Bringing together harmonized EUNIS seabed habitat geospatial information for the European Seas

The EUNIS-compliant information on Seabed Habitats that is currently available from the EMODNET portal covers only about half of the European Union (EU) waters in the Northeast Atlantic and adjacent Seas with EU outermost regions in other parts of the Atlantic or in the Indian Ocean still remaining out of the exercise. These gaps limit the geographical comprehensiveness of any studies on seabed-related Ecosystem Functions and Services. However, separate broad-scale seabed habitat mapping sources offer complementary seabed-related geospatial information that can be straightforwardly or, after some basic GIS processing, translated into EUNIS classes. This work focused on expeditiously obtaining a comprehensive coverage of permanently submerged seabed habitats (i.e., EUNIS classes A3 to A6) throughout most of the EU marine waters. This was achieved by bringing in, and harmonizing where need, complementary EUNIS-compliant broad-scale geospatial information from the UNEP’s Global Seafloor Geomorphic Features Map (GSGFM). The new geospatial dataset obtained, a polygon shapefile, extends for approximately 8.7 million km2 and more than doubles the coverage of EUNIS seabed habitat classes when compared to the datasets available from the EMODNET Seabed Habitats portal. The new information details more than 90% of the EU waters down to EUNIS level 2 and 3, improving EMODNET datasets by populating the deep-sea and offshore areas with previously disregarded geomorphic-based EUNIS habitat classes. Conversely, it is acknowledged that the GSGFM data could did not bring in any relevant information concerning EUNIS shelf habitats. The methodology and some area-based statistics on seabed habitat are presented, including overall and basin-specific mapped extents. It is noted that the mapping and quantification of several habitat extents are still geographically biased and underestimate the actual extent of the habitat. A comprehensive and homogeneous coverage of all EU seabed is expected in 2016 from the EMODNET Seabed Habitats programme. Until then, the current synthesis may constitute a valuable dataset for assessing the distribution of many EUNIS seabed habitat classes in EU waters and pursuing spatially-explicit analysis of seabed-related Functions and Services.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

On some interesting opisthobranchs (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Azores

The nudibranch Eubranchus farrani Alder and Hancock, 1844 is recorded from the Azores for the first time. The presence of the sacoglossan Placida cremoniana (Trinchese, 1892) in the Azores is confirmed. Pleurobranchus sp. from the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands is compared with P. garciagomesi Cervera et al. 1996; it probably is an undescribed species.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Additions to the marine molluscs of the Formigas Islets, Azores.

A fauna malacológica dos ilhéus das Formigas foi abordada por Ávila & Azevedo (1997). A presente lista vem completar e corrigir aquele documento. Seis novos taxa são dados para os Açores: Vitreolina curva (Monterosato, 1874), Nassarius cf. ovoideus (Locard, 1886), Mangelia coarctata (Forbes, 1840), Raphitoma leufroyi (Michaud,1838), Coryphela sp. and Pseudochama gryphina (Lamarck, 1819). O número total de moluscos marinhos das águas pouco profundas dos ilhéus das Formigas ascende agora a 88 taxa (1 Polyplacophora, 66 Gastropoda, 20 Bivalvia e 1 Cephalopoda).ABSTRACT: The Formigas islets were surveyed for its molluscan fauna in 1990 during the "Santa Maria & Formigas 1990" scientific expedition. Preliminary results were published by Avila & Azevedo (1997). That earlier list is here complemented with new records and some corrections. Species determination, synonymy and the ordination of families follows the CLEMAM database (http://www.mnhn.fr/base/malaco.html). Six new taxa are reported to the Azores: Vitreolina curva (Monterosato, 1874), Nassarius cf. ovoideus (Locard, 1886), Mangelia coarctata (Forbes, 1840), Raphitoma leufroyi (Michaud,1838), Coryphela sp. and Pseudochama gryphina (Lamarck, 1819). The total number of shallow-water marine molluscs from Formigas islets is now of 88 taxa (1 Polyplacophora, 66 Gastropoda, 20 Bivalvia and 1 Cephalopoda)

Spatial distribution of marine ecosystem service capacity in the European seas

Practitioners and policy makers at European Union (EU) and Member States level are increasingly seeking spatially-explicit ecosystem service information to use in decision-making and the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Whilst under the MAES Action, land-cover data has already been used to map the distribution of several ecosystem services provided over the European land surface, a similar exercise exploiting existing seabed habitat data is still lacking for the European Seas. In this work we map the distribution of seabed-associated ecosystem services capacity by using a methodology that brings together (i) a geospatial dataset representing the broadscale distribution of permanently-submerged seabed habitats with (ii) information on each habitat capacity to provide ecosystem services. A compilation of EUNIS-harmonized broadscale seabed habitat maps based on EMODNET Seabed Habitats and UNEP GSGFM is exploited as the pan-European cartographic basis. The exercise extends out to the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf claims, achieving an areal coverage of approximately 8.7 million km2, i.e., more than 90% of the EU seafloor area in the Northeast Atlantic and adjacent seas. Alongside, expert-based assessments of each marine EUNIS habitat's capacity to provide CICES-harmonized Ecosystem Services are compiled from a literature review into a presence-only lookup table. Overall, the new seabed habitats versus ecosystem services lookup tables relate 33 ecosystem services to 67 EUNIS and 24 non-EUNIS seabed habitats. These results suggest that out of all marine habitats (n=974) in the EUNIS classification (EUNIS A1 to A7), only 14% (n=141) have so far been related to at least one ecosystem service. When all potential connections between the existing seabed EUNIS classes and CICES services are considered (n=104,218), results further show that only 2% (i.e., n=2,241) of the have been addressed qualitatively or semi-quantitatively. Based on this information, a total of 30 CICES ecosystem service categories are mapped: 3 at level 1 (CICES Sections), 5 at level 2 (CICES Divisions), 10 at level 3 (CICES Groups) and 12 at level 4 (CICES Classes). From these maps, area-based indicators of ecosystem service capacity (i.e., extent where each service is potentially provided) are extracted per MSFD region/subregion, Ecoregion, Fishing Area and an approximation of EU Member States (MS) maritime areas in the Northeast Atlantic and Adjacent Seas. Along with the maps, the study presents also some spatial statistics based on the extent over which each service is potentially provided. Different segmentations of the European Seas are used to aggregate these statistics including MSFD region/subregion, Ecological Region, FAO Fishing Area and an approximation of the Member State maritime area. Overall, continental shelves and oceanic elevations (islands, seamounts and ridges) were highlighted as ecosystem services hotspots where a larger number of services could be potentially held. When maps were segmented using MSFD region/subregion limits, the Extended Continental Shelf areas claimed by the EU MS in the Northeast Atlantic, together with the Celtic Seas and the Greater North Sea sub-regions stood as the regions holding most ecosystem service capacity. An ecoregion-based segmentation of the maps emphasized the Atlantic Deep Sea as the major ecosystem service capacity holder, followed by ecoregions containing large shelves, notably the Boreal Proper, the Boreal-Lusitanean and the Western Mediterranean. A disaggregation of the results per Fishing Area highlighted the Northeast Atlantic, namely areas around the British Isles and Macaronesia, as well as the western Mediterranean. When an approximation of EU Member States (MS) maritime areas was used, MS with larger EEZs (namely, UK, IT, PT and ES) came up as holding most of the marine ecosystem service capacity. The new maps and associated area-based indicators provide a first spatially-explicit baseline concerning the EU-wide distribution of marine ecosystem services. They contribute to the marine component of MAES and fulfil key objectives of the JRC’s SEACOAST and BES projects. Options to develop this research line and eventually make it more quantitative are expounded in the discussion and summarized in the conclusions. The new information is of value to practitioners, managers and policy makers, at European or Member State level, seeking spatially-explicit ecosystem service information for marine spatial planning and environmental management. Researchers initiating and developing marine ecosystem service mapping studies are also expected users.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Caracterização morfológica da plataforma da ilha do Faial

A plataforma insular do Faial foi cartografada com recurso a um vasto conjunto de dados geofísicos e geológicos. A análise da morfologia da plataforma permitiu perceber quais os factores que mais contribuiram para a sua evolução

Lava penetrating water: Submarine lava flows around the coasts of Pico Island, Azores

Bathymetry data collected with a multibeam echo sounder around Pico Island, Azores (Portugal), reveal a remarkable series of lava flows on the island's shelf with a variety of pristine structures that suggest how lava behaves on entering water. Many flows are dendritic in plan view, some with channels and tumuli. Dendritic geometries are interpreted to arise from flow fronts repeatedly arrested by enhanced cooling and magma pressure subsequently causing new breakouts. Cascades of elongated flow fingers also occur, with individual fingers of comparable diameters to the largest known megapillows. Some flows have wide transverse clefts, in cases separating flows into segments, which are interpreted as caused by their upper surfaces having solidified, while their still-fluid cores allowed the surfaces to extend. A number of flows moved onto the shelf as large bodies, stopped, and then sourced smaller lobes forming the dendritic patterns. This two-stage evolution and the tumuli (which lie on a low gradient immediately below a steep nearshore gradient) suggest that, after initial emplacement and development of a crust by cooling, some flows pressurized. Once movements ceased and viscous stresses dissipated, magma static pressure developed from the weight of flow interiors passing over cliffs and nearshore gradients. One group of flows traverses the island's submarine slope, so direct supply of lava to the slopes is possible, although volumetrically how important it is to the island's internal composition is difficult to tell from these data. On the basis of observed strong surf erosion of historical flows, these delicate structures probably could not have survived passage through a moving sea level unmodified by erosion so they are unlikely to be pre-Holocene subaerial flows. They are interpreted to have formed in the Holocene from flows penetrating sea level or possibly some from nearshore tube openings or vents. Such flows and abundant clastic deposits are ephemeral features that become remobilized by surf during times of lower sea level. The shelves of active volcanic islands are therefore active geologically and are far from being simple products of erosional truncation as was once envisaged

Taxonomic review of selected invertebrate groups collected during the Campaigns of the Prince Albert I of Monaco in the Azorean waters.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Prince Albert I of Monaco promoted 13 cruises that sampled the Azorean waters. During those cruises a total of 2624 nominal marine species were reported in the area. This work assembles the biological data provided by these expeditions to the Azores in a geo-referenced database. Faunal lists for seven invertebrate groups (Echiura, Sipuncula, Cephalopoda, Annelida, Brachiopoda, Chaetognatha and Echinodermata) are compiled. The checklist includes 331 nominal species, of which 310 are valid names: 1 echiurid; 11 sipunculids; 32 cephalopods; 130 annelids; 4 brachiopods; 14 chaetognaths; and 118 echinoderms. Eighteen percent are synonyms, 29% of the species were allocated to a different genus, 2.8% were misspellings and corrections due to gender or concordance rules, 0.8% were specific epithets allocated to sub-specific level or vice-versa, the rest were validated directly (without any modification in their nomenclature)

Notes on fauna associated with an opportunistic artificial reef near cold-water corals

This short communication provides a sporadic insight on the importance of a hard three-dimensional structure for deepwater fish near CWC. Fish size and behaviour inside the structure and in the surrounding area are described. Additionally, a list of biofouling macroorganisms found on the structure after one year of deployment is presented

Evaluating seabed habitat representativeness across a diverse set of marine protected areas on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Marine ecosystem-based management requires good spatial information on the distribution of marine species and habitats. Often, such information is limited to a few sampled locations, but modelling techniques can be applied to produce predictive distribution maps. A harmonized broad-scale seabed habitat map was recently produced for the archipelagos of Macaronesia under the EMODnet Seabed Habitats Programme. We use this new information to produce an extent-based evaluation of the representativeness and level of protection conferred by the current set of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Azores to the variety of benthic marine habitats found in this oceanic region. A more objective assessment of the protection effectively provided to the habitats is obtained by applying a scoring system to the MPAs based on the number of allowed extractive and non-extractive human activities and their potential impact on marine biodiversity and habitats. Results show that Azorean habitats within the MPAs are nearly entirely classified as highly protected. In total, 26 habitats (7 of which are endangered and 2 are rare) have at least 10% of their extent in the Azores EEZ protected by MPAs, but another 29 fail to meet this target (4 on-shelf habitats and 25 deep-sea habitats), highlighting the need to extend current protection of bathyal and abyssal habitats and applying adequate ecological coherence criteria. This approach sets a standard that can be used wherever similar information is available, be it in other European regions or beyond.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New occurrences of Corallium spp. (Octocorallia, Coralliidae) in the Central Northeast Atlantic

Corallium niobe Bayer, 1964 and Corallium tricolor (Johnson, 1899) are reported as new records from the central Northeast Atlantic. C. niobe was caught in the Azores and C. tricolor on the slope of the Irving Seamount (South Azores Seamounts). The presence of Corallium johnsoni Gray, 1860 in Azorean waters is confirmed. The sub-tropical Macaronesian islands and seamounts appear to be an important hot-spot for Corallium spp. Most colonies have been collected on seamounts and island slopes around Madeira, Canaries, Azores and the Cape Verde archipelagos. In the Azores most of these corals live below the normal depth of commercial fishing operations and are unlikely to be severely impacted by this activity