Andreia Braga Henriques

Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer | Ifremer · Department of Deep-Sea Ecosystems

Our results show an important unknown diversity of zoanthids associated with deep sea corals. The monophyly of octocoral associated zoanthids suggests that substrate specificity is tightly linked to the evolution of zoanthids. The parasitic behaviour of these octocoral associated zoanthids raises questions on their importance as a natural cause of...

We have conducted an exhaustive compilation of records of alcyonaceans, antipatharians, scleractinians and stylasterids available through present day to assess the diversity, distribution and spatial structure of coral assemblages in the Azores exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The resulting database comprises 2501 entries concerning historical oceano...

Observations of deep-sea homolids are becoming more common, but good-resolution imagery of these crabs in the natural environment is still scarce. Sixteen new in situ observations of Paromola cuvieri from various locations within the central and eastern groups of the Azores Archipelago (Northeast Atlantic) are described here based on video footage...

Bottom trawl fishing threatens deep-sea ecosystems, modifying the seafloor morphology and its physical properties, with dramatic consequences on benthic communities. Therefore, the future of deep-sea fishing relies on alternative techniques that maintain the health of deep-sea ecosystems and tolerate appropriate human uses of the marine environment...

Braga-Henriques, A., Carreiro-Silva, M., Porteiro, F. M., de Matos, V., Sampaio, Í., Ocaña, O., and Ávila, S., P. 2011. The association between a deep-sea gastropod Pedicularia sicula (Caenogastropoda: Pediculariidae) and its coral host Errina dabneyi (Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) in the Azores. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 399–407. The Azores...

The mesophotic zone represents one of our planet’s largest and least explored biomes. An increasing number of studies evidence the importance of macrofouling species in marine ecosystems, but information on these communities and the factors influencing their structures at mesophotic depths remain poor. This lack of understanding limits our ability...

The Madeira archipelago has a unique underwater landscape that is characterised by narrow shelves, steep slopes and a large submarine tributary system that boosts primary productivity in oligotrophic waters and thus offers a potential for hotspots of biodiversity. Despite this, there have been limited deep-water exploration activities with less tha...

The joint ICES/NAFO Working Group on Deep-water Ecology (WGDEC) collates new information on the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) for use in annual ICES advisory processes and the development of new methods/techniques to further our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems, and further suggests novel management tools to ensure human a...

Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are particularly susceptible to bottom-fishing activity as they are easily disturbed and slow to recover. A data-driven approach was developed to provide management options for the protection of VMEs under the European Union “deep-sea access regulations.” A total of two options within two scenarios were developed...

Under regulation (EU) 2016/2336, the EU fleet will be banned from bottom fishing in all waters between 400 and 800m in depth, apart from within the existing fishing footprint. Within the fishing footprint, EU vessels will be prohibited from bottom fishing in any closed areas that might be introduced to protect VMEs. To meet these regulatory require...

The joint ICES/NAFO Working Group on Deep-water Ecology (WGDEC) collates new information on the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) for use in annual ICES advisory processes and the development of new methods/techniques to further our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems, and further suggests novel management tools to ensure human a...

Video and image data are regularly used in the field of benthic ecology to document biodiversity. However, their use is subject to a number of challenges, principally the identification of taxa within the images without associated physical specimens. The challenge of applying traditional taxonomic keys to the identification of fauna from images has...

Octocoral species are globally distributed in all oceans and may form dense communities known as vulnerable marine ecosystems. Despite their importance as deep-water habitats, the underlying genetic structure and gene-flow patterns of most deep-water populations remain largely unknown. Here, we evaluated genetic connectivity of the primnoid octocor...

Heteropathes opreski, a new antipatharian species from the northern border of the Oceanographer Fracture Zone is here described and illustrated. An emended diagnosis of the genus and a dichotomous key containing the four Heteropathes species are presented. This species is unique in that it forms smaller colonies compared to the other species in the...

A reef formed by corals of the azooxanthellate scleractinian genus Eguchipsammia Cairns, 1994 (Dendrophylliidae), identified following the morphological descriptions by Zibrowius (1980) and Cairns (2000), was discovered in July 2013 off the Faial-Pico Channel (Azores, Northeast Atlantic). This is the first record of such an extensive living Eguchip...

The first record of Antipathella subpinnata ( Ellis and Solander, 1786) for the Azores archipelago is presented based on bottom longline by-catch analysis and ROV seafloor surveys, extending the species western-most boundary of distribution in the NE Atlantic. The species was determined using classic taxonomy and molecular analysis targeting nuclea...

The first record of Antipathella subpinnata (Ellis and Solander, 1786) for the Azores archipelago is presented based on bottom longline by-catch analysis and ROV seafloor surveys, extending the species western-most boundary of distribution in the NE Atlantic. The species was determined using classic taxonomy and molecular analysis targeting nuclear...

Five colonies of black coral Leiopathes sp. were collected as bycatch from depths of 293 to 366 m from the Condor, Acor, and Voador seamounts (Azores region). The colonies had axial diameters between 4.9 and 33.1 mm and heights between 43 and 175 cm. Their ages and radial growth rates were estimated using radiocarbon dating. Results indicated that...

Cold-water corals are widely considered as important structural components of benthic habitats, potentially enhancing local abundance in a variety of fish and invertebrate species. Yet, current knowledge of the taxonomic diversity and distribution patterns of these vulnerable, slow-growing organisms is scarce and fragmented, limiting the effectiven...

Seamounts are among the most common topographic features in the world ocean. Depending on their particular morphological traits, they can also be referred to as banks, knolls, guyots, mounds, or hills. Condor seamount is a linear volcano located in the Azores (northeast Atlantic), 35 km in length, 2-6 km wide, and of varied seafloor morphology. A s...

The impact of bottom trawling on cold-water corals (CWC) has been thoroughly studied and shown to be long-lasting; however the effects of bottom longlining on CWC ecosystems have received little attention. The present paper identifies the principal CWC species landed by bottom longlining in Faial (Azores) from 150 to 600 m depth. Data were obtained...

This book started as an idea at the GeoHab meeting held in Noumea, New Caledonia, in May 2007. We noticed that multibeam bathymetry maps of geomorphic features, sometimes shown as 3D fly-thru movies, followed by detailed sampling and photographic data (including underwater videos) illustrating the substrate conditions and associated biota was a con...

The Azores is an volcanic archipelago located in the northeast Atlantic approximately 1,600km westwards of Portugal’s mainland coast. Portugal’s marine jurisdiction around the islands encompasses an Exclusive Economic Zone of almost 1 million km2 and a claimed continental shelf extension that expands Portuguese sovereignty to approximately twice th...

Cold-water corals are among the most important deep-water communities for conservation. Because of its very low resilience and high levels of diversity, these communities are very sensitive and vulnerable to human activities mainly fisheries. Bottom-trawling is forbidden in the Azores, where only bottom long-lines are used. In 2007 and 2008 four de...

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 Macaronesia...

The deep-water corals (DWC) enclose Hexacorallia (Scleractinia and Antipatharia), Octocorallia (mainly Gorgonacea) and some Hydrozoa (Stylasteridae). The impact of fisheries in these communities has a global concern. In Azores bottom trawling is forbidden but bottom long-lines and gears can also damage and capture DWC accidentally. The main goal of...

A total of 643 coral specimens were recorded in the Azores region over the last 4 years based on scientific expeditions and longline bycatch data (local fishing fleet and experimental fishing surveys). The specimens were collected at depths between 25 and 3000 m, with the bulk of specimens coming from 200 to 600 m depths, which is the main operatio...

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First report of cold-water coral assemblages in Condor Seamount (NE Atlantic).