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MapGES 2019

Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores

MapGES 2019

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Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores

Location: Southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Faial (Azores EEZ)

Year: 2019

158 stations

155 dives

3070 km transits

8 areas visited

AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH

Summary

Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores

The MapGES 2019 cruise spanned a total of 21 effective days of work at sea, in which 8 different areas were explored with the Azor drift-cam system. A total of 155 deployments were made throughout the whole cruise, which add up to more than 109 hours of bottom time. The number of dives performed in each area was based on the size of the seamounts to be explored, the meteorological conditions and the ecological significance of the communities found. Overall, more than 80 linear km of seabed were investigated, ranging from 6 km explored in Capelinhos to more than 16 km in the Cavala, Beta, Ferradura and A6 seamount complex. The average dive length was 550 m, with 16 dives covering more than 1 linear km of seabed. Such long dives provide an idea of the great capacity of the drift-cam system to easily explore deep-sea areas when sea conditions are favourable. The system got caught a total of 7 times in fishing lines throughout the cruise but came back to the surface in perfect conditions in all cases.

MapGES 2019 aimed to continue testing the improved version of the low-cost, custom-made drift-cam video system designed and developed at IMAR and Okeanos University of the Azores. The video system, named the Azor drift-cam, was equipped with one 4K resolution action camera that records high-quality images of the benthic ecosystem of the Azores deep-sea. It also has low-cost sensors that provide depth and temperature records every second. The new egg-shaped design facilitates the disentanglement from lost fishing gears once the drift-cam system gets caught, although their presence still limits the possibility of safely exploring seamounts that are heavily fished. From a scientific perspective, the cruise aimed to characterize the megabenthic communities dwelling between 200 and 750 m depth in areas of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and small seamounts close to the islands of Faial and Pico.

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Statistics

Transits
3070 km
Multibeam Bathymetry
0 km²
Filmed Seabed
80 km
Visited Areas
8
Stations
158
Dives
155
Video Footage Recorded
109 hours
Used Storage
7.16 Tb
Samples
0
— No information available at this moment

Highlights

  1. We successfully tested the new design of the Azor drift-cam system developed at IMAR and Okeanos, University of the Azores.
  2. We explored over 80 km of seabed down to 750 m depth in 8 different areas for which little or no information of its benthic communities was available
  3. The seamounts explored along the MAR host diverse benthic ecosystems with several structurally complex benthic communities identified. In most cases, the communities were dominated by octocoral species or large sponges. Some of the areas explored may fit the FAO definition of what constitutes a VME.
  4. In the slopes of Faial island, close to Capelinhos volcano, we discovered a large aggregation of the endemic hydrocoral Errina dabneyi in association with other octocoral species, between 300 and 450 m depth.
  5. We discovered new sites that host diverse coral gardens and sponge grounds and collected new data on the distribution of VMEs in the seamounts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Azores island slopes.
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Location of operation

Southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Faial (Azores EEZ)

AZORES DEEP-SEA RESEARCH © CRUISES

Stations

MapGES 2019

Leg Period Days at sea Vessel Departure Return
1 23/07/2019 - 03/08/2019 12 RV Arquipélago Horta Horta
2 12/08/2019 - 24/08/2019 13 RV Arquipélago Horta Horta
3 26/08/2019 - 03/09/2019 9 RV Arquipélago Horta Horta
4 15/11/2019 - 16/11/2019 2 FV Tatiana Horta Horta
5 18/7/2019 - 19/72/019 728505 FV Garantia Horta Horta

A total of 728541 days at sea

Activities

Video survey (Azor drift-cam)
MapGES 2019: Summer 2019 cruise on board of N/I Arquipélago
Zenodo
|
Mar, 2020
Telmo Morato
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió
Sérgio Gomes
Gerald H. Taranto
Manuela Ramos
Laurence Fauconnet
Marina Carreiro‐Silva
7 team members are authors
OA Citations 1 DOI 10.5281/zenodo.3727570
Authors 10.5281/zenodo.3727570
Telmo Morato
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió
Sérgio Gomes
Gerald H. Taranto Jordi Blasco
Manuela Ramos
Laurence Fauconnet Cristina G. Zárate
Marina Carreiro‐Silva
Related cruises (1)
MapGES 2019 Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores
Abstract
Objective: to explore seamounts of the Azorean archipelago to better understand the distribution patterns of VMEs and commercial fish species. A special interest was placed in exploring deep-sea areas along the Mid Atlantic Ridge and close to islands of the central group. The device used in this survey corresponds to the low-cost drift-cam video platform designed and developed at IMAR. Vessel: N/I Arquipélago Chief scientist: Telmo Morato Scientific team: Telmo Morato, Carlos Dominguez-Carrió, Sérgio Gomes, Gerald H. Taranto, Jordi Blasco, Manuela Ramos, Laurence Fauconnet, Cristina G. Zárate, Marina Carreiro-Silva Main achievements: Successfully tested the new design of the low-cost drift-cam system developed at IMAR Exploration of over 80 km of seabed down to 750 m depth in 8 different areas for which little or no information of its benthic communities was available Discovery of new sites that host diverse coral gardens and sponge grounds that were unknown to science New data on the distribution of VMEs in the seamounts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
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Spatial distributions, environmental drivers and co-existence patterns of key cold-water corals in the deep sea of the Azores (NE Atlantic)
Deep Sea Research Part I Oceanographic Research Papers
|
Mar, 2023
Gerald H. Taranto
José Manuel González‐Irusta
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió
Manuela Ramos
Guilherme Gonçalves
Marina Carreiro‐Silva
Telmo Morato
7 team members are authors
OA Citations 20 DOI 10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104028
Authors 10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104028
Gerald H. Taranto
José Manuel González‐Irusta
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió Christopher K. Pham Fernando Tempera
Manuela Ramos
Guilherme Gonçalves
Marina Carreiro‐Silva
Telmo Morato
Related projects (2)
ATLAS A transatlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 MapGES Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores: assisting with the implementation of EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER)
Related cruises (7)
BIOMETORE 2015 BIOMETORE 2015 to the Great Meteor Complex seamounts Blue Azores 2018 Blue Azores Program: Expedition 2018 iMAR 2021 Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Azores region MapGES 2018 Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores MapGES 2019 Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores NICO Leg 12 2018 RV Pelagia cruise 64PE441: Rainbow hydrothermal vent, southern MAR, and Terceira 2018 Rainbow 2019 RV Pelagia cruise 64PE454: Rainbow hydrothermal vent and southern MAR 2019
A cost‐effective video system for a rapid appraisal of deep‐sea benthic habitats: The Azor drift‐cam
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
|
Apr, 2021
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió
Telmo Morato
2 team members are authors
OA Citations 38 DOI 10.1111/2041-210x.13617
Authors 10.1111/2041-210x.13617
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió Jorge Fontes
Telmo Morato
Related projects (6)
ATLAS A transatlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Blue Azores Blue Paper Cooperation protocol Funded by Fundação Oceano Azul DeepWalls Exploring pristine deep-sea walls to establish baselines for Good Environmental Status in the Azores Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER) iAtlantic Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 MapGES Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores: assisting with the implementation of EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER) MERCES Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020
Related cruises (2)
MapGES 2018 Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores MapGES 2019 Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores
Abstract
Abstract Deep‐sea exploration relies on cutting‐edge technology, which generally requires expensive instruments, highly specialized technicians and ship time. The increasing need to gather large‐scale data on the distribution and conservation status of deep‐sea benthic species and habitats could benefit from the availability of low‐cost imaging tools to facilitate the access to the deep sea world‐wide. Here we describe the Azor drift‐cam, a cost‐effective video platform designed to conduct rapid appraisals of deep‐sea benthic habitats. Built with off‐the‐shelf components, the Azor drift‐cam should be regarded as an effective, affordable, simple‐to‐assemble, easy‐to‐operate, resilient, operational and reliable tool to visually explore the deep sea to 1,000 m depth. Its performance was assessed during the MapGES_2019 cruise, where 135 successful dives between 100 and 800 m depth were carried out in 22 working days, providing over 100 hr of images for almost 80 km of seabed, mostly in areas that had never been explored before. The system does not aim to become a substitute for more sophisticated underwater video and photography platforms, such as ROVs, AUVs or manned submersibles. Rather, it aims to provide the means to perform quick assessments of deep‐sea benthic habitats in a simple and affordable manner. This drift‐cam system has the potential to make deep‐sea exploration more accessible, playing an important role in the Deep‐Ocean Observing Strategy and measuring some of the Essential Ocean Variables for deep‐sea monitoring and conservation strategies.
Predicting the distribution and abundance of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in the deep sea of the Azores (North Atlantic)
The Science of The Total Environment
|
Aug, 2023
José Manuel González‐Irusta
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió
Telmo Morato
Marina Carreiro‐Silva
Filipe M. Porteiro
Manuela Ramos
Yasmina Rodríguez
Laurence Fauconnet
Luís Rodrigues
9 team members are authors
OA Citations 19 Rising DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166579
Authors 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166579
Emily M. Duncan Nina Vieira
José Manuel González‐Irusta
Carlos Dominguez‐Carrió
Telmo Morato
Marina Carreiro‐Silva Joachim Jakobsen Kirsten Jakobsen
Filipe M. Porteiro Nina Schläpfer Laura Herrera
Manuela Ramos
Yasmina Rodríguez João Pereira
Laurence Fauconnet
Luís Rodrigues Hugo Parra Christopher K. Pham
Related projects (3)
ATLAS A transatlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 iAtlantic Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 MapGES Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores: assisting with the implementation of EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER)
Related cruises (5)
Blue Azores 2018 Blue Azores Program: Expedition 2018 MapGES 2019 Mapping deep-sea biodiversity and “Good Environmental Status” in the Azores MedWaves 2016 MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS NICO Leg 12 2018 RV Pelagia cruise 64PE441: Rainbow hydrothermal vent, southern MAR, and Terceira 2018 Rainbow 2019 RV Pelagia cruise 64PE454: Rainbow hydrothermal vent and southern MAR 2019
Abstract
Abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), represents a significant percentage of the global plastic pollution, currently considered one of the major sources from sea-based activities. However, there is still limited understanding of the quantities of ALDFG present on the seafloor and their impacts. In this study, data on the presence of ALDFG was obtained from a large archive of seafloor video footage (351 dives) collected by different imaging platforms in the Azores region over 15 years (2006-2020). Most ALDFG items observed in the images relate to the local bottom longline fishery operating in the region, and include longlines but also anchors, weights, cables and buoys. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) was used to predict the distribution and abundance of ALDFG over the seafloor within the limits of the Azores Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using a suite of environmental and anthropogenic variables. We estimated an average of 113 ± 310 items km-2 (597 ± 756 per km-2 above 1000 m depth), which could imply that over 20 million ALDFG items are present on the deep seafloor of the Azores EEZ. The resulting model identified potential hotspots of ALDFG along the seabed, some of them located over sensitive benthic habitats, such as specific seamounts. In addition, the interactions between ALDFG and benthic organisms were also analysed. Numerous entanglements were observed with several species of large anthozoans and sponges. The use of predictive distribution modelling for ALDFG should be regarded as a useful tool to support ecosystem-based management, which can provide indirect information about fishing pressure and allow the identification of potential high-risk areas. Additional knowledge about the sources, amounts, fates and impacts of ALDFG will be key to address the global issue of plastic pollution and the effects of fishing on marine ecosystems.

Images

Dives images

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Governo dos Açores
Oceano Azul
Eurofleets
FCT
FCT Investigador
Governo dos Açores
Portugal 2020
Rolex
RP
RP Ciência
União Europeia
Governo dos Açores
Oceano Azul
Eurofleets
FCT
FCT Investigador
Governo dos Açores
Portugal 2020
Rolex
RP
RP Ciência
União Europeia

Location

Institute of Marine Sciences — Okeanos, University of the Azores

Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas — Universidade dos Açores

Rua Prof. Doutor Frederico Machado, No. 4
9901-862 Horta, Portugal

Contact

Email: azoresdeepsea@gmail.com

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