Nimble vessel cruises as a complementary platform for Southern Ocean biodiversity research: concept and preliminary results from the Belgica 121 expedition.

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Danis, Bruno, Wallis, Ben, Guillaumot, Charlène, Moreau, Camille, Pasotti, Francesca, Heindler, Franz M., Robert, Henri, Christiansen, Henrik, Jossart, Quentin, Saucède, Thomas
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de Biologie Marine (LBM), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Ocean Expeditions, Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Marine Biology Research Group, Universiteit Gent = Ghent University (UGENT), Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, University of Leuven, Marine Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), The Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO, under the BRAIN (Belgian Research Action through Interdisciplinary Networks) funding scheme), the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, Federation Wallonia-Brussels, the Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), the Leopold 3 Fund for the exploration and conservation of Nature and the Royal Belgian Society for Zoology, by the Refugia and Ecosystem Tolerance in the Southern Ocean project (RECTO; BR/154/A1/RECTO) and the Ecosystem Responses to global change: a multiscale approach in the Southern Ocean project (vERSO; BR/132/A1/vERSO; http://rectoversoprojects.be), both funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO).
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: biodiversity census; biogeography; environmental efficiency; western Antarctic Peninsula; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Science
• Online Access: https://u-bourgogne.hal.science/hal-03960305; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102022000165

International audience The western Antarctic Peninsula is facing rapid environmental changes and many recent publications stress the need to gain new knowledge regarding ecosystems responses to these changes. In the framework of the Belgica 121 expedition, we tested the use of a nimble vessel with a moderate environmental footprint as an approach to tackle the urgent needs of the Southern Ocean research community in terms of knowledge regarding the levels of marine biodiversity in shallow areas and the potential impacts of retreating glaciers on this biodiversity in combination with increasing tourism pressure. We discuss the strengths and drawbacks of using a 75’ (23 m) sailboat in this research framework, as well as its sampling and environmental efficiency. We propose that the scientific community considers this approach to 1) fill specific knowledge gaps and 2) improve the general coherence of the research objectives of the Antarctic scientific community in terms of biodiversity conservation and the image that such conservation conveys to the general public.