The first balance of the oceanographic campaign of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project on the seabed of the Columbretes Islands leaves us with surprising findings.

The Columbretes Islands shelter unique habitats under their waters. Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), who have participated in the recent campaign of the LIFE INTEMARES project, highlight the richness of the marine environment of an archipelago that has aroused the interest of scientists for decades.

Between 11 and 17 February, they entered the depths and surroundings of this marine reserve, made up of several islets 60 km east of Castellón. The objective of the campaign is to improve the knowledge of this marine space and thus have complete scientific information for the preparation of management plans for this area, which is part of two areas declared Sites of Community Importance (SCI). Specifically, the main axis focuses on obtaining a bionomic cartography, in which the habitats and species of the area are represented on a map.

The researchers have analyzed the spatial coverage and deep habitat types of the archipelago. Among the findings, they have been able to confirm the presence of areas with shallow upwellings from which columns of gas bubbles emanate at high temperatures.

They also highlight, in a first balance of this multidisciplinary campaign, the presence of bacterial communities associated with these gaseous upwellings. The subsequent study of the samples collected and their characterization in the laboratory will determine if there could be any new bacterial species for science in this community.

In addition, they have observed, among other species, an algae endemic to the western Mediterranean, the Laminaria rodriguezii, common at depths below 70 meters, but which in Columbretes is exceptionally found at a depth of about 40 meters.

Thanks to this oceanographic campaign, we also have a detailed bathymetry, which will be essential to develop an extensive cartography and complement the characterization of the seabed of the archipelago’s marine environment. In addition, the data obtained will allow the completion of previous scientific studies, including the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, which focused on other areas of this space.

The results of this campaign will be key to improving the future management of this protected area and marine reserve in an integrated way.

Science and active participation

The LIFE IP INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, aims to achieve effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network, with science and the active participation of the sectors involved.

The General Directorate of the Coast and the Sea of the Ministry itself, the IEO, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.

Do you want to know more about the oceanographic campaigns of LIFE IP INTEMARES?

You can follow our twitter profile @LifeIntemares, the hashtag #INTEMARES and consult the intemares.es website, where we inform you of the latest news on the actions of the project and marine news.