The view of the oceans as vast and continuous domains immune to human action has been changing, and the study of connectivity has become fundamental to understanding the resilience of marine organisms and habitats in the face of natural and anthropogenic impacts, and informing stakeholders and policymakers with scientifically based options for ecosystem management and conservation.
In recent years, integrated and multidisciplinary approaches, including high-resolution biophysical modelling, genetic and geochemical markers, have been used to infer the spatial scales of larval dispersal and population connectivity. However, gaps in the knowledge of the physical and biological processes that control dispersal, larval settlement and recruitment hinder the understanding of connectivity in the deep sea. With the main objective of advancing knowledge of deep-sea connectivity, the proposed project will focus on the study of larval distributions and settlement along the European and North African continental margin.
The specific objectives of this work are to investigate:
- The occurrence of larval stages of deep-sea organisms at different depths in the water column and their geographical distribution in the eastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean.
- The settlement of deep-sea organisms, as well as bio-films in which the larvae settle, on organic and inorganic substrates, on horizontal and vertical spatial scales along the European and North African continental margin.
- The connectivity between populations in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, using molecular and geochemical markers.
The proposed objectives will be achieved by anchoring larval traps and settlement platforms with natural and artificial substrates, at different depths along mooring lines, for periods of 6 to 18 months coinciding with the maintenance operations of fixed observatories on the high seas. The five installations selected, Station M (Norway), PAP (United Kingdom), DYFAMED (France), ESTOC (Canary Islands) and CVOO (Cape Verde), cover the geographical and bathymetric distribution of known mollusc species in deep-sea habitats in the East Atlantic and West Mediterranean.LO3CAted will provide new data on the distribution and availability of larvae in different bodies of water, contributing to the knowledge of connectivity between deep-sea populations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. This project brings together CESAM researchers and international scientists with extensive experience in the study of deep-sea ecosystems, including areas such as invertebrate taxonomy and anatomy, trophic and reproductive ecology and biogeography.