ESPOBIS

The Humboldt Current System is one the largest and most productive upwelling ecosystems of the world ocean, also known as one of the four major Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUS). This EBUS extends from the mid-high austral latitude (ca. 40°S) in the south of Chile towards near the Equatorial region off Ecuador (5 °S). The whole EBUS, along with the Austral fjord region off Chile (55°-40°S) dominated by the Cape Horn Current, sustain strong fisheries mostly based on small and large pelagic fishes. This large marine ecosystems has also a significant role in modulating regional climate with implication for global climate variability. In this large marine ecosystem, ESPOBIS was launched in 2008 as to contribute to the worldwide initiative of the OBIS international program having as a fundamental mission the search, compilation and integration of marine diversity from all the areas comprising the region with focuses on the coastal system, oceanic areas and deep ocean communities. The RON ESPOBIS is currently run and hosted at Universidad de Concepción, Chile, as sponsored and managed by the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO).