Ecosystems of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Sub-Polar Front and Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone

ECOMAR is a £2 million UK project aimed at understanding how physical and biogeochemical factors influence the distribution and structure of deep-sea communities, focusing on the fauna of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Four sites will be located either side of the MAR and to the north and south of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ), which coincides with the Sub-Polar Front. We will investigate the effects of topography and currents on the distribution of the fauna and the effects of varying organic matter input across different biogeochemical provinces.

ECOMAR is a NERC funded element of MAR-ECO: a field project of the Census of Marine Life.

Continue to ECOMAR main website (hosted by Oceanlab)

The DEEPSEAS group at NOCS will be measuring benthic biodiversity and biomass using traps, towed camera systems, landers, and targeted ROV-based survey and sampling.

Mobile fauna not attracted to baits will be surveyed and observed using photo transect techniques. Transects across the MAR will be undertaken using the towed imaging platform SHRIMP.

We will use still photography and video imaging to determine the distributions of key species. Using the ROV we will target areas to estimate biomass and allow conversions to be made of biomass from percentage cover in the video and photographic images. The ROV will be used also to determine community structure in the target areas.

In addition to the ROV, we will use a new video-guided sampling system IBIS (Interactive Benthic Instrument and Sampler), to sample rocky slope fauna.

Primarily we will study epibenthic invertebrate megafauna, but in sediments our studies will include macro- and meio-fauna for comparison with similar samples on the continental margins.

The ROV is vital for the accurate mapping of seabed fauna and in collecting intact specimens in good condition for validating the identity of species seen in the photo transects.

Temporal variability in the activity and abundance of megafauna, in relation to seasonal and inter-annual patterns of organic matter flux, will be assessed using the SOC time-lapse photography system Bathysnap.

Scavenging necrophagous fauna will be studied using baited amphipod traps and lander systems. Deep-water scavenging amphipods are highly mobile, enabling them to move easily between food-falls. They are normally constrained by depth but a few species are truly eurybathic.