Preliminary characterization of the benthic biodiversity in the Madeira – Tore complex through the project BIOMETORE
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1
IPMA, IP - Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute I.P., Department of Sea and Marine Resources, Portugal
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2
Institute of Marine Research, Research Group Benthic Habitat, Norway
Nowadays there is a demand to study deep-sea benthic communities due to the need to implement new European legislations and establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Recently, seamounts have increasingly been under study because of their particular ecosystem features. In the last years many have been designated (or are in the process of becoming) as MPA, such as, the Le Danois Bank, the Galicia Bank and the Gorringe Bank in the North Atlantic Ocean. Seamounts are prominent seafloor geological features present throughout the oceans. Current regimes, high depth gradients and diverse hard substrates provide appropriate conditions for the occurrence of distinctive and diverse benthic communities, some including rare and/or vulnerable species of high ecological value. Moreover, the benthic fauna is an important food source for higher trophic levels, and is usually used as biological indicators to assess ecosystem health. Recent studies have revealed that seamounts may hold high endemicity, probably due to the geographical isolation and specific hydrographic and topographic conditions. However, the biodiversity of seamounts is still little known, which has highlighted the need to improve knowledge of these environments in order to provide management support. In this context, the project BIOMETORE - Biodiversity in seamounts: the Madeira – Tore and Great Meteor, will contribute to improve knowledge on biodiversity in two of the most important seamount complexes in Portuguese waters, which Portugal intends to designate as new MPA of large dimensions delimited in deep oceanic areas, under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive implementation. In the current study, three seamounts of the Madeira – Tore complex were selected in order to characterize and map the benthic biodiversity: Gorringe bank, Josephine and Seine (Figure 1). A benthic sampling survey will be carried out in these areas, aiming at obtaining physical, chemical and biological data. Substrate types distribution will be initially obtained from multibeam echosounder through bathymetry and backscatter data. Video recording will be performed with the video platform CAMPOD to document substrate types, fauna, litter and evidence of fishing operations on the seafloor. Abiotic and biotic samples will be collected with a rock dredge in rocky substrates and with a box-corer or grab in mobile substrates. Through integrative analyses we expect to provide new relevant information about these ecosystems and emphasize the need to further promote studies that may contribute to afford solid baseline knowledge to support the management and sustainable use of these less accessible environments.
Acknowledgements
The study was funded by EEA Grants as part of the project BIOMETORE - Biodiversity in seamounts: the Madeira-Tore and Great Meteor (PT02_Aviso2_001).
Keywords:
Benthos,
Gorringe bank,
Josephine,
North east atlantic,
Portugal,
seamounts,
Seine
Conference:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
1. ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND VULNERABLE ECOSYSTEMS
Citation:
Lobo
J,
García-Alegre
A,
Guerra
MT,
Buhl-Mortensen
L,
Buhl-Mortensen
P and
Henriques
V
(2016). Preliminary characterization of the benthic biodiversity in the Madeira – Tore complex through the project BIOMETORE.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00143
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Received:
30 Apr 2016;
Published Online:
03 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Mr. Jorge Lobo, IPMA, IP - Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute I.P., Department of Sea and Marine Resources, Lisboa, 1495-006, Portugal, j.loboarteaga@gmail.com