Ellen L. Kenchington

Bedford Institute of Oceanography · Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Aim To characterize the functional diversity and selected ecological functions of marine epibenthic invertebrate communities at the ecosystem scale and to evaluate the relative contributions of environmental filtering, including bottom‐contact fishing, and competitive interactions to benthic community assembly. Location Flemish Cap, an ecosystem p...

The ecological diversity of benthic invertebrates from bottom trawl surveys was mapped for the Flemish Cap, a plateau of ~200 km radius in the northwest Atlantic. Species density (SpD), the exponential Shannon diversity index (e H′) and Heip's index of evenness (E ~ ') were measured at different spatial scales. Continuous surfaces of each were crea...

The large, habitat-forming bubblegum coral, Paragorgia arborea, is a vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator with an antitropical distribution. Dense aggregations of the species have been protected from bottom-contact fishing in the Scotian Shelf bioregion off Nova Scotia, Canada in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Recently, basin-scale habitat suitabil...

Aim Protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) in the high seas has focussed on identifying concentrations of indicator species and prohibiting the operation of bottom‐contact fishing gears where those occur in significant concentrations. Most such species have planktonic larvae and depend on dispersal networks for inter‐generational persist...

Biodiversity changes and habitat shifts are two phenomena substantially reshaping marine life on our present and future planet. Although those phenomena are well recognized on the macrobial level, they currently do not receive similar attention on the microbial level. Generally, microbiome diversity and function, associated with and governing the h...

de Froe, E., Yashayaev, I., Mohn, C., Vad, J., Mienis, F., Duineveld, G., Kenchington, E., Head, E., Ross, S. W., Blackbird, S., Wolff, G. A., Roberts, J. M., MacDonald, B., Tulloch, G., and van Oevelen, D.: Characterizing regional oceanography and bottom environmental conditions at two contrasting sponge grounds on the northern Labrador Shelf, Bio...

Deep-sea sponge grounds are distributed globally and are considered hotspots of biological diversity and biogeochemical cycling. To date, little is known about the environmental conditions that allow high sponge biomass to develop in the deep sea. Here, we characterize oceanographic conditions at two contrasting sites off the northern Labrador Shel...

Identification of ecologically significant units at different spatial scales is essential for management of biodiversity attributes. This case study illustrates a coupled methodological approach to delineate benthic habitats and associated assemblages at different spatial scales. Two complementary analyses were employed based on the occurrences of...

A sampling protocol that serves to monitor temporal changes in the megabenthic fauna associated with the commercial scallop fishing grounds in the Bay of Fundy is documented. The protocol is discussed from several aspects, including the challenges to document presences in the survey catch when using paper forms and digital photos, continuity with p...

Many indicators have been developed to assess the state of benthic communities and identify seabed habitats most at risk from bottom trawling disturbance. However, the large variety of indicators and their development and application under specific geographic areas and management contexts has made it difficult to evaluate their wider utility. We co...

The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) requested, in 2023, advice from ICES on Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in relation to long-term biodiversity/ecosystem benefits of NEAFC’s areas restricted to bottom fishing, on vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) closed areas, and on the potential maximum depths of bottom...

ICES workshop on status of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the NEAFC Regulatory Area for 5-year review (WKVMESTAT) was formed as part of the formal ICES advisory process in response to requests from the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). These requests were for advice on relevant scientific issues for the NEAFC five year review of th...

The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - including Canada - approved the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) Decision 15/4 2022), which builds on earlier commitments to achieve 30% protection of Canada’s ocean by 2030 by increasing spatial conservation of biodiversity using marine protected areas (MPAs) and O...

Behavioral response of deep-sea sponges can provide crucial insights into the mechanisms shaping energy fluxes and ecosystem functioning. Although some advances have been made, the behavior of deep-sea Hexactinellid still remain widely unknown. In the present study we address the glass sponge Vazella pourtalesii behavior. High temporal resolution i...

The deep-sea remains the biggest challenge to biodiversity exploration, and anthropogenic disturbances extend well into this realm, calling for urgent management strategies. One of the most diverse, productive, and vulnerable ecosystems in the deep sea are sponge grounds. Currently, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is revolutionising the fiel...

A collection of swallowers (Chiasmodontidae) was examined in exploration of a contested specific distinction between Chiasmodon niger and C. harteli. The specimens had been taken during four midwater-trawl surveys in The Gully, a submarine canyon and Marine Protected Area (‘MPA’) off the coast of Nova Scotia. Vertebral counts, the principal feature...

Benthic landers with cameras were deployed to take time-series photos for several months. The first series in 2021-2022 was in the Sambro Bank Sponge Conservation Area. The second series in 2022-2023 was in Sambro Bank and the Gully Marine Protected Area. Over 54,000 images were reviewed and annotated using the BIIGLE platform, with labels for fish...

Biodiversity continues to decline in Canada despite significant efforts to halt losses. There is increasing recognition that direct drivers of biodiversity loss, such as resource exploitation and pollution, are perpetuated in part by conflicting goals and values across economic, social, political, and technological sectors, and inequity on many sca...

ICES Scientific Reports

ICES received a special request for information on the list of areas where Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) are known to occur, or are likely to occur, and on the existing deep-sea fishing areas in EU waters of the Outermost Regions subject to the EU deep-sea access regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/2336). The nine Outermost Regions of the EU (Fr...

Aim Seamounts are conspicuous geological features with an important ecological role and can be considered vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). Since many deep‐sea regions remain largely unexplored, investigating the occurrence of VME taxa on seamounts is challenging. Our study aimed to predict the distribution of four cold‐water coral (CWC) taxa, i...

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and the Ocean Tracking Network successfully deployed three benthic landers in the Sambro Bank Sponge Conservation Area and the Gully Marine Protected Area in the autumn of 2022 and recovered them in the summer of 2023. These landers were equipped with camera syst...

The first multidisciplinary characterisation of Bowditch Seamount in the Sargasso Sea was conducted to provide new baseline knowledge of the biodiversity, geomorphology, oceanography and glacial history of this seamount. A dropframe camera transect 1483–1562 m deep on the seamount documented 77 megafaunal taxa including Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis has now become a core approach in marine biodiversity research, which typically involves the collection of water or sediment samples. Yet, recently, filter-feeding organisms have received much attention for their potential role as natural eDNA samplers. While the indiscriminate use of living organisms as ‘sampling...

Knowledge of the spatial distribution patterns of biodiversity in the ocean is key to evaluate and ensure ocean integrity and resilience. Especially for the deep ocean, where in situ monitoring requires sophisticated instruments and considerable financial investments, modelling approaches are crucial to move from scattered data points to predictive...

Deep-sea sponges are important contributors to carbon and nitrogen cycling due to their large filtration capacity. Species of the suborder Astrophorina form dense sponge grounds in the North Atlantic, where they serve as prey for spongivores, but also have non-trophic interactions with commensal epi- and endobionts. At the Flemish Cap (NW Atlantic)...

Deep-sea sponge grounds are distributed globally and are considered hotspots of biological diversity and biogeochemical cycling. To date, little is known about the environmental constraints that control where deep-sea sponge grounds occur and what conditions allow high sponge biomass to develop in the deep sea. Here, we characterize oceanographic c...

The workshop to evaluate long-term biodiversity/ecosystem benefits of NEAFC closed and restricted areas (WKECOVME) was formed as part of the formal ICES advisory process in response to requests from the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) for advice on Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in relation to long-term bi...

The deep sea remains the biggest challenge to biodiversity exploration, and anthropogenic disturbances extend well into this realm, calling for urgent management strategies. One of the most diverse, productive, and vulnerable ecosystems in the deep sea are sponge grounds. Currently, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is revolutionising the fiel...

Ocean ecosystems are at the forefront of the climate and biodiversity crises, yet we lack a unified approach to assess their state and inform sustainable policies. This blueprint is designed around research capabilities and cross-sectoral partnerships. We highlight priorities including integrating basin-scale observation, modelling and genomic appr...

Sponges (phylum Porifera) play an important role in habitat creation and nutrient cycling. However, despite these key functional roles, sponge communities in Arctic marine environments are still poorly known. Sponges were collected between 2010-2014, in 2017 and in 2019 during annual multispecies trawl surveys conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Cana...

The Bay of Fundy presents a unique environment with extreme tidal range, strong currents, fresh-water river discharge, and diverse habitats that are also experiencing temperature increase at a faster rate than most of the world ocean. There is extensive commercial fishing, valuable beds of sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) being found in sever...

Little is known about dispersal in deep-sea ecosystems, especially for sponges, which are abundant ecosystem engineers. Understanding patterns of gene flow in deep-sea sponges is essential, especially in areas where rising pressure from anthropogenic activities makes difficult to combine management and conservation. Here, we combined population gen...

The glass sponge Vazella pourtalesii thrives in dense populations along the Canadian Atlantic continental shelf, providing a habitat for a diverse range of associated species. To investigate its temporal dynamics and primary environmental drivers, a V. pourtalesii assemblage was monitored for a period of 10 months using a video-equipped Lander. Emp...

Deep-sea sponges are important contributors to carbon and nitrogen cycling due to their large filtration capacity. Species of the suborder Astrophorina form dense sponge grounds in the North Atlantic, where they serve as prey for spongivores, but also have non-trophic interactions with commensal epi- and endobionts. At the Flemish Cap (NW Atlantic)...

The genus Sebastes is a morphologically and ecologically diverse genus of rockfish characterized by high longevity, late-maturity and low natural mortality. On the northwest Atlantic continental shelf, the Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus) is the most common rockfish species above 300 m depth. This species has been widely exploited resulting in...

The large, habitat-forming bubblegum coral, Paragorgia arborea, is a vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator with an antitropical distribution. Dense aggregations of the species have been protected from bottom-contact fishing in the Scotian Shelf bioregion of the northwest Atlantic Ocean. We undertook an assessment of the predicted distribution of th...

In support of the 2020 NAFO review of the closed areas to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) in the NAFO Regulatory Area, kernel density analyses (KDE) of the biomass of Large-sized Sponges, Sea Pens, Small and Large Gorgonian Corals, Erect Bryozoans, Sea Squirts (Boltenia ovifera), and Black Corals were undertaken using all available rese...

Ocean ecosystems are at the forefront of the climate and biodiversity crises, yet we lack a unified approach to assess their state and inform sustainable policies. This blueprint is designed around research capabilities and cross-sectoral partnerships. We highlight priorities including integrating basin-scale observation, modelling and genomic appr...

Epigenetic modifications are thought to be one of the molecular mechanisms involved in plastic adaptive responses to environmental variation. However, studies reporting associations between genome-wide epigenetic changes and habitat-specific variations in life history traits (e.g., lifespan, reproduction) are still scarce, likely due to the recent...

Sponge-dominated habitats known as sponge grounds, aggregations, gardens and reefs are widely distributed in the world’s oceans. They are particularly prevalent in the upper bathyal zone along continental shelves and slopes (within EEZs), but are also found on oceanic ridges and seamounts in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJs). These habita...

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU Member States to achieve and maintain good environmental status (GES) across their marine waters. WKBENTH3 convened as a hybrid meeting to evaluate benthic assessment methods and indicators for their potential to meet the criteria described under the MSFD Descriptor 6 (seabed integrity). Th...

The original version of the Description of Additional Supplementary Files associated with this Article contained errors in the legends of Supplementary Data 5–8 and omitted legends for the Source Data. The HTML has been updated to include a corrected version of the Description of Additional Supplementary Files; the original incorrect version of thi...

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires Member States to achieve good environmental status (GES) across their marine waters. The EU have requested ICES to advise on methods for assessing adverse effects on seabed habitats, through selection of relevant indicators for the assessment of benthic habitats and seafloor integrity and asso...

In the deep ocean symbioses between microbes and invertebrates are emerging as key drivers of ecosystem health and services. We present a large-scale analysis of microbial diversity in deep-sea sponges (Porifera) from scales of sponge individuals to ocean basins, covering 52 locations, 1077 host individuals translating into 169 sponge species (incl...

The United States, the EU and Canada established a trilateral working group on the ecosystem approach to ocean health and stressors under the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. Recognizing the Atlantic Ocean as a shared resource and responsibility, the working group sought to advance understanding of the Atlantic Ocean and its dynamic systems to imp...

The main aim of WKVMEBM 2022 was to develop and document an operational evidence-based procedure for the production of recurrent ICES advice on VMEs.

The Artic Council’s Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Plan (CBMP) is a pan-Arctic, long-term, integrated biodiversity monitoring plan. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has established benthic biodiversity monitoring sites at four monitoring stations in or adjacent to the Disko Fan Conservation Area, a marine refuge in the lower Baffin Bay, following t...

Supplementary tables and figures offering more details of the methodology and results of our study: Wang S, Murillo FJ and Kenchington E (2022) Climate-Change Refugia for the Bubblegum Coral Paragorgia arborea in the Northwest Atlantic. Front. Mar. Sci. 9:863693. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.863693

In 2012 and 2013, Fisheries and Oceans Canada surveyed the benthos in two areas closed to bottom contact fishing, the Narwhal Overwintering and Coldwater Coral Zone (now the Disko Fan Conservation Area, DFCA), and the Hatton Basin Voluntary Coral Protection Zone (now the Hatton Basin Conservation Area, HBCA). Samples were collected following protoc...

Little is known about dispersal in deep-sea sponges, yet understanding patterns of gene flow and connectivity is essential for their effective management. Given rising pressure from harmful anthropogenic activities, schemes that manage resource extraction whilst conserving species diversity are increasingly necessary. Here, we used ddRADseq derived...

From June 30 through July 29, 2021, the NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners conducted the "2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts" expedition, a telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expedition aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. The mission objectives were to collect critical baseline information about unkno...

A high‐resolution coastal Finite‐Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) has been configured to simulate the water circulation in the Eastern Shore Islands (ESI) archipelago on the coastal Scotian Shelf. Circulation in this area is characterized by complex interactions between the irregular coastline, a dense archipelago, tides, wind, and subtidal cur...

NAFO has used kernel density analyses to identify VMEs dominated by large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals, erect bryozoans, sea squirts (Boltenia ovifera), and black corals. That analysis generates polygons of significant concentrations of biomass for each VME indicator which are spread across the spatial domain of the NAF...

Marine sponges (phylum Porifera) are leading organisms for the discovery of bioactive compounds from nature. Their often rich and species-specific microbiota is hypothesised to be producing many of these compounds. Yet, environmental influences on the sponge-associated microbiota and bioactive compound production remain elusive. Here, we investigat...