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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2024-02-03
    Description: This database contains functional traits of target and non-target fish species (Actinopterygii and Elasmobranchii) from the Azores archipelago, Portugal. The included traits are reproductive guilds, body shape, position in water column, mean temperature preference (ᵒC), generation time (years), maximum depth (m), trophic position, growth coefficient (K), size at first maturity (cm), food consumption (Q/B), fecundity, and maximum body size (cm). The traits scores were assigned based on databases provided by FishBase (Froese and Pauly, 2023), and Trindade-Santos et al. (2020). Additionally, relevant literature was also utilized. These traits were selected based on biological and ecological knowledge of species critical for ecological processes in marine ecosystems, as well as data availability. The selected traits are associated with fish functions including habitat use, locomotion, feeding, and life history.
    Keywords: Actinopterygii; Azores; Azores_FUNTraits_Fish_2023; Body shape; Class; Database; Depth zone; Distribution depth, maximum; elasmobranchs; Event label; Family; Fecundity; Fecundity, eggs per female, max; Fecundity, eggs per female, min; fish fauna; Food consumption; FunAzores; functional diversity; Functional traits and ecological processes in the Azores Marine Park : Understanding the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning; Generation time; Growth, relative; Length, first maturity; Literature search; Location; Ocean; Order; Reference/source; Reproductive guild; Size; Species; Species, unique identification (URI); Species code; Target species; Temperature preference; trait diversity; traits; Trophic level; Type of study
    Type: Dataset
    Format: text/tab-separated-values, 16473 data points
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2024-04-20
    Description: Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomic-based studies have increased in popularity among the scientific community over the last decades. The collection of biological and ecological characteristics of species (i.e., traits) provides insight into species and ecosystem vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic changes, as well as ecosystem functioning. While most of the available trait databases to date contain essential information to understand the functional diversity of a taxonomic group or functional group based on size, the FUN Azores trait database has an ecosystem-based approach that provides a comprehensive assessment of diverse fauna (meio-, macro-, and megafauna) from benthic and pelagic environments in the Azores Marine Park; including ridges, seamounts, and hydrothermal vents. We used a collaborative approach involving 30 researchers with different expertise to develop the trait database; which contains compiled data on 14 traits representing morphological, behavioral, and life history characteristics for 1210 species, across 10 phyla.
    Keywords: Azores; Azores_FUNTraits_2023; FunAzores; functional diversity; Functional traits and ecological processes in the Azores Marine Park : Understanding the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning; hydrothermal deep sea vent; Literature search; Literature survey; Marine Protected Area (MPA); Seamount; trait-based ecology; trait diversity; trait ecology
    Type: Dataset
    Format: text/plain, 1.6 MBytes
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Highlights • Deep-sea mineral exploration and exploitation licenses have been issued recently. • Mining will modify the abiotic and biotic environment. • At directly mined sites, species are removed and cannot resist disturbance. • Recovery is highly variable in distinct ecosystems and among benthic taxa. • Community changes may persist over geological time-scales at directly mined sites. Abstract With increasing demand for mineral resources, extraction of polymetallic sulphides at hydrothermal vents, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts at seamounts, and polymetallic nodules on abyssal plains may be imminent. Here, we shortly introduce ecosystem characteristics of mining areas, report on recent mining developments, and identify potential stress and disturbances created by mining. We analyze species’ potential resistance to future mining and perform meta-analyses on population density and diversity recovery after disturbances most similar to mining: volcanic eruptions at vents, fisheries on seamounts, and experiments that mimic nodule mining on abyssal plains. We report wide variation in recovery rates among taxa, size, and mobility of fauna. While densities and diversities of some taxa can recover to or even exceed pre-disturbance levels, community composition remains affected after decades. The loss of hard substrata or alteration of substrata composition may cause substantial community shifts that persist over geological timescales at mined sites.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
    Format: text
    Format: other
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2023-02-08
    Description: With the mining of polymetallic nodules from the deep-sea seafloor once more evoking commercial interest, decisions must be taken on how to most efficiently regulate and monitor physical and community disturbance in these remote ecosystems. Image-based approaches allow non-destructive assessment of the abundance of larger fauna to be derived from survey data, with repeat surveys of areas possible to allow time series data collection. At the time of writing, key underwater imaging platforms commonly used to map seafloor fauna abundances are autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and towed camera “ocean floor observation systems” (OFOSs). These systems are highly customisable, with cameras, illumination sources and deployment protocols changing rapidly, even during a survey cruise. In this study, eight image datasets were collected from a discrete area of polymetallic-nodule-rich seafloor by an AUV and several OFOSs deployed at various altitudes above the seafloor. A fauna identification catalogue was used by five annotators to estimate the abundances of 20 fauna categories from the different datasets. Results show that, for many categories of megafauna, differences in image resolution greatly influenced the estimations of fauna abundance determined by the annotators. This is an important finding for the development of future monitoring legislation for these areas. When and if commercial exploitation of these marine resources commences, robust and verifiable standards which incorporate developing technological advances in camera-based monitoring surveys should be key to developing appropriate management regulations for these regions.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
    Format: text
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2023-02-08
    Description: Seamounts are abundant and prominent features on the deep-sea floor and intersperse with the nodule fields of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ). There is a particular interest in characterising the fauna inhabiting seamounts in the CCZ because they are the only other ecosystem in the region to provide hard substrata besides the abundant nodules on the soft-sediment abyssal plains. It has been hypothesised that seamounts could provide refuge for organisms during deep-sea mining actions or that they could play a role in the (re-)colonisation of the disturbed nodule fields. This hypothesis is tested by analysing video transects in both ecosystems, assessing megafauna composition and abundance. Nine video transects (ROV dives) from two different license areas and one Area of Particular Environmental Interest in the eastern CCZ were analysed. Four of these transects were carried out as exploratory dives on four different seamounts in order to gain first insights into megafauna composition. The five other dives were carried out in the neighbouring nodule fields in the same areas. Variation in community composition observed among and along the video transects was high, with little morphospecies overlap along intra-ecosystem transects. Despite the observation of considerable faunal variations within each ecosystem, differences between seamounts and nodule fields prevailed, showing significantly different species associations characterising them, thus calling into question their use as a possible refuge area.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
    Format: text
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2022-01-07
    Description: Since the late 1980s, various experiments have been conducted in polymetallic nodule fields of the Pacific Ocean to assess the potential environmental impacts of future mining, specifically in two areas: the Peru Basin and the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ). Two expeditions, SO242/2 in 2015 (Peru Basin) and SO268/1 + 2 in 2019 (CCZ), deployed a towed camera system to collect imagery from both areas. These expeditions aimed to assess recovery of fauna in the short (few weeks) and long term (several years) following physical seafloor disturbance actions designed to mimic potential mining, by ploughs, dredges and epibenthic sleds. Within the collected image data, several strikingly hexagonal hole patterns were observed and identified as Paleodictyon nodosum , and an irregular form of Paleodictyon traces, both on undisturbed and disturbed areas of seafloor. Recent forms occur abundantly in various deep-sea regions, but their origin, and how they represent the mode of life of the forming organism, remains unknown. In this study, the imaged occurrences of Paleodictyon traces on disturbed seafloor sheds light on the lifecycle of the forming organism, demonstrating that they can recolonize disturbed habitat and produce the trace network in a few weeks. Nevertheless, the density of these patterns on disturbed substrates was lower than observed on undisturbed substrates in both nodule regions. We therefore hypothesize that, along with other benthic deep-sea fauna, these structures and the forming organism are impacted by physical seafloor disturbance, and even 26 years after disturbance, densities on disturbed sediments have not recovered to undisturbed levels.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
    Format: text
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Abyssal seafloor communities cover more than 60% of Earth’s surface. Despite their great size, abyssal plains extend across modest environmental gradients compared to other marine ecosystems. However, little is known about the patterns and processes regulating biodiversity or potentially delimiting biogeographical boundaries at regional scales in the abyss. Improved macroecological understanding of remote abyssal environments is urgent as threats of widespread anthropogenic disturbance grow in the deep ocean. Here, we use a new, basin-scale dataset to show the existence of clear regional zonation in abyssal communities across the 5,000 km span of the Clarion–Clipperton Zone (northeast Pacific), an area targeted for deep-sea mining. We found two pronounced biogeographic provinces, deep and shallow-abyssal, separated by a transition zone between 4,300 and 4,800 m depth. Surprisingly, species richness was maintained across this boundary by phylum-level taxonomic replacements. These regional transitions are probably related to calcium carbonate saturation boundaries as taxa dependent on calcium carbonate structures, such as shelled molluscs, appear restricted to the shallower province. Our results suggest geochemical and climatic forcing on distributions of abyssal populations over large spatial scales and provide a potential paradigm for deep-sea macroecology, opening a new basis for regional-scale biodiversity research and conservation strategies in Earth’s largest biome.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
    Format: text
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Highlights • Probeebei mirabilis with or without anemone as indicator of changed environment. • 26 years after disturbance population densities changed significantly. • Possible delayed response to anthropogenic disturbance experiment. • Need for long-term (〉30 yrs) monitoring surveys post-disturbance in the abyss. The deep Peru Basin is characterised by a unique abyssal scavenging community featuring large numbers of hermit crabs (Probeebei mirabilis, Decapoda, Crustacea). These are atypical hermit crabs, not carrying a shell, but on some occasions carrying an anemone (Actiniaria). The reason why some hermit crabs carry or not carry anemones is thought to be indicative of a changed environment, outweighing the cost/benefit of their relationship. Here we present the temporal variation of abundances of P. mirabilis with and without anemones, spanning more than two decades, following a benthic impact experiment. An overall decrease in hermit crab densities was observed, most noticeable and significant after 26 years and characterised by a loss of Actiniaria on the Probeebei mirabilis' pleon. Whether this is a delayed response to the benthic impact experiment carried out 26 years’ prior or a natural variation in the population remains to be corroborated by an extension of the time-series. Attention is drawn to the limitations of our knowledge over time and space of the abyssal community dynamics and the urgent necessity to fill in these gaps prior to any type of deep-sea exploitation.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
    Format: text
    Format: text
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2024-03-14
    Description: Marine litter can be found along coasts, continental shelves and slopes, down into the abyss. The absence of light, low temperatures and low energy regimes characterising the deeper habitats ensure the persistence of litter over time. Therefore, manmade items within the deep sea will likely accumulate to increasing quantities. Here we report the litter abundance encountered at the Pacific abyssal nodule fields from the Peru Basin at 4150 m depth. An average density of 2.67 litter items/ha was observed. Litter composed of plastic was the most abundant followed by metal and glass. At least 58 % of the items observed could be linked to the research expeditions conducted in the area and appeared to be mostly accidental disposals from ships. The data gathered was used to address temporal trends in litter abundance as well as the impact of human on-site presence and return cruises in the context of future deep-sea mining efforts.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
    Format: text
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2018-02-23
    Description: With increasing demand for mineral resources, extraction of polymetallic sulphides at hydrothermal vents, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts at seamounts, and polymetallic nodules on abyssal plains may be imminent. Here, we shortly introduce ecosystem characteristics of mining areas, report on recent mining developments, and identify potential stress and disturbances created by mining. We analyze species’ potential resistance to future mining and perform meta-analyses on population density and diversity recovery after disturbances most similar to mining: volcanic eruptions at vents, fisheries on seamounts, and experiments that mimic nodule mining on abyssal plains. We report wide variation in recovery rates among taxa, size, and mobility of fauna. While densities and diversities of some taxa can recover to or even exceed pre-disturbance levels, community composition remains affected after decades. The loss of hard substrata or alteration of substrata composition may cause substantial community shifts that persist over geological timescales at mined sites.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
    Type: Article , peerRev , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
    Format: application/pdf
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