Effects of changing ocean regimes on deep-sea benthos on the Scottish continental shelf and slope

Time series of benthic samples collected at two sites (the Mingulay Reef Complex over the period 2003-2011, and the Scottish Hebrides continental slope over the period 1975-2012) will be analysed as part of ATLAS Work Package 3. This analysis aims to measure the effects of interannual and multidecadal variability in water mass structure and ocean regimes, i.e, the North Atlantic Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, respectively, on deep-sea benthos biodiversity and biogeographic affinities. The availability of multidisciplinary data from the Mingulay Reef Complex - a rare example of an inshore cold-water coral reef located in western Scotland- creates a unique opportunity for investigating the role of hydrography and geomorphology in cold-water coral reef biodiversity. The analysis will progress research at the Mingulay Reef Complex, which has already unravelled the parameters shaping local- and large-scale patterns of biodiversity (ecological characteristics like competition and environmental variables like hydrography, respectively) as well as the important role played by sponges in terms of habitat forming. The Hebrides slope timeseries initiated in the 1970s provides an unparalleled insight into how longer term ocean changes create species turnover.

Additionally for WP3, information derived from the analysis of benthic samples over time as well as from image/videos processing will contribute to pioneering efforts to select and measure baseline values of environmental indicators for the assessment of Good Environmental Status in deep-sea ecosystems at the Mingulay Reef Complex and the Faroe Shetland Channel. Knowledge generated through analyses on composition, structure and ecology of deep-sea benthos will act as an ideal platform supporting marine spatial planning, policy integration and Blue Growth Strategy in the deep North Atlantic Ocean.