The London Workshop on the Biogeography and Connectivity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Glover, Adrian G.; Dahlgren, Thomas G.; Taboada, Sergi; Paterson, Gordon L.J.; Wiklund, Helena; Waeschenbach, Andrea; Cobley, Amber; Martı́nez, Pedro; Kaiser, Stefanie; Schnurr, Sarah; Khodami, Sahar; Raschka, Uwe; Kersken, Daniel; Stuckas, Heiko; Menot, Lénaïck; Bonifácio, Paulo; Vanreusel, Ann; Macheriotou, Lara; Cunha, Marina R.; Hilario, Ana Belén Ríos; Rodrigues, Clara F.; Colaço, Ana; Ribeiro, Pedro A.; Błażewicz, Magdalena; Gooday, Andrew J.; Jones, Daniel O.B.; Billett, David; Goineau, Aurélie; Amon, Diva J.; Smith, Craig R.; Patel, Tasnim; McQuaid, Kirsty A.; Spickermann, Ralph; Bräger, Stefan

doi:10.3897/rio.2.e10528

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The mining pre-prototype vehicle (4.7 × 12 m) presented by GSR is a pickup system based on four nodule collector heads (1 m wide each) using a jet water pump and suction to collect nodules down to 15 cm depth (Global Sea Mineral Resources NV, 2018). A mining operation is anticipated to directly affect over 100 km 2 yr −1 of the seabed and create sediment plumes that can indirectly increase the footprint of mining by a factor of 2 to 5 (Oebius et al, 2001;Glover and Smith, 2003). Nodule mining will clearly have detrimental effects on the benthic ecosystem, but the severity of the impacts is difficult to predict.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Long-term surveys of small-scale disturbances or mining tests have shown that the direct impacts of seafloor disturbances may last for over 30 years in the CCFZ Jones et al, 2017). However, such small experiments hardly mimic the cumulative impacts of any single nodule mining operation that could last for 20 years (Glover and Smith, 2003;Jones et al, 2017). Beyond the unpredictable effects of the full-scale mining, the extent of biodiversity and species' ranges in the CCFZ are two major unknowns that prevent the assessment of potential biodiversity loss due to nodule mining.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alpha and beta diversity patterns of polychaete assemblages across the nodule province of the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (equatorial Pacific)

2020

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Abstract. In the abyssal equatorial Pacific Ocean, most of the seafloor of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ), a 6 million km2 polymetallic nodule province, has been preempted for future mining. In light of the large environmental footprint that mining would leave and given the diversity and the vulnerability of the abyssal fauna, the International Seabed Authority has implemented a regional management plan that includes the creation of nine Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs) located at the periphery of the CCFZ. The scientific principles for the design of the APEIs were based on the best – albeit very limited – knowledge of the area. The fauna and habitats in the APEIs are unknown, as are species' ranges and the extent of biodiversity across the CCFZ. As part of the Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) pilot action “Ecological aspects of deep-sea mining”, the SO239 cruise provided data to improve species inventories, determine species ranges, identify the drivers of beta diversity patterns and assess the representativeness of an APEI. Four exploration contract areas and an APEI (APEI no. 3) were sampled along a gradient of sea surface primary productivity that spanned a distance of 1440 km in the eastern CCFZ. Between three and eight quantitative box cores (0.25 m2; 0–10 cm) were sampled in each study area, resulting in a large collection of polychaetes that were morphologically and molecularly (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S genes) analyzed. A total of 275 polychaete morphospecies were identified. Only one morphospecies was shared among all five study areas and 49 % were singletons. The patterns in community structure and composition were mainly attributed to variations in organic carbon fluxes to the seafloor at the regional scale and nodule density at the local scale, thus supporting the main assumptions underlying the design of the APEIs. However, the APEI no. 3, which is located in an oligotrophic province and separated from the CCFZ by the Clarion Fracture Zone, showed the lowest densities, lowest diversity, and a very low and distant independent similarity in community composition compared to the contract areas, thus questioning the representativeness and the appropriateness of APEI no. 3 to meet its purpose of diversity preservation. Among the four exploration contracts, which belong to a mesotrophic province, the distance decay of similarity provided a species turnover of 0.04 species km−1, an average species range of 25 km and an extrapolated richness of up to 240 000 polychaete species in the CCFZ. By contrast, nonparametric estimators of diversity predict a regional richness of up to 498 species. Both estimates are biased by the high frequency of singletons in the dataset, which likely result from under-sampling and merely reflect our level of uncertainty. The assessment of potential risks and scales of biodiversity loss due to nodule mining thus requires an appropriate inventory of species richness in the CCFZ.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpha and beta diversity patterns of polychaete assemblages across the nodule province of the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (equatorial Pacific)

2020

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“…The APEIs were designated to preserve source populations of species for future recolonization of disturbed areas (Lodge et al, 2014). However, the majority of these APEIs remain unstudied; it is not clear if their environmental conditions and faunas are similar to those of the mining claims (Glover et al, 2016a). As a result, improved knowledge of the drivers structuring biological communities in the CCZ is urgently needed to test the presumed functionality and current spatial arrangement of the APEIs system, and to re-assess the regional environmental plan (ISA, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Megafaunal variation in the abyssal landscape of the Clarion Clipperton Zone

Simon-Lledó

Bett

Huvenne

et al. 2019

Progress in Oceanography

110

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“…This is particularly problematic as such information is critical to characterise the biodiversity, biogeographic ranges, and connectivity patterns across the entire CCZ in order to make better predictions about the potential impacts of deep-sea mining. In addition, the APEIs designated to preserve regional biodiversity are severely understudied ( Glover et al 2016a ; International Seabed Authority 2020; Jones et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean

Bribiesca‐Contreras¹,

Dahlgren²,

Amon³

et al. 2022

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There is a growing interest in the exploitation of deep-sea mineral deposits, particularly on the abyssal seafloor of the central Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), which is rich in polymetallic nodules. In order to effectively manage potential exploitation activities, a thorough understanding of the biodiversity, community structure, species ranges, connectivity, and ecosystem functions across a range of scales is needed. The benthic megafauna plays an important role in the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems and represents an important component of the biodiversity. While megafaunal surveys using video and still images have provided insight into CCZ biodiversity, the collection of faunal samples is needed to confirm species identifications to accurately estimate species richness and species ranges, but faunal collections are very rarely carried out. Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle, 55 specimens of benthic megafauna were collected from seamounts and abyssal plains in three Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI 1, APEI 4, and APEI 7) at 3100–5100 m depth in the western CCZ. Using both morphological and molecular evidence, 48 different morphotypes belonging to five phyla were found, only nine referrable to known species, and 39 species potentially new to science. This work highlights the need for detailed taxonomic studies incorporating genetic data, not only within the CCZ, but in other bathyal, abyssal, and hadal regions, as representative genetic reference libraries that could facilitate the generation of species inventories.

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The London Workshop on the Biogeography and Connectivity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Abstract: publisher: Pensoft Publishers articletitle: The London Workshop on the Biogeography and Connectivity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone journaltitle: Research Ideas and Outcomes copyright: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ received: 2016-09-16 published: 2016-09-1

Cited by 11 publications

References 15 publications

Alpha and beta diversity patterns of polychaete assemblages across the nodule province of the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (equatorial Pacific)

Alpha and beta diversity patterns of polychaete assemblages across the nodule province of the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (equatorial Pacific)

Megafaunal variation in the abyssal landscape of the Clarion Clipperton Zone

Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean

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The London Workshop on the Biogeography and Connectivity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Abstract: publisher: Pensoft Publishers articletitle: The London Workshop on the Biogeography and Connectivity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone journaltitle: Research Ideas and Outcomes copyright: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ received: 2016-09-16 published: 2016-09-1

Cited by 11 publications

References 15 publications

Alpha and beta diversity patterns of polychaete assemblages across the nodule province of the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (equatorial Pacific)

Alpha and beta diversity patterns of polychaete assemblages across the nodule province of the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (equatorial Pacific)

Megafaunal variation in the abyssal landscape of the Clarion Clipperton Zone

﻿Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean

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Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean