Project record of Deep-sea & Extreme Environments, Patterns of Species and Ecosystem Time Series

Information

Type

Project

Name

Deep-sea & Extreme Environments, Patterns of Species and Ecosystem Time Series

Acronym

DEEPSETS

Description @en

Objectives:

1. To determine the major faunal changes that have taken place at a time series station on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) over a 19-year period (1989 to 2008).
2. To determine the major faunal changes that have taken place in the abyssal Eastern Mediterranean over a sampling period of 17 years (1989 to 2006) and to distinguish between spatial and temporal change, where possible.
3. To determine the major faunal changes that have taken place at the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field over a 10-year period (1996 to 2006).
4. To determine the major faunal changes that have taken place at the Haakon Mosby Mud Volcano (HMMV) and Hausgarten chemosynthetic communities over an 8-year period (1999 to 2007).
5. To determine the major faunal changes that have taken place at a time series station in the La Ciotat 3PP Cave over a 14-year period (1992 to 2006).
6. To integrate research on time series observations in deep-sea seabed ecosystems.

Description of work - tasks:

1. Identify the 10 to 15 dominant nematode, copepod and polychaete species in the PAP time series between 1989 and 2004, and in new samples as they become available.
2. Collate and integrate data for all size classes (meiofauna to megafauna) and all taxa from the PAP time series and determine temporal change in species dominance.
3. Identify the 10 to 15 dominant nematode, copepod and polychaetes species in the Eastern Mediterranean time series between 1989 and 2004, and in new samples in 2006.
4. Collate and integrate data for all size classes, assess temporal change in the Eastern Mediterranean and compare with the PAP.
5. Document and process newly discovered species from the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field.
6. Characterise species at Lucky Strike using molecular and morphological approaches to taxonomy.
7. Collate data and identify key species and changes in time at Lucky Strike by data mining through the IFREMER BIOCEAN database.
8. Analyse video/photographic images at Lucky Strike from seven submersible cruises
9. Identify and document dominant meiofaunal and macrofaunal species in the HMMV and Hausgarten chemosynthetic communities
10. Characterise species at HMMV and Hausgarten using molecular and morphological approaches.
11. Collate data on dominant species in all size classes in a database at HMMV and Hausgarten, and analyse temporal changes
12. Identify the 10 to 15 dominant nematode, copepod and polychaete species in the cave time series.
13. Characterise new cave species in all taxa using molecular and morphological approaches.
14. Collate and integrate data for all size classes of cave fauna and study variation with time.
15. Integrate research on time series observations

Parent project

Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning - EU Network of Excellence

Start date

2005-5

End date

2008-12