A study, led by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) within the framework of the LIFE INTEMARES project, has made it possible to identify nearly 2,000 species in the protected areas of the Banco de la Concepción and the Eastern and Southern Marine Area of Lanzarote-Fuerteventura.

A study, led by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) within the framework of the LIFE INTEMARES project, has made it possible to identify nearly 2,000 species in the protected areas of the Banco de la Concepción and the Eastern and Southern Marine Area of Lanzarote-Fuerteventura.

The information collected will be used to design the management plans and designate the Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) of these two areas declared in 2016 Sites of Community Importance (SCI) of the Natura 2000 Network. A work promoted by the LIFE INTEMARES project, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

Researchers from the IEO, in collaboration with the University of La Laguna and the Biodiversity Service of the Government of the Canary Islands, have analysed the marine biodiversity of the two SCIs based on the updated catalogue of known species, which is made up of just over 1,700, some of them never mentioned in Canary Islands waters and more than a hundred protected by different regulations.

This catalogue is the result of studies carried out by the IEO, SEO/Birdlife and the Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Islands between 2009 and 2018, within the framework of the LIFE+ INDEMARES and LIFE INTEMARES projects, as well as the information collected in the Canary Islands Biodiversity Data Bank.

Seamount

The SCI of Banco de la Concepción, located 75 kilometres northeast of Lanzarote, is a circular underwater mountain with an almost flat top, which rises from a bottom of more than 2,600 metres deep to 150 metres.

Its location, morphology and interposition with currents cause the upwelling of deep waters loaded with nutrients, which make this seamount an oasis of biodiversity.

As a result, it attracts numerous organisms, from plankton to small fish and, after them, larger ones, such as tuna and sharks, along with cetaceans or turtles in search of food. It is also a place of extraordinary importance for the feeding of seabirds such as shearwaters, petrels, storm petrels, terns, gulls or skuas, which is why this space is also considered a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA).

Sebadales and coral gardens

The SCI Marine Area of the East and South of Lanzarote-Fuerteventura comprises an extensive area of more than 14,000 km², which includes the islands of the Chinijo Archipelago, the entire coastline to the east of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and the submarine banks of Amanay and El Banquete, to the south.

The enormous extension of this space and its great variety of environments makes it the one with the greatest biodiversity of habitats and species. About twenty different habitats have been identified, from sebadales on the coast to coral gardens and gorgonians in deep waters.

In addition, the influence of the upwelling of the nearby African coast, as well as the local upwelling of deep waters, makes this area one of the most productive areas of the Canary Islands. It attracts large schools of small pelagic fish and the settlement of sea turtles, tuna, sharks, seabirds and cetaceans, which feed near the surface.

Of the 30 species of cetaceans known to the Canary Islands and of the 84 described in the world, 28 have been recorded in the waters of this SCI, among which it is worth highlighting the presence of deep-diving species such as beaked whales which, due to the existence of seamounts and the steep slope, find an ideal habitat here.

This work, which has been published in the Journal of the Canarian Academy of Sciences, has been developed within the framework of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project, which advances towards the objective of achieving an effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network, with the active participation of the sectors involved and with research as basic tools.

LIFE INTEMARES

The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge coordinates the project. The ministry itself, through the Directorate-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification; the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, as well as the Environment and Water Agency; the Spanish Institute of Oceanography; AZTI; the University of Alicante; the Polytechnic University of Valencia; the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain. It is supported by the LIFE Program of the European Union.