Marina Carreiro-Silva

OKEANOS - Instituto de Investigação em Ciências do Mar – Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal

ICES Scientific Reports

Antipatharians are conspicuous habitat-forming coral species in shallow, mesophotic and deep sea environments worldwide. Despite their ecological importance, very little is known about their early life stages. In this study, we provide the first detailed description of the embryo and larval biology of the antipatharian coral species Antipathella wo...

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...

Management of deep-sea fisheries in areas beyond national jurisdiction by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations/Arrangements (RFMO/As) requires identification of areas with Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). Currently, fisheries data, including trawl and longline bycatch data, are used by many RFMO/As to inform the identification of VMEs. H...

Abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), represents a significant percentage of the global plastic pollution, currently considered one of the major sources from sea-based activities. However, there is still limited understanding of the quantities of ALDFG present on the seafloor and their impacts. In this study, data on the presence of A...

Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among the scientific community over the last decades. The collection of biological and ecological characteristics of species (i.e., traits) provides insight into species and ecosystem vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic changes, as well as ecosys...

Industrial deep-sea mining will release plumes containing metals that may disperse over long distances; however, there is no general understanding of metal effects on marine ecosystems. Thus, we conducted a systematic review in search of models of metal effects on aquatic biota with the future perspective to support Environmental Risk Assessment (E...

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...

Despite cold-water coral (CWC) reefs being considered biodiversity hotspots, very little is known about the main processes driving their morphological development. Indeed, there is a considerable knowledge gap in quantitative experimental studies that help understand the interaction between reef morphology, near-bed hydrodynamics, coral growth, and...

The term Marine Animal Forest (MAF) was first described by Alfred Russel Wallace in his book “The Malay Archipelago” in 1869. The term was much later re-introduced and various descriptions of MAFs were presented in great detail as part of a book series. The international research and conservation communities have advocated for the future protection...

Under the umbrella of the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS) and the All-Atlantic Ocean Observing System (AtlantOS), researchers at the Okeanos—University of the Azores, local stakeholders and authorities, and the deep ocean science community are adopting a co-design approach [which, as highlighted by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the...

Deep-sea mining activities are expected to impact deep-sea biota through the generation of sediment plumes that disperse across vast areas of the ocean. Benthic sessile suspension-feeding fauna, such as cold-water corals, may be particularly susceptible to increased suspended sediments. Here, we exposed the cold-water octocoral, Dentomuricea aff. m...

The potential release of metals, especially copper (Cu) during mining of seafloor massive sulphides (SMS), represents a potential toxicological threat to cold-water coral (CWC) habitats. Herein, we evaluated for the first time the response of the whip coral Viminella flagellum to short-term acute Cu exposure. Nubbins of V. flagellum were exposed to...

It is increasingly recognised that deep-sea mining of seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) could become an important source of mineral resources. These operations will remove the targeted substrate and produce potentially toxic plumes from in situ seabed excavation and from the return water pumped back down to the seafloor. However, the spatial extent...

The presence of different water masses in depth may influence the species distribution and community structure in deep-sea benthic ecosystems. In the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) represents an important forcing water mass, whose influence on the distribution of cold-water corals in the northern European margins has been par...

Using the non-invasive aquatic eddy covariance technique, we provide the first oxygen (O 2 ) uptake rates from within coral gardens at the Condor seamount (Azores). To explore some of the key drivers of the benthic O 2 demand, we obtained benthic images, quantified local hydrodynamics, and estimated phototrophic biomass and deposition dynamics with...

How does the line of zero-Ekman pumping (LZE) evolve in the northeast Atlantic since the last glacial? What is the impact of climate changes on cold-water coral (CWC) populations on seamounts? Do seamount sediments and weathering influence the trace isotope composition of seawater? These questions have been in the focus of the RV METEOR cruise M151...

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...

Mid-ocean ridges generate a myriad of physical oceanographic processes that favor the supply of food and nutrients to suspension-and filter-feeding organisms, such as cold-water corals and deep-sea sponges. However, the pioneering work conducted along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge failed to report the presence of large and dense living coral reefs, coral...

Restoration is considered an effective strategy to accelerate the recovery of biological communities at local scale. However, the effects of restoration actions in the marine ecosystems are still unpredictable. We performed a global analysis of published literature to identify the factors increasing the probability of restoration success in coastal...

Cold-water coral (CWC) habitats dwell on continental shelves, slopes, seamounts, and ridge systems around the world’s oceans from 50 to 4000 m depth, providing heterogeneous habitats which support a myriad of associated fauna. These highly diverse ecosystems are threatened by human stressors such as fishing activities, gas and oil exploitation, and...

Implementing European marine policies in the deep waters of the North Atlantic

Towards the assessment of North Atlantic deep sea ecosystems’ status: opportunities and challenges unraveled by the ATLAS project.

Deep-sea octocorals are common habitat-formers in deep-sea ecosystems, however, our knowledge on their early life history stages is extremely limited. The present study focuses on the early life history of the species Dentomuricea aff. meteor , a common deep-sea octocoral in the Azores. The objective was to describe the embryo and larval biology of...

Octocorals are prominent habitat builders in deep-sea ecosystems. The octocorals Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Viminella flagellum are common deep-sea octocoral species in the Azores Archipelago, where they form dense, structurally complex and diverse communities between 150 and 600 m of depth. The objective of this study was to determine the reprod...

The feeding biology of deep-sea octocorals remains poorly understood, as attention is more often directed to reef building corals. The present study focused on two common deep-water octocoral species in the Azores Archipelago, Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Viminella flagellum, aiming at determining their ability to exploit different food sources. We...

Community ecology based on biological and/or functional traits rather than taxonomic criteria informs general ecological patterns through the study of ecological niches, function, and resistance and resilience to perturbations. There are no repositories for diverse species traits from non-chemosynthetic deep-sea ridges and associated seamounts, whe...

Community ecology based on biological and/or functional traits rather than taxonomic criteria informs general ecological patterns through the study of ecological niches, function, and resistance and resilience to perturbations. There are no repositories for species traits from non-chemosynthetic deep-sea ridges and associated seamounts, where the i...

Divulgative paper published in Journal Eco Magazine, Deep Sea Issue

This work presents the preliminary result of the multidisciplinary cruise EXPLOSEA2 surveying the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Azores Archipelago from 46° 30′ N to 38° 30′ N aboard the R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa and ROV Luso over 54 days (June 11 to July 27, 2019). In this cruise report, we detail the geophysical, hydrographic, geological, oceanogr...

Benthic suspension feeders have developed a variety of feeding strategies and food availability has often proven to be a key factor explaining their occurrence and distribution. The feeding biology of coral species has been the target of an increasing number of studies, however most of them focus on Scleractinia and Octocorallia, while information...

The deep sea is the largest biome on Earth but the least explored. Our knowledge of it comes from scattered sources spanning different spatial and temporal scales. Implementation of marine policies like the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and support for Blue Growth in the deep sea are therefore hindered by lack of data....

Sites with naturally high CO2 conditions provide unique opportunities to forecast the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to ocean acidification, by studying the biological responses and potential adaptations to this increased environmental variability. In this study, we investigated the bivalve Ervilia castanea in coastal sandy sediments at refere...

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...

Circulation patterns in the North Atlantic Ocean have changed and re-organized multiple times over millions of years, influencing the biodiversity, distribution, and connectivity patterns of deep-sea species and ecosystems. In this study, we review the effects of the water mass properties (temperature, salinity, food supply, carbonate chemistry, an...

To understand the restoration potential of degraded habitats, it is important to know the key processes and habitat features that allow for recovery after disturbance. As part of the EU (Horizon 2020) funded MERCES project, a group of European experts compiled and assessed current knowledge, from both past and ongoing restoration efforts, within th...

The deep sea plays a critical role in global climate regulation through uptake and storage of heat and carbon dioxide. However, this regulating service causes warming, acidification and deoxygenation of deep waters, leading to decreased food availability at the seafloor. These changes and their projections are likely to affect productivity, biodive...

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...

Seamounts constitute an obstacle to the ocean circulation, modifying it. As a result, a variety of hydrodynamical processes and phenomena may take place over seamounts, among others, flow intensification, current deflection, upwelling, Taylor caps, and internal waves. These oceanographic effects may turn seamounts into very productive ecosystems wi...

Presented at Biodiversity Next in Leiden, 23th October 2019 in "CP06 Contributed papers: Data extraction, literature and collections", moderated by Ely Wallis.

Mapping biodiversity is the marathon of the 21 st Century as an answer to the present extinction crisis. A century in which science is also characterised by large scientific datasets collected through new technologies aiming to fill gaps in our knowledge of species distributions. However, most species records rely on observations that are not linke...

Knowledge on basic biological functions of organisms is essential to understand not only the role they play in the ecosystems but also to manage and protect their populations. The study of biological processes, such as growth, reproduction and physiology, which can be approached in situ or by collecting specimens and rearing them in aquaria, is par...

The deep ocean is the largest and least explored biome with the highest richness of species and phylogenetic biodiversity on Earth. The high costs of using sophisticated technological means to access deep-sea ecosystems gives an inestimable value to specimens collected in these environments. Azorean scientists have long started collaborating with f...

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...

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...

Ferromanganese crusts occurring on seamounts are a potential resource for rare earth elements that are critical for low-carbon technologies. Seamounts, however, host vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), which means that spatial management is needed to address potential conflicts between mineral extraction and the conservation of deep-sea biodiversi...

The deep ocean below 200 m water depth is the least observed, but largest habitat on our planet by volume and area. Over 150 years of exploration has revealed that this dynamic system provides critical climate regulation, houses a wealth of energy, mineral, and biological resources, and represents a vast repository of biological diversity. A long h...

Lesson learned in the ATLAS project regarding the challenges and opportunities in achieving “Good Environmental Status” in North Atlantic deep-seas.

Cnidarians, characterized by high levels of plasticity, exhibit remarkable mechanisms to withstand or escape unfavourable conditions including reverse development which describes processes of transformation of adult stages into early developmental stages with higher mobility. Polyp bailout is a stress-escape response common among scleractinian spec...

Assessing environmental status in North Atlantic deep seas

Zoological nomenclature revisions are essential for biodiversity studies and indispensable to avoid naming and description of already described species and should be valued in all subsequent studies considering biology, molecular biology, ecology or habitat mapping of deep-sea species. Herein, a thorough revision of the taxonomic literature on Octo...

Knowledge on Azorean octocorals is still dispersed in several taxonomical papers and monographs. Moreover it is hard to find and written in different languages representing a challenge for zoological nomenclature and taxonomic studies. Taxonomic literature about octocorals (orders Alcyonacea and Pennatulacea) inhabiting the Azores marine waters wa...

Previous aquaria-based experiments have shown dissolution and leaching of metals, especially copper (Cu), from the simulated sediment plumes generated during mining activities resulting in a pronounced increase of Cu contamination in the surrounding seawater. Metals are bioavailable to corals with food, through ingestion (particulate phase) and thr...