Azores Deep-sea Research

Gerald Hechter Taranto

Early-career researcher Jun 2023 — Feb 2026

0000-0002-7968-1982

4611-0E1D-2CFE

Gerald-Taranto

Gerald has worked with us in the past with the position of Early-career researcher in the team.

Autobiography

I am a PHD student at the Okeanos Institute, University of the Azores. I began my scientific studies in Italy where I graduated in Biology at the University of Rome "La Sapienza". I then joined the international master program "Erasmus Mindus Marine Biodiversity and Conservation" graduating with greatest distinction at the University of Ghent. I first moved to the Azores to prepare my master theses on seamounts ecosystems. Currently, my PHD work focuses on habitat-structuring deeps-sea cold-water corals, in particular on coral species considered ecologically important and vulnerable.

Research interest

My research focuses on the description of biodiversity patterns of deep-sea communities both in space and time. In particular on how environmental heterogeneity, anthropogenic pressures and community-assembly processes influence the distribution of deep-sea organisms. One of the objectives of my work is to provide sound policy advice that can be of use to define marine conservation strategies that are essential to ensure healthy oceans both for present and future generations.

Last contributions in ADSR

Publications

Peer-reviewed (publication DOIs only)

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Democratizing deep-sea research for biodiversity conservation

Oct, 2025

4 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2024 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the RV Arquipélago

Oct, 2024

6 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2024 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the MT Physeter

Oct, 2024

6 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2023 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the RV Arquipélago

Oct, 2023

4 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2023 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the MT Physeter

Oct, 2023

5 team members involved

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)

Mar, 2023

20 citations

3 team members involved

PANGAEA

Habitat suitability maps for vulnerable and foundation cold-water coral taxa of the Azores (NE Atlantic)

Jan, 2023

1 citations

2 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2021 Cruise Report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores, summer 2021

Dec, 2022

4 team members involved

SEANOE

Multibeam Raw Data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

4 team members involved

SEANOE

Nutrient data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

4 team members involved

SEANOE

ADCP data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

3 team members involved

SEANOE

List of stations with data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

2 team members involved

SEANOE

SVP data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

4 team members involved

SEANOE

CTD data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

3 team members involved

SEANOE

List of deep-sea benthic video stations collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

3 team members 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

21 citations

4 team members involved

Zenodo

iMAR: Integrated assessment of the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Azores region

Aug, 2021

1 citations

2 team members involved

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

32 citations

3 team members involved

Zenodo

Blue Azores Program Expedition 2018, Station 57, Dive 15: annotation of Paragorgia johnsoni Gray, 1862

Apr, 2021

1 citations

4 team members 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

12 citations

4 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2020 Cruise Report: Exploration of Azores deep-sea habitats, summer 2020

Dec, 2020

4 team members involved

Zenodo

North Atlantic basin-scale multi-criteria assessment database to inform management recommendations to protect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems

Nov, 2020

4 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2019: Summer 2019 cruise on board of N/I Arquipélago

Mar, 2020

1 citations

4 team members involved

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

216 citations

2 team members involved

PANGAEA

Compilation of records of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa in the North Atlantic

Jan, 2020

3 team members involved

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

67 citations

2 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise report - 64PE456 onboard of R/V Pelagia Terceira Island 2019 - Hopper tow-cam video footage

Jul, 2019

2 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise Report - BLUE AZORES PROGRAM EXPEDITION 2018 ON BOARD THE NRP GAGO COUTINHO

Jan, 2019

4 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise Report - MapGES / ATLAS Project: August 2018 Cruise on board of R/V Arquipélago

Jan, 2019

4 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise Summary Report - Medwaves Survey (Mediterranean Out Flow Water And Vulnerable Ecosystems)

Apr, 2017

11 citations

2 team members involved

Biological Conservation

A global assessment of seamount ecosystems knowledge using an ecosystem evaluation framework

Dec, 2013

77 citations Rising

2 team members involved

Biogeosciences

Seamount physiography and biology in the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

May, 2013

47 citations

2 team members involved

PLoS ONE

An Ecosystem Evaluation Framework for Global Seamount Conservation and Management

Aug, 2012

43 citations

2 team members involved

Cruise reports

DOIs from your cruises & projects

Zenodo

MapGES 2024 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the MT Physeter

Oct, 2024

15 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2024 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the RV Arquipélago

Oct, 2024

13 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2023 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the MT Physeter

Oct, 2023

15 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2023 cruise report: Exploration and mapping of deep-sea biodiversity in the Azores on board the RV Arquipélago

Oct, 2023

15 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2019: Summer 2019 cruise on board of N/I Arquipélago

Mar, 2020

1 citations

7 team members involved

Zenodo

MapGES 2020 Cruise Report: Exploration of Azores deep-sea habitats, summer 2020

Dec, 2020

8 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise Report - NICO Cruise Leg 12, Hopper dives on board of R/V Pelagia

Jan, 2019

2 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise Report - MapGES / ATLAS Project: August 2018 Cruise on board of R/V Arquipélago

Jan, 2019

7 team members involved

Zenodo

Greenpeace Pole-to-Pole expedition – Azores 2019

Jun, 2019

1 citations

3 team members involved

Zenodo

Cruise Summary Report - Medwaves Survey (Mediterranean Out Flow Water And Vulnerable Ecosystems)

Apr, 2017

11 citations

2 team members involved

Datasets

From your cruises & projects

Food incorporation of vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) indicator taxa from the Azores, Viminella flagellum and Dentomuricea meteor under competition

Jan, 2026

1 team member involved

Scale bar errors of cold-water coral 3D reconstructions from three different setups

Jan, 2025

1 citations

2 team members involved

Aquarium monitoring during an ex-situ experiment with the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus in the Azores

Jan, 2024

5 team members involved

Growth rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus during an ex-situ experiment in the Azores

Jan, 2024

5 team members involved

Respiration rates of the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during an ex-situ experiment simulating deep-sea mining sediment plumes in the Azores

Jan, 2024

3 team members involved

Respiration rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus during an ex-situ experiment in the Azores

Jan, 2024

5 team members involved

Tissue loss of the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during an ex-situ experiment simulating deep-sea mining sediment plumes in the Azores

Jan, 2024

3 team members involved

Aquarium monitoring during an ex-situ experiment on the effects of simulated deep-sea mining sediment plumes on the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor in the Azores

Jan, 2024

3 team members involved

Effect of suspended microplastics on larval swimming speed of the cold-water scleractinian coral of Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Cellular stress biomarkers result of the cold-water coral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during a land-based experiment testing the cumulative effect of Cu exposure and ocean acidification

Jan, 2024

4 team members involved

Effect of suspended microplastics on larval survival of the cold-water scleractinian coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling short-term exposure on larval swimming speed of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling long-term exposure on larval survival of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling on embryonic survival of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling short-term exposure on larval survival of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling on embryonic development of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Respiration rates of the cold-water coral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during a land-based experiment testing the cumulative effect of Cu exposure and ocean acidification

Jan, 2024

4 team members involved

Respiration rates of the cold-water coral Viminella flagellum during a land-based experiment testing the cumulative effect of Cu exposure and ocean acidification

Jan, 2024

4 team members involved

Effects of ocean acidification on larval survival rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

1 team member involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling on embryo size of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Aquarium monitoring during a land-based experiment testing the cumulative effect of Cu exposure and ocean acidification on cold-water coral Dentomuricea aff. meteor

Jan, 2024

4 team members involved

Cellular stress biomarkers result of the cold-water coral Viminella flagellum during a land-based experiment testing the cumulative effect of Cu exposure and ocean acidification

Jan, 2024

4 team members involved

Aquarium monitoring during a land-based experiment testing the cumulative effect of Cu exposure and ocean acidification on cold-water coral Viminella flagellum

Jan, 2024

4 team members involved

Combined impacts of ocean acidification and deep-sea mining on larval survival of the deep-sea coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

1 team member involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling short-term exposure on larval development of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

Maps resulting from Spatial Prioritisation carried out for iAtlantic - Systematic Conservation Planning reported in D5.3 and included in MS25

Jan, 2024

2 team members involved

FUN Azores: A trait database for the marine species of the ridges, seamounts, and hydrothermal vents of the Azores, NE Atlantic

Jan, 2023

1 citations

2 team members involved

Deep-sea mining impacts on larval survival of the deep-sea coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Feb, 2023

2 team members involved

Combined effect of ocean acidification and bottom trawling long-term exposure on larval swimming speed of the scleractinian cold-water-coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Mar, 2023

2 team members involved

Counts of live embryos and planula larvae of the antipatharian coral Antipathella wollastoni exposed to different seawater temperatures

Jan, 2023

2 team members involved

EUNIS habitat classification and associated confidence shapefiles for Atlantic regions investigated by the EU H2020 project iAtlantic (Version 3)

Jan, 2023

2 team members involved

Habitat suitability maps for vulnerable and foundation cold-water coral taxa of the Azores (NE Atlantic)

Jan, 2023

1 citations

6 team members involved

Embryo and larval biology of the deep-sea octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor from the Azores under two temperature regimes

Jan, 2022

2 team members involved

Swimming behaviour of the deep-sea octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor from the Azores under two temperature regimes

Jan, 2022

2 team members involved

Embryo development of the deep-sea octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor from the Azores under two temperature regimes

Jan, 2022

2 team members involved

Larval stages of the deep-sea octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor from the Azores under two temperature regimes

Jan, 2022

2 team members involved

Survival of the deep-sea octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor from the Azores under two temperature regimes

Jan, 2022

2 team members involved

Effects of ocean acidification on larval swimming behaviour of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum pertusum

Feb, 2022

1 team member involved

Model outputs: Modelling the dispersion of Seafloor Massive Sulphide mining plumes in the Mid Atlantic Ridge around the Azores

Jan, 2022

3 team members involved

List of deep-sea benthic video stations collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

Outputs of predictive distribution models of deep-sea elasmobranchs in the Azores EEZ (down to 2,000m depth) using Generalized Additive Models

Jan, 2022

3 team members involved

CTD data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

SVP data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

List of stations with data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

ADCP data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

Nutrient data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

Multibeam Raw Data collected during the iMAR 2021/Eurofleets+ research cruise in Mid Atlantic Ridge (Azores EEZ)

Jan, 2022

5 team members involved

Embryo and larval biology of the deep-sea octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor

Jul, 2021

2 team members involved

Blue Azores Program Expedition 2018, Station 57, Dive 15: annotation of Paragorgia johnsoni Gray, 1862

Apr, 2021

1 citations

6 team members involved

Morphological measures of sclerome of the new octocoral species Swiftia phaeton during the MSM16 Cruise in 2010 at the Mauritanian Slope

Jan, 2020

1 team member involved

Morphological measures of colonies and polyps of the new octocoral species Swiftia phaeton during the MSM16 Cruise in 2010 at the Mauritanian Slope

Jan, 2020

1 team member involved

Zooplankton capture rates by the octocoral species Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Viminella flagellum in the Azores Archipelago

Jan, 2020

2 team members involved

Video annotation of Swiftia phaeton during the MSM16 Cruise in 2010 at the Mauritanian Slope

Jan, 2020

1 team member involved

Feeding biology of two common habitat-forming octocorals in the Azores Archipelago

Jan, 2020

2 team members involved

Feeding biology of a habitat forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago

Jan, 2020

2 team members involved

Reproductive features of the deep-sea octocorals Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Viminella flagellum in the Azores

Jan, 2020

1 citations

1 team member involved

Morphological measurements and video annotation of the new octocoral Swiftia phaeton sp. nov. during the cruise MSM 16-3 Phaeton in 2010 off the Mauritanian Slope

Jan, 2020

1 team member involved

North Atlantic basin-scale multi-criteria assessment database to inform management recommendations to protect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems

Nov, 2020

8 team members involved

ATLAS work on Good Environmental Status across 9 study areas in the northeast Atlantic

Jan, 2020

2 team members involved

Compilation of records of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa in the North Atlantic

Jan, 2020

3 team members involved

Set of terrain (static in time) and environmental (dynamic in time) variables used as candidate predictors of present-day (1951-2000) and future (2081-2100) suitable habitat of cold-water corals and deep-sea fishes in the North Atlantic

Jan, 2020

6 citations

3 team members involved

Cold-water octocoral Viminella flagellum respiration rates during an acute Cu exposure

Oct, 2019

3 team members involved

Climate-induced changes in the suitable habitat of cold-water corals and commercially important deep-sea fishes in the North Atlantic

Jan, 2019

2 citations

3 team members involved

Species Richness and Taxonomic effort on the study of Octocorallia of the Azores

Jan, 2018

2 team members involved

Seawater carbonate chemistry and calcification of two mediterranean cold-water coral species in a laboratory experiment

Jan, 2014

0 team member involved

Results of an ex-situ experiment testing the effects of mining-generated sediment plumes on the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor in the Azores

Aug, 2014

1 citations

3 team members involved

Gene expression by the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during an ex-situ experiment testing the effects of mining-generated sediment plumes

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Stress biomarkers in the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during an ex-situ experiment in the Azores

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Metal bioaccumulation by the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during an ex-situ experiment testing the effects of mining-generated sediment plumes

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Metal concentrations in seawater of an ex-situ experiment with the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Aquarium monitoring of an ex-situ experiment involving the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Metabolic rates of the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor during an ex-situ experiment in the Azores

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Suspended sediment concentrations of an ex-situ experiment with the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor in the Azores

Aug, 2014

3 team members involved

Projects

MapGES2

On-going Project

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

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

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)

Blue Azores

Project

Blue Paper Cooperation protocol

Funded by Fundação Oceano Azul

ATLAS

Project

A transatlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe

Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020

678760 (ATLAS)

MapGES

Project

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

Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, PO Açores 2020, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF / FEDER)

ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-00056

MarSP

Project

Macaronesian Maritime Spatial Planning

Funded by Regional Government of the Azores, DRAM, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)

5956275 (DRAM Azores Gov.)

DeepData

Project

Data Science in the Azores Deep Sea

Funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P.

HERMIONE

Project

Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man’s Impact on European Seas

Funded by

Cruises

MapGES 2024 MT Physeter

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

12 scientific crew · 14 on board · 1 collaborators

Gerald Hechter Taranto's role: Scientific crew

MapGES 2024 RV Arquipélago

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

12 scientific crew · 13 on board · 2 collaborators

Gerald Hechter Taranto's role: Scientific crew

MapGES 2023 RV Arquipélago

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

12 scientific crew · 13 on board · 1 collaborators

Gerald Hechter Taranto's role: Scientific crew

MapGES 2023 MT Physeter

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

12 scientific crew · 14 on board

Gerald Hechter Taranto's role: Scientific crew

MedWaves 2016

MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS

2 scientific crew · 2 on board · 46 collaborators

Gerald Hechter Taranto's role: Scientific crew