A blueprint for an inclusive, global deep-sea Ocean Decade field programme

The ocean plays a crucial role in the functioning of the Earth System and in the provision of vital goods and services. The United Nations (UN) declared 2021–2030 as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The Roadmap for the Ocean Decade aims to achieve six critical societal outcomes (SOs) by 2030, through the pursuit of four objectives (Os). It specifically recognizes the scarcity of biological data for deep-sea biomes, and challenges the global scientific community to conduct research to advance understanding of deep-sea ecosystems to inform sustainable management. In this paper, we map four key scientific questions identified by the academic community to the Ocean Decade SOs: (i) What is the diversity of life in the deep ocean? (ii) How are populations and habitats connected? (iii) What is the role of living organisms in ecosystem function and service provision? and (iv) How do species, communities, and ecosystems respond to disturbance? We then consider the design of a global-scale program to address these questions by reviewing key drivers of ecological pattern and process. We recommend using the following criteria to stratify a global survey design: biogeographic region, depth, horizontal distance, substrate type, high and low climate hazard, fished/unfished, near/far from sources of pollution, licensed/protected from industry activities. We consider both spatial and temporal surveys, and emphasize new biological data collection that prioritizes southern and polar latitudes, deeper (> 2000 m) depths, and midwater environments. We provide guidance on observational, experimental, and monitoring needs for different benthic and pelagic ecosystems. We then review recent efforts to standardize biological data and specimen collection and archiving, making “sampling design to knowledge application” recommendations in the context of a new global program. We also review and comment on needs, and recommend actions, to develop capacity in deep-sea research; and the role of inclusivity - from accessing indigenous and local knowledge to the sharing of technologies - as part of such a global program. We discuss the concept of a new global deep-sea biological research program ‘Challenger 150,’ highlighting what it could deliver for the Ocean Decade and UN Sustainable Development Goal 14

Peracarids and Pycnogonids of the seagrass meadows in O Grove inlet : ecology and faunistics

[spa] Las rías de Galicia son sistemas estuáricos singulares y complejos de gran importancia económica. Sin embargo, el papel ecológico de las praderas de fanerógamas en las rías gallegas no ha sido evaluado adecuadamente hasta el momento. Debido a la importancia de los Peracáridos en los sistemas bentónicos y la falta de estudios de la sinecología de Picnogónidos, en este trabajo se estudian la diversidad específica, patrones de distribución y fluctuaciones estacionales de Peracáridos y Picnogónidos en sedimentos colonizados por dos especies de faneróagamas marinas (Zostera marina y Z. noltii) en O Grove (ría de Arousa, Noroeste de España), una ensenada con alto grado de influencia antrópica. Ambas taxocenosis mostraron valores más altos de abundancia y diversidad específica que otros ambientes similares del Nordeste atlántico. La distribución espacial de los agrupamiento de Peracáridos se caracterizóm por una alta dominancia numérica de unas pocoas especies, particularmente de Tanaidáceos. El estudio temporal de en una pradera submareal de Z. marina mostró un patrón fuertemente estacional definido por grandes fluctuaciones de las poblaciones. Los análisis señalaron una alta correlación entre las características granulométricas del sedimento y los atributos faunísticos. Las abundancias de los taxones de peracáridos mostraron un patrón fuertemente estacional. La dinámica poblacional del Picnogónido Achelia echinata sugiere un fuerte acoplamiento con el ciclo de vida de la planta. Una observación detallada de los ejemplares obtenidos durante el estudio revelaron la presencia de una nueva especie de Tanaidáceo, Apseudopsis adami sp. nov. Además, el Anfípodo Perioculodes aequimanus es citado por primera vez en el océano Atlántico. Esta especie está bien establecida en la ensenada, siendo una de las especies de peracáridos numéricamente dominantes. Las especies del género Apseudopsis pueden ser identificadas, independientemente del estadio de desarrollo del individuo, por la combinación de los siguientes carateres: la forma de rostro, la presencia o ausencia de apófisis en los pereonitos y la distribución de las espinas en el primer pereópodo. Se han encontrado algunas diferencias en el desarrollo postmarsupial y la estructura poblacional de las dos especies presentes en la ensenada; tales diferencias pueden ser atribuidas a la partición de hábitat que permitiría la coexistencia de dos especies cogenéricas.[eng] The Galician rias are singular and complex estuarine systems of great economic importance. Nevertheless, the ecological role of seagrass meadows in Galician rias has been only partially assessed. Because of the importance of Peracarid faunas in benthic assemblages and the lack of studies on Pycnogonids synecology, in this work, species diversity, patterns of distribution and temporal fluctuations of peracarids and pycnogonids are studied in sediments colonized by two species of seagrass (Zostera marina and Z. noltii) in O Grove (Ria de Arousa, NW Spain), an inlet with high level of anthropogenic influence. Both taxocoenoses showed higher values of abundance and species diversity than other similar environments in the Northeast Atlantic. The spatial distribution of the peracarid assemblages was characterized by high numerical dominances due to a few species, particularly Tanaidaceans. The temporal study at a subtidal Z. marina meadow showed a strongly seasonal pattern defined by great fluctuations of the populations. Analyses pointed out a high correlation among the granulometric features of the sediment and the faunistic attributes. Abundance of peracarid taxa showed a strongly seasonal pattern. Temporal variations in the population dynamics of the pycnogonid Achelia echinata suggest a strong coupling with the life history of the seagrass. A detailed observation of the specimens obtained during the study revealed the presence of a new species of Tanaidacean, Apseudopsis adami sp. nov. In addition, the amphipod Perioculodes aequimanus is reported for the first time in the Atlantic Ocean. The latter species is well established in the inlet and is one of the numerically dominant peracarid species. The species of the genus Apseudopsis can be diagnosed, regardless the developmental stage of the specimen, by a combination of the following characters: the shape of the rostrum, the presence/absence of apophyses on pereonites and the spination of the first pereopod. Some differences have been found in the postmarsupial development and population structure of the two species present in the inlet; such differences can be attributed to habitat partitioning that would permit the coexistence of two congeneric species