R. Taylor of the NSF initially blew on the sparks of interest in a national marine biodiversity initiative and we appreciate his continuing commitment to fuel the fire. This work was supported by the NSF (OCE-9310957 to C.A.B.), NOAA/Sea Grant (R/ES-6 to J.T.C) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (J.T.C.). This is contribution number 8769 from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.