Ocean sprawl facilitates dispersal and connectivity of protected species

Highly connected networks generally improve resilience in complex systems. We present a novel application of this paradigm and investigated the potential for anthropogenic structures in the ocean to enhance connectivity of a protected species threatened by human pressures and climate change. Biophysical dispersal models of a protected coral species simulated potential connectivity between oil and gas installations across the North Sea but also metapopulation outcomes for naturally occurring corals downstream. Network analyses illustrated how just a single generation of virtual larvae released from these installations could create a highly connected anthropogenic system, with larvae becoming competent to settle over a range of natural deep-sea, shelf and fjord coral ecosystems including a marine protected area. These results provide the first study showing that a system of anthropogenic structures can have international conservation significance by creating ecologically connected networks and by acting as stepping stones for cross-border interconnection to natural populations

Deep-Sea Benthic Faunal Impacts and Community Evolution Before, During, and After the Deepwater Horizon Event

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout reached the seafloor through deep-sea plumes and sedimentation of oil and oiled marine snow. This oil caused extensive damage over wide areas to both hard-bottom and soft-bottom communities. The most sensitive bioindicators were deep-sea planar octocorals for hard-bottoms and macrofauna and meiofauna diversity and taxa richness for soft-bottoms. Both hard-bottom and soft-bottom communities are very vulnerable to deep-sea oil spills. Deep-sea corals grow slowly and thus have extremely slow recovery rates. Four years after the spill, there was no recovery of the lost biodiversity of the macrofauna and meiofauna. Future research should be focused toward recovery and restoration. For hard-bottoms this could take the form of restoration projects. For soft-bottoms the restoration strategy could be “restoration in place” because fresh sediments, which fall to the seafloor continuously, can cap the contaminated sediments over time. Both strategies require monitoring to ensure desired outcomes are achieved

The Coral Trait Database, a curated database of trait information for coral species from the global oceans.

Trait-based approaches advance ecological and evolutionary research because traits provide a strong link to an organism's function and fitness. Trait-based research might lead to a deeper understanding of the functions of, and services provided by, ecosystems, thereby improving management, which is vital in the current era of rapid environmental change. Coral reef scientists have long collected trait data for corals; however, these are difficult to access and often under-utilized in addressing large-scale questions. We present the Coral Trait Database initiative that aims to bring together physiological, morphological, ecological, phylogenetic and biogeographic trait information into a single repository. The database houses species- and individual-level data from published field and experimental studies alongside contextual data that provide important framing for analyses. In this data descriptor, we release data for 56 traits for 1547 species, and present a collaborative platform on which other trait data are being actively federated. Our overall goal is for the Coral Trait Database to become an open-source, community-led data clearinghouse that accelerates coral reef research