An offshore resource of biological diversity, ecosystem processes and services

Lea-Anne Henry, Heriot-Watt UniversityPeter Chaniotis, Joint Nature Conservation CommitteeJ. Murray Roberts, Heriot-Watt University

Scottish seamounts

www.cmbb.hw.ac.uk

Scottish seamounts OSPAR list of threatened and/or declining species and

habitats

Rosemary Bank

Anton Dohrn

Hebrides Terrace

RockallTrough

1. Do components support Priority Marine Features (PMFs)?2. Does one component enhance another?

Ecosystem ‘synergies’

Biophysical

Topography & internal waves ↑ surface circulation (AD, HT) Anti-cyclonic circulation (AD) could ‘focus’ food at the summit Internal waves and Taylor columns ↑ vertical mixing downstream (AD) Eddies (AD, RB) Downwelling (AD) Current-shaped sedimentary patterns (all)

Roberts et al. 1974; Xing & Davies 1998; Burrows & Thorpe 1999; New & Smythe-Wright 2001; Hall & Davies 2005; Neat et al. 2008

Biophysical

Coral gardens (AD/all?)

Orange roughy (all)

Atlantic white-sided dolphin (RB)

JNCC

JNCC

CRRU

hydrodynamic control of food

accelerated current speeds

retention mechanisms

Embling 2007; ICES 2007

Benthos

JNCC/JC073

High diversity/lack of endemism

Jacobs et al. 2006; Howell et al. 2010

BenthosCold-water coral reefs

JNCC/JC073

BenthosDeep-sea sponge aggregations

JNCC/JC073

BenthosCoral gardens

JNCC/JC073

BenthosLeafscale gulper shark

Oceanlab

Gravid sharks caught with corals: poss. nursery? (RB)

Orange roughy

JNCC

Reefs important to life history (all)

Blue ling

NMS

Spawning habitat (RB)

Grehan et al. 2004; DEFRA 2007; Large et al. 2010

Fish spawning of mesopelagic and PMF fish species

▪ blue whiting, orange roughy, blue ling, mackerel, leafscale gulper shark, others

JNCC/ JC073 Changing Oceans Expedition

Dransfield et al. 2005; DEFRA 2007; Neat et al. 2008; Howell et al. 2009; ICES 2010; Large et al. 2010

FishBlue whiting

Blue ling

NMS

Fisheries.no

Long-finned pilot whale

Oceanlab

Sowerby’s beaked whale

CRRU

ICES 2007; Spitz et al. 2011

Marine Mammals

Topographic interactions are key

Migration route to FSC

Mating/calving MPA network and

conservation ‘corridors’

Evans et al. 1997; Pollock et al. 2000; Charif et al. 2001; Weir et al. 2001; Swift et al. 2002; Hastie et al. 2003; Macleod et al. 2003; Reid et al. 2003; Embling 2007; Boisseau et al. 2011; MCR 2011

Faroe-Shetland Channel

RB

AD

HT

Rockall Trough

Conservation prioritiese.g. Taranto et al. 2012(PLoS One)

Thank you Captain/crew and scientists on board the James

Cook Cruise 073 ‘Changing Oceans Expedition’ Holland I crew Richard McLanaghan (MCR) Laura Robson (JNCC) Kerry Howell (Plymouth) ICES WGDEC discussions