Telmo Morato

Principal Investigator

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Telmo is currently working with us with the position of Principal Investigator in the team. Is also, one of the team's leaders.

Autobiography

I am a Portuguese principal marine scientist at the Okeanos Research Unit of the University of the Azores. After completing a PhD degree in Resource Management and Environmental Studies at the University of British Columbia (Canada) and accepting a short-term position as Fisheries Scientist at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (New Caledonia), I was awarded several research contracts with IMAR and the University of the Azores. Currently, I co-lead with Marina Carreiro-Silva the Azores Deep-sea Ecology research group aiming to advance the understanding of deep-sea ecosystems in a changing planet to inspire society and inform the sustainable management of the oceans.

Research interest

Over the last years, I led several research projects and explorations that helped unveil new deep-sea species, communities, biotopes, and even new hydrothermal vents, but also unveiled the impacts of deep-sea fisheries on such ecosystems. I also co-lead the development of affordable camera systems to democratize deep-sea exploration and make it accessible to all. All the knowledge gained over the last decade has been transferred for improved ecosystem-based management and conservation of deep-sea ecosystems at regional, national, and international levels. I'm the sub-coordinator of the Okeanos research centre and has produced many scientific publications, participated as an international rapporteur for the UN World Ocean Assessment, the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and the FAO Deep-ocean climate change report. I'm a national delegate in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, among others.

Projects

Marine Beacon

ON-GOING PROJECT

Monitoring and elimination of bycatch of endangered and conserved species in th...

Funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe

101135237

REDRESS

ON-GOING PROJECT

Restoration of deep-sea habitats to rebuild European Seas

Funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe

101135492

MapGES2

ON-GOING PROJECT

Characterization of deep-sea habitats, for its mapping up to the outer limit of...

Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, EU, ACORES-14-62G4-FEDER-000001, PO Açores 2020, REACT-EU, ERDF

18/DRPM/2022, ACORES-14-62G4-FEDER-000001

MarinePlan

ON-GOING PROJECT

Improved transdisciplinary science for effective ecosystem-based maritime spatia...

Funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe

101059407 (MarinePlan)

ROLEX - Azor drift-cam project

PROJECT

ROLEX - Azor drift-cam project

Funded by ROLEX

ROLEX

iAtlantic

PROJECT

Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time

Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020

818123 (iAtlantic)

DeepWalls

PROJECT

Exploring pristine deep-sea walls to establish baselines for Good Environmental...

Funded by PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER)

ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000124

iMAR

PROJECT

Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along t...

Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020

824077 (EUROFLEETS+)

Blue Azores

PROJECT

Blue Paper Cooperation protocol

Funded by Fundação Oceano Azul

MISTIC SEAS III

PROJECT

Developing a coordinated approach for assessing Descriptor 4 via its linkages wi...

Funded by Subcontract with the Azores Government. European Maritime Fisheries Fund

110661/2018/794676/SUB/ENV.C2 (MISTICSEAS III)

ATLAS

PROJECT

A transatlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management pla...

Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020

678760 (ATLAS)

MapGES

PROJECT

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

Funded by PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER)

ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-00056

MarSP

PROJECT

Macaronesian Maritime Spatial Planning

Funded by European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) via a subcontract with the DRAM Azores Government

5956275 (DRAM Azores Gov.)

DeepData

PROJECT

Data Science in the Azores Deep Sea

Funded by FCT

DISCARDLESS

PROJECT

Startegies for the gradual elimination of discards in European fisheries

Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020

633680

Cruises

iMAR 2021

Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along t...

Total of 2 crew members and 12 collaborators

MapGES 2018

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

Total of 2 crew members and 2 collaborators

Publications

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers Deep-sea ecosystems of the North Atlantic Ocean: discovery, status, function and future challenges.
Aug, 2025
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research Seabed stability inferred from the 2019–2020 earthquake swarm under a volcanic cone field and slopes of Condor Seamount, Azores
Apr, 2025
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Nature Communications Assessing the success of marine ecosystem restoration using meta-analysis
Mar, 2025
T. Morato
T. Morato
1 team member involved
Marine Biodiversity From physics to fish: 50 Years of research at Great Meteor Seamount, NE Atlantic
Jan, 2025
Communications Earth & Environment Assessment tool addresses implementation challenges of ecosystem-based management principles in marine spatial planning processes
Jan, 2025
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Progress in Oceanography Drivers of trophodynamics of the open-ocean and deep-sea environments of the Azores, NE Atlantic
Dec, 2024
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers Advancing the frontier of fish geolocation into the ocean’s midwaters
Oct, 2024
L. Fauconnet
L. Fauconnet
T. Morato
T. Morato
2 team members involved
npj Ocean Sustainability Rethinking sustainability of marine fisheries for a fast-changing planet
Sep, 2024
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Fisheries Research First assessment of circle hooks as bycatch mitigation measure for deep-water sharks on longline fisheries
Feb, 2024
Laurence Fauconnet
Laurence Fauconnet
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Ecological Indicators A simulation-based approach to assess the stability of marine food-webs and inform Good Environmental Status
Jan, 2024
Joana Brito
Joana Brito
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Science of The Total Environment Predicting the distribution and abundance of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in the deep sea of the Azores (North Atlantic)
Nov, 2023
Ocean & Coastal Management Systematic evaluation of a spatially explicit ecosystem model to inform area-based management in the deep-sea
Oct, 2023
Joana Brito
Joana Brito
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
PeerJ Towards a scientific community consensus on designating Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems from imagery
Oct, 2023
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers Spatial distributions, environmental drivers and co-existence patterns of key cold-water corals in the deep sea of the Azores (NE Atlantic)
Jul, 2023
Progress in Oceanography Tidal to decadal scale hydrodynamics at two contrasting cold-water coral sites in the Northeast Atlantic
Jun, 2023
Communications Earth & Environment A blueprint for integrating scientific approaches and international communities to assess basin-wide ocean ecosystem status
Jan, 2023
ICES Journal of Marine Science Co-designing a multidisciplinary deep-ocean observing programme at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Azores region: a blueprint for synergy in deep ocean research and conservation
Nov, 2022
ICES Journal of Marine Science Challenges in avoiding deep-water shark bycatch in Azorean hook-and-line fisheries
Oct, 2022
Laurence Fauconnet
Laurence Fauconnet
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Mechanical and toxicological effects of deep-sea mining sediment plumes on a habitat-forming cold-water octocoral
Oct, 2022
Frontiers in Marine Science Modelling the Dispersion of Seafloor Massive Sulphide Mining Plumes in the Mid Atlantic Ridge Around the Azores
Jul, 2022
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers Variability of deep-sea megabenthic assemblages along the western pathway of the Mediterranean outflow water
Jul, 2022
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers Distribution models of deep-sea elasmobranchs in the Azores, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, to inform spatial planning
Apr, 2022
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
Laurence Fauconnet
Laurence Fauconnet
2 team members involved
Marine Ecology Progress Series Benthic O2 uptake by coral gardens at the Condor seamount (Azores)
Apr, 2022
M Carreiro-Silva
M Carreiro-Silva
T Morato
T Morato
2 team members involved
Marine Policy Assessment of scientific gaps related to the effective environmental management of deep-seabed mining
Apr, 2022
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Zoo Biology (Very) long‐term transport of Silurus glanis, Carcharhinus melanopterus, Scomber colias, Trachurus picturatus, Polyprion americanus, Rhinoptera marmoratus, Salmo salar, Scomber scombrus, Sardina pilchardus, and others, by land, water and air
Feb, 2022
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Ecology and Evolution Dense cold‐water coral garden of Paragorgia johnsoni suggests the importance of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge for deep‐sea biodiversity
Nov, 2021
Frontiers in Marine Science Where Is More Important Than How in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Restoration
Oct, 2021
Frontiers in Marine Science Active Ecological Restoration of Cold-Water Corals: Techniques, Challenges, Costs and Future Directions
Sep, 2021
Frontiers in Marine Science Systematic Conservation Planning at an Ocean Basin Scale: Identifying a Viable Network of Deep-Sea Protected Areas in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean
Jun, 2021
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
Laurence Fauconnet
Laurence Fauconnet
2 team members involved
Methods in Ecology and Evolution A cost‐effective video system for a rapid appraisal of deep‐sea benthic habitats: The Azor drift‐cam
May, 2021
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science North Atlantic Basin-Scale Multi-Criteria Assessment Database to Inform Effective Management and Protection of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems
Mar, 2021
Trends in Ecology & Evolution Environmental Protection Requires Accurate Application of Scientific Evidence
Jan, 2021
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Ecological Indicators Assessing the environmental status of selected North Atlantic deep-sea ecosystems
Dec, 2020
Frontiers in Marine Science Editorial: The Azores Marine Ecosystem: An Open Window Into North Atlantic Open Ocean and Deep-Sea Environments
Oct, 2020
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Trends in Ecology & Evolution Deep-Sea Misconceptions Cause Underestimation of Seabed-Mining Impacts
Oct, 2020
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Global Change Biology Climate change considerations are fundamental to management of deep‐sea resource extraction
Jul, 2020
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Habitat Features and Their Influence on the Restoration Potential of Marine Habitats in Europe
Apr, 2020
Frontiers in Marine Science Influence of Water Masses on the Biodiversity and Biogeography of Deep-Sea Benthic Ecosystems in the North Atlantic
Apr, 2020
Global Change Biology Climate‐induced changes in the suitable habitat of cold‐water corals and commercially important deep‐sea fishes in the North Atlantic
Feb, 2020
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
Gerald H. Taranto
Gerald H. Taranto
2 team members involved
Frontiers in Marine Science The Azores: A Mid-Atlantic Hotspot for Marine Megafauna Research and Conservation
Jan, 2020
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Ocean Circulation Over North Atlantic Underwater Features in the Path of the Mediterranean Outflow Water: The Ormonde and Formigas Seamounts, and the Gazul Mud Volcano
Dec, 2019
PLOS ONE A framework for the development of a global standardised marine taxon reference image database (SMarTaR-ID) to support image-based analyses
Dec, 2019
Journal of Environmental Management Small-scale fishers’ perception of the implementation of the EU Landing Obligation regulation in the outermost region of the Azores
Nov, 2019
Laurence Fauconnet
Laurence Fauconnet
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Marine Policy The deep sea: The new frontier for ecological restoration
Oct, 2019
Marine Policy Habitat mapping in the European Seas - is it fit for purpose in the marine restoration agenda?
Aug, 2019
Frontiers in Marine Science Global Observational Needs and Resources for Marine Biodiversity
Jul, 2019
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Global Observing Needs in the Deep Ocean
May, 2019
Marine Policy Existing environmental management approaches relevant to deep-sea mining
May, 2019
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Fisheries Research An overview of fisheries discards in the Azores
Jan, 2019
L. Fauconnet
L. Fauconnet
T. Morato
T. Morato
2 team members involved
Aquaculture The effect of rapid decompression on barotrauma and survival rate in swallowtail seaperch (Anthias anthias): Defining protocols for mitigating surfacing mortality
Jan, 2019
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence SIMSEA: A Multiagent Architecture for Fishing Activity in a Simulated Environment
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science A Multi Criteria Assessment Method for Identifying Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in the North-East Atlantic
Dec, 2018
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Potential Mitigation and Restoration Actions in Ecosystems Impacted by Seabed Mining
Dec, 2018
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Marine Policy Human activities and resultant pressures on key European marine habitats: An analysis of mapped resources
Dec, 2018
Journal of Sea Research Effects of marine protected areas on coastal fishes across the Azores archipelago, mid-North Atlantic
Aug, 2018
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Science Advances A strategy for the conservation of biodiversity on mid-ocean ridges from deep-sea mining
Jul, 2018
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Environmental Biology of Fishes Capture, husbandry and long-term transport of pilotfish, Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus, 1758), by sea, land and air
Apr, 2018
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography Predictive modeling of deep-sea fish distribution in the Azores
Nov, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography Cold-water corals and large hydrozoans provide essential fish habitat for Lappanella fasciata and Benthocometes robustus
Nov, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
Filipe Porteiro
Filipe Porteiro
2 team members involved
Marine Environmental Research Resilience of benthic deep-sea fauna to mining activities
Aug, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers A global biogeographic classification of the mesopelagic zone
Aug, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Marine Biology Development of a sensitive detection method to survey pelagic biodiversity using eDNA and quantitative PCR: a case study of devil ray at seamounts
Apr, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Overview of the Ocean Climatology and Its Variability in the Azores Region of the North Atlantic Including Environmental Characteristics at the Seabed
Mar, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Royal Society Open Science Historical gene flow constraints in a northeastern Atlantic fish: phylogeography of the ballan wrasseLabrus bergyltaacross its distribution range
Feb, 2017
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Food-Web and Ecosystem Structure of the Open-Ocean and Deep-Sea Environments of the Azores, NE Atlantic
Dec, 2016
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
Joana Brito
Joana Brito
2 team members involved
Frontiers in Marine Science Seafloor Characteristics in the Azores Region (North Atlantic)
Oct, 2016
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Fish and Fisheries A perspective on the importance of oceanic fronts in promoting aggregation of visitors to seamounts
Sep, 2015
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers The importance of deep-sea vulnerable marine ecosystems for demersal fish in the Azores
Feb, 2015
Filipe Porteiro
Filipe Porteiro
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Biological Conservation A global assessment of seamount ecosystems knowledge using an ecosystem evaluation framework
May, 2014
Gerald H. Taranto
Gerald H. Taranto
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Scientific Reports Deep-water longline fishing has reduced impact on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems
Apr, 2014
Filipe Porteiro
Filipe Porteiro
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
PLoS ONE Marine Litter Distribution and Density in European Seas, from the Shelves to Deep Basins
Apr, 2014
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Marine Policy Ecological restoration in the deep sea: Desiderata
Feb, 2014
T. Morato
T. Morato
1 team member involved
Nature Ecology: Protect the deep sea
Jan, 2014
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography Abundance of litter on Condor seamount (Azores, Portugal, Northeast Atlantic)
Dec, 2013
T. Morato
T. Morato
1 team member involved
Journal of Fish Biology New and rare coastal fishes in the Azores islands: occasional events or tropicalization process?
Jul, 2013
T. Morato
T. Morato
1 team member involved
Fisheries Research Biomass removal from shore-based whaling in the Azores
Jun, 2013
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Biogeosciences Seamount physiography and biology in the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea
May, 2013
T. Morato
T. Morato
G. H. Taranto
G. H. Taranto
2 team members involved
ICES Journal of Marine Science Total marine fishery catch for the Azores (1950–2010)
Feb, 2013
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Fisheries Research Fishing down the deep: Accounting for within-species changes in depth of fishing
Feb, 2013
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
Ocean & Coastal Management Sustainability of deep-sea fish species under the European Union Common Fisheries Policy
Dec, 2012
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
PLoS ONE An Ecosystem Evaluation Framework for Global Seamount Conservation and Management
Aug, 2012
Gerald H. Taranto
Gerald H. Taranto
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
2 team members involved
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom Cold-water corals landed by bottom longline fisheries in the Azores (north-eastern Atlantic)
Mar, 2012
T. Morato
T. Morato
1 team member involved
Marine Policy Sustainability of deep-sea fisheries
Mar, 2012
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved
ICES Journal of Marine Science Experimental fisheries for black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) in the Azores, Northeast Atlantic
Jul, 2010
Telmo Morato
Telmo Morato
1 team member involved

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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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