Data Trawler - Project details

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Project details

Title: Status and recovery of deep-sea coral communities on seamounts in iconic Australian marine reserves
Id: 2476
Investigator(s): Alan Williams
CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere - Hobart [details]

Description: Our proposed work on Australian and New Zealand seamounts addresses international biodiversity management research priorities (e.g. CBD 2015-053) by providing data on recovery trajectories of deep-sea coral communities following direct human (trawling) impacts. The distributional extent, habitat associations, composition, biodiversity, and biological traits of deepsea coral communities off Tasmania, both inside and outside the Huon and Tasman Fracture reserves, will be determined and mapped for the first time. This information will contribute to a status report on coral communities and provide context for the recovery study. The status report and an understanding of changes in coral communities through time will inform future planning by the Australian and other management agencies to monitor and manage deep-sea coral reefs as conservation assets. Our results also have international relevance to understanding and managing fishing impact on comparable deepsea coral communities, including in High Sea areas beyond national jurisdictions. New data will be combined with previous surveys of the seamounts in the Huon and Tasman Fracture CMRs in 1997 and 2007, the St. Helens Seamount in 2008, and parallel New Zealand studies in 2001, 2006, 2009 and 2015, to address three broad objectives: 1. Determine the extent, ecological characteristics, and conservation status of deep-sea coral reefs on Tasmanian seamounts inside and outside of existing reserves. 2. Measure recovery trajectories and dynamics of deep-sea coral communities (multi-species and successional changes) following cessation of bottom trawling. 3. Provide the first set of empirical data on conservation status, resilience and recovery potential to enhance management and conservation of deep-sea coral habitats nationally.
Years: 2018

Publications

Dataset

IPT Resource

Journal Article

Report

Scientific Highlight

Voyage Summary

Data

Metadata.

Use [details] link to view survey details (map, reports, metadata etc) including links to download data.

List of surveys that this project was on.

Use [details] link to view survey details (map, reports, metadata etc) including links to download data.

Survey InvestigatorDescription
IN2018_V06

[details]		 Alan Williams Status and recovery of deep-sea coral communities on seamounts in iconic Australian marine reserves (Chief Scientist: Dr Alan Williams, CSIRO) Australia has protected spectacular deep-sea coral reefs living on undersea mountains (‘seamounts’) by including some in marine reserves off Tasmania. This protection is an important step in marine conservation because deep-sea coral reefs support highly diverse communities of seafloor organisms, but are fragile and vulnerable to human disturbance – particularly by bottom trawling. Scientists on RV Investigator will conduct camera surveys to map the extent of the globally-significant deep-sea coral reefs, and determine how much of the reef area lies within reserves. Scientists will also measure how the reefs have recovered from earlier trawling impacts since being protected in marine reserves.
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