Megafaunal assemblages in deep-sea ecosystems of the Gulf of Cadiz, northeast Atlantic ocean

• Published in: Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
• Main Authors: Grinyó, Jordi, Francescangeli, Marco, Santín, Andreu, Ercilla, Gemma, Estrada, Ferran, Mecho, Ariadna, Fanelli, Emanuela, Costa, Corrado, Danovaro, Roberto, Company, Joan Batista, Sobrino, Ignacio, Valencia, Javier, Aguzzi, Jacopo
• Other Authors: Institute of Marine Sciences / Institut de Ciències del Mar Barcelona (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas = Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Instituto de Ciencias del Mar de Barcelona (ICM), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Modelling the Earth Response to Multiple Anthropogenic Interactions and Dynamics (MERMAID), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Polytechnic University of Marche Ancona, Italy / Università Politecnica delle Marche Ancona, Italia (UNIVPM), Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria = Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), Instituto Espagňol de Oceanografia (IEO), Chercheur indépendant
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: Benthic assemblages; Deep-sea ecosystems; Gulf of Cadiz; Vulnerable marine ecosystems; ROV imaging; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04430221; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103738

International audience Deep-sea ecosystems of the Iberian margin have been widely impacted over the past decades, but the limited knowledge on their biodiversity and functioning limits our ability to contribute to their conservation. So far, in the Gulf of Cadiz, research has mostly been focused on megabenthic assemblages associated to mud volcanoes. However, several other geomorphological structures have remained widely unexplored. Here, by means of a quantitative analysis of 17 video transects conducted between 220 and 980 m depth, we investigated megabenthic assemblages associated to canyons, contouritic channels, contouritic furrows and open slopes. We report the presence of 8 different assemblages, segregated as a result of the different substrates and geomorphologic features. Megabenthic assemblages on hard substrates were characterized by mono or multispecific sponge assemblages. Soft bottoms hosted crinoid beds, pennatulacean meadows and fields of the gorgonian Radicipes gracilis. These results highlight the high diversity of megabenthic assemblages in deep-sea ecosystems of the Gulf of Cadiz and suggest that most of the geomorphological features that remained so far unexplored represent vulnerable marine ecosystems deserving protection and inclusion in future management plans.