MFRI´s Seminar 15 January: Introduction about the iAtlantic project

MFRI´s Seminar:

Introduction about the iAtlantic project:
An integrated assessment of Atlantic marine ecosystems in space and time

Date and time: 15 January, 12.30 – 13.00
Place: Main conference room the the MRFI´s heasqurters Fornubudir 5 Hafnarfjordur
Online Streaming MRFI´s: Youtube-channel
Lecture and og glærur: English

- Everyone is welcome! -

Murray Roberts, Lea-Anne Henry (both from the University of Edinburg) and Stefán Áki Ragnarsson (specialist at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute ) give the lecture in English.

This seminar will review iAtlantic’s work before considering the results of our ecosystem time series analyses in 12 Case Studies including Iceland. Time series ranged from bacterioplankton to corals, to demersal fish to tuna, sharks and humpback whales. We found 3 themes that cross-cut many of the 12 study regions, including: abrupt ecosystem changes in the late 1990s to early 2000s, tropicalisation of fauna and relationships with sea temperature, and impacts of human activities and marine management are intertwined with trends in many of the megafauna we examined.

Ocean ecosystems are at the forefront of the climate and biodiversity crises, yet we lack a unified approach to assess their state and inform sustainable policies. iAtlantic is designed around research capabilities and cross-sectoral partnership. Our work is built around integrating basin-scale observation, modelling and genomic approaches to understand Atlantic oceanography and ecosystem connectivity; improving ecosystem mapping; identifying potential tipping points in deep and open ocean ecosystems; understanding compound impacts of multiple stressors including warming, acidification and deoxygenation; enhancing spatial and temporal management and protection. We argue that these goals are best achieved through partnership with policy-makers and community stakeholders, and promoting research groups from the South Atlantic through investment and engagement. Given the high costs of such research (€800k to €1.7M per expedition and €30-40M for a basin-scale programme), international cooperation and funding is integral to supporting science-led policies to conserve ocean ecosystems that transcend jurisdictional borders.

J Murray Roberts is Professor of Applied Marine Biology & Ecology at the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences. He leads the Changing Oceans research group, chairs the Joint Working Group between St Abbs Marine Station and the University and coordinates the European Horizon 2020 iAtlantic project. In 2022 was appointed a Sargasso Sea Commissioner and member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council to government. He studies marine ecosystems in a changing ocean focussing upon structural habitats such as cold-water corals in the deep ocean. He has published 106 peer reviewed publications, is senior author of the textbook ‘Cold-water Corals’ and has generated £22.72M in research funding.

Lea-Anne Henry is Reader in Marine Ecology at the University of Edinburgh and Workpackage Leader in the iAtlantic project. She is an applied marine ecosystem scientist working at the science-policy interface, with a special focus on deep-sea environments including seamounts and cold-water coral reefs. Her core research aims to provide the evidence base, environmental baselines, and transdisciplinary models needed for sustainable management of marine ecosystems in an era of climate change. She is a member of the ICES Deep Water Ecology Working Group and the Deep Ocean Stewarship Initiative's Working Groups on Offshore Energy and on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty.

Ítarefni/Further reading: Roberts JM, Devey C, Biastoch A, Carreiro-Silva M, Dohna T, Dorschel B, Gunn V, Huvenne VAI, Johnson D, Jollivet D, Kenchington E, Larkin K, Matabos M, Morato T, Naumann MS, Orejas C, Perez JAA, Ragnarsson SA, Smit AJ, Sweetman A, Unger S, Boteler B, Henry L-A (2023) A blueprint for integrating scientific approaches and international communities to assess basin-wide ocean ecosystem status. Nature Communications Earth & Environment 4: 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00645-w