Geodiversity as an indicator to benthic habitat distribution: an integrative approach in a tropical continental shelf

Lucatelli, Débora; Goes, Enatielly Rosane; Brown, Craig J.; Souza‐Filho, Jesser F.; Guedes-Silva, Elkênita; Araújo, Tereza Cristina Medeiros de

doi:10.1007/s00367-019-00614-x

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Hitherto, only a few cases have been published showing the importance of geological complexity or geodiversity in marine management, e.g., [84,85], but clearly if these coincide with hotspots of biodiversity, a new era is emerging in the mapping of SNHS. This is indeed the case for the Southern North Sea region, having a complex geological history and a diverse morphosedimentary setting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subtidal Natural Hard Substrate Quantitative Habitat Mapping: Interlinking Underwater Acoustics and Optical Imagery with Machine Learning

et al. 2021

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Subtidal natural hard substrates (SNHS) promote occupancy by rich benthic communities that provide irreplaceable and fundamental ecosystem functions, representing a global priority target for nature conservation and recognised in most European environmental legislation. However, scientifically validated methodologies for their quantitative spatial demarcation, including information on species occupancy and fine-scale environmental drivers (e.g., the effect of stone size on colonisation) are rare. This is, however, crucial information for sound ecological management. In this investigation, high-resolution (1 m) multibeam echosounder (MBES) depth and backscatter data and derivates, underwater imagery (UI) by video drop-frame, and grab sediment samples, all acquired within 32 km2 of seafloor in offshore Belgian waters, were integrated to produce a random forest (RF) spatial model, predicting the continuous distribution of the seafloor areal cover/m2 of the stones’ grain sizes promoting colonisation by sessile epilithic organisms. A semi-automated UI acquisition, processing, and analytical workflow was set up to quantitatively study the colonisation proportion of different grain sizes, identifying the colonisation potential to begin at stones with grain sizes Ø ≥ 2 cm. This parameter (i.e., % areal cover of stones Ø ≥ 2 cm/m2) was selected as the response variable for spatial predictive modelling. The model output is presented along with a protocol of error and uncertainty estimation. RF is confirmed as an accurate, versatile, and transferable mapping methodology, applicable to area-wide mapping of SNHS. UI is confirmed as an essential aid to acoustic seafloor classification, providing spatially representative numerical observations needed to carry out quantitative seafloor modelling of ecologically relevant parameters. This contribution sheds innovative insights into the ecologically relevant delineation of subtidal natural reef habitat, exploiting state-of-the-art underwater remote sensing and acoustic seafloor classification approaches.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subtidal Natural Hard Substrate Quantitative Habitat Mapping: Interlinking Underwater Acoustics and Optical Imagery with Machine Learning

et al. 2021

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“…This definition is broader than that of Gray [1] and allows the flexible use of input data for semi-quantitative studies at multiple scales. For example, high-resolution bathymetric datasets can be used in detailed case studies as surrogates in the absence of fine-scale geomorphology to explain benthic habitat distribution [55]. Or, a combination of a detailed expert-based geomorphological map, a bathymetric relief energy map and a sediment texture class map could be used to evaluate underwater geodiversity [12].…”

Section: Geodiversity Definition and Index Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Ocean Floor Geodiversity in Relation to Mineral Resources in the Southwest Pacific Ocean

et al. 2022

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The future extraction of mineral resources may irreversibly damage ocean floor geodiversity in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. Therefore, understanding of the spatial distribution of ocean floor geodiversity in relation to mineral resources is important. For that purpose, we first developed a geodiversity index map of the western Pacific Ocean including spatial information of openly available digital layers of four components: seafloor geomorphology, sediment thickness, bathymetry and seafloor roughness. Second, we analysed how these components contributed to the geodiversity index. Finally, correlations between three mineral resources (seafloor massive sulphides, polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich crusts) and the geodiversity index, its components, and the ocean floor age were calculated. The results showed that the ocean floor environment and the time necessary for the formation of the three mineral resources were predominantly related to the bathymetry component and the age of the ocean floor, and to a lesser extent to the seafloor roughness, geomorphology and sediment thickness components. We conclude that the ocean floor geodiversity index and its components contribute to an improved understanding of the spatial distribution of abiotic seafloor diversity and can be optimized by using higher resolution data. We suggest that ocean floor geodiversity could be considered in future resource extraction to support responsible mining and help limit environmental damage.

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“…Remote sensing analysis and helicopter flight direct observation of the tailing plume in the coastal and marine areas were carried out by Federal and State Environmental Agencies. Their results suggest that the tailing plume dispersed and traveled more than 100km northward and southward of the river mouth, and could have affected an area larger than 3,000 km 2 (Lobban and Harrison, 1994;Liu et al, 2001;Janssen et al, 2006;Lecours et al, 2015;Long et al, 2015;Le Bas, 2016;Lecours et al, 2016;Econservation, 2017;IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis), 2017; Lecours, 2017;Innangi et al, 2019;Kaskela et al, 2019;Lacharitéand Brown, 2019;Lavagnino et al, 2020;Lucatelli et al, 2020;Longhini et al, 2022-Figure 1). Modeling studies also considered that the plume could have affected a coastal area as far as 200 to 300 km from the river mouth and reached beyond the shelf break (Magris et al, 2019).…”

Section: Study Area and The Fundão Tailing Dam Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alberoni et al (2019) managed to build a digital terrain model compiling REMAC and LEPLAC datasets (among others) resulting in a national grid that is now easily available for download. Besides the regions already mentioned, such as the Espıŕito Santo Continental Shelf (Bastos et al, 2015;Vieira et al, 2019;Oliveira et al, 2020), the Abrolhos Shelf (Moura et al, 2013; and the Amazon Shelf (Nittrouer et al, 1991;Moura et al, 2016;Lavagnino et al, 2020), from the scientific point of view, studies conducted in the Pernambuco Continental Shelf have also made an important contribution to regional seabed habitat mapping in Brazil (Goes et al, 2019;Lucatelli et al, 2019). It is noteworthy that seabed habitat mapping works carried out in Brazil apply different approaches and methods, and have been made up of local and isolated efforts, sometimes at a state level, but mainly carried out by Universities' research groups (Avena et al, 2020;Fontes et al, 2020;Gandra et al, 2020;Gomes et al, 2020;Oliveira et al, 2020;Reboucas et al, 2020;Vital et al, 2020) and scientific networks as the Abrolhos Network (PELD), the AmbTropic INCT, and the Rede Rio Doce Mar (presented here).…”

Section: Changing a Brazilian Paradigm: Applying The Habitat Mapping ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of benthic habitat mapping for science and managers: A multi-design approach in the Southeast Brazilian Shelf after a major man-induced disaster

Menandro

Lavagnino²,

Vieira³

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Seabed mapping is currently the baseline information for ocean management and conservation, and is an indispensable item within research and Marine Spatial Planning. Here, we use a case study and published data along the southeast Brazilian continental shelf to illustrate the concepts and ideas of potential benthic habitat mapping and the importance of having maps on different scales and the potential for using a multi-design approach. The case analysis presented here uses a regional map and distinct criteria (seabed geodiversity and biodiversity, and potential influence of a tailings plume) to define three areas along the continental shelf to be mapped in a high-resolution, as part of a marine monitoring program. The background of the case study is a tailing dam failure disaster that led to the input of iron ore tailings in the ocean, leading to a major environmental disaster. Three areas were chosen, including: a Marine Protected Area (MPA Costa das Algas), a major fishing ground (the Doce River prodelta/depocenter), and an understudied reef area (Forgotten Reefs). Potential benthic habitat mapping was carried out using acoustic surveys (multibeam echosounder acquiring bathymetry and backscatter) and ground-truthing (sediment samples and seafloor image). Results detailed the potential habitats throughout the three areas, providing primary information for the study of benthic habitats and their distribution. The multi-design approach indicated that although a regional analysis can indicate potential vulnerability as a first assessment approach, high-resolution potential habitat mapping (herein, 20 m or finer) is beneficial to evaluate and produce a higher-confidence level for decision-makers. Having an overall view of what and where to collect new and finer data would be best to identify vulnerable areas that, in this case study, could be threatened by plume dispersion and tailings accumulation. Our results support the delineation of priority areas aiming for monitoring, protection and guiding for other studies, besides the consolidation of habitat importance and the integration of various datasets through a hierarchical classification scheme. Although Brazil has never produced a regional or national habitat map for the entire continental margin, there are already conditions to plan, execute and maintain a habitat mapping program, partnering with Universities, Government Institutions (e.g., the Brazilian Navy), and the private sector. In the context of the UN Decade of Ocean Science targets, it is urgent to plan and implement a national database capable of supporting a habitat classification effort on a broader national scale, with the flexibility to support a multi-design or a multi-scale approach.

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Geodiversity as an indicator to benthic habitat distribution: an integrative approach in a tropical continental shelf

Cited by 13 publications

References 47 publications

Subtidal Natural Hard Substrate Quantitative Habitat Mapping: Interlinking Underwater Acoustics and Optical Imagery with Machine Learning

Subtidal Natural Hard Substrate Quantitative Habitat Mapping: Interlinking Underwater Acoustics and Optical Imagery with Machine Learning

Exploring Ocean Floor Geodiversity in Relation to Mineral Resources in the Southwest Pacific Ocean

The role of benthic habitat mapping for science and managers: A multi-design approach in the Southeast Brazilian Shelf after a major man-induced disaster

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