The eleventh oceanographic campaign of the LIFE INTEMARES project has concluded with the collection of valuable information from the Cap Bretón submarine canyon system, off the coast of the Basque Country.
The eleventh oceanographic campaign of the LIFE INTEMARES project has concluded with the obtaining of valuable information on the Cap Bretón submarine canyon system, off the coast of the Basque Country, which will contribute to improving the knowledge of the habitats of community interest found in this space for their possible declaration as a new marine protected area.
During the 14-day expedition, the team of researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and AZTI has studied the geomorphology, deep habitats and their communities of associated species in an area that includes the main canyon of Cap Bretón, its tributary canyons, the area of a mega-landslide, as well as several fields of pockmarks. Depressions of marine sediments generated by fluid emissions. In total, they have mapped an area of 1,243km2.
The scientists highlight the pioneering effort in the study of the fauna that houses the fields of pockmarks, one of the underwater structures caused by fluid emissions, and which constitute a habitat of community interest.
Thanks to advanced non-invasive sampling systems, high-resolution images and oceanographic variables have been obtained to characterize the habitat of the pockmarks that are located in the southern region of the main canyon and at depths between 300 and 1,200 meters, obtaining valuable information about this habitat and its associated communities.
Species of high biological value
As a result, they have been able to identify species of high biological value associated with this habitat of community interest, including large adult specimens of the fish known as orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), a unique vulnerable species that takes more than 25 years to reach reproductive maturity. They have also found that the pockmarks are areas of concentration of lobster colonies (Nephrops norvegicus).
The system of tributary canyons to Cap Bretón is also home to reefs, another of the vulnerable habitat types of community interest, which appears highly developed in the rocky outcrops at a depth of 80-200 meters on the continental shelf, according to the researchers.
The yellow coral Dendrophyllia cornígera and the sponge Phakellia ventilabrum are structuring species, accompanied by echinoderms, molluscs and crustaceans. It is an extraordinarily diverse habitat that presents a high level of conservation in this area, with no obvious signs of impacts derived from human action, the scientists confirm.
However, at a depth of more than 200 meters from the main canyon and its tributaries, researchers have found that coral reefs are non-existent or very scarce; and only in the mega-landslide region located to the east of the study area have relict carbonate mounds with remains of dead corals been identified.
Effective management of protected areas
The information obtained in this campaign will be analysed and further processed in the laboratory. The identification of habitats and species of high ecological value will contribute to improving the knowledge of this area for its possible declaration as a Site of Community Interest (SCI) of the Natura 2000 Network, the largest network of protected areas in the world.
This campaign is part of the LIFE INTEMARES project, which advances towards a better knowledge of marine protected areas, with the aim of achieving an effective management of the marine spaces of the Natura 2000 Network.
The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge coordinates this integrated project, in which the Ministry’s Directorate-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification, IEO, CEPESCA, 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.
If you want to know more about the LIFE INTEMARES project , here you have all the information.
