Characterization of Benthic Habitats on the Pacific Margin: Assessing the Connectivity of Hard Substrates, Seeps and Canyon Communities
USGS researchers will characterize the ecology of benthic invertebrates associated with deep-sea environments and broader food-web dynamics within hardground features, seeps, and adjacent soft sediments. This project will provide important information regarding deepwater benthic habitats, such as chemosynthetic communities and deep-sea corals, that could be affected by offshore wind development.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Effective natural resource management relies on a complete understanding of the managed ecosystem. The Pacific Region has an urgent need for information about deepwater benthic habitats and resources to guide potential management decisions associated with conventional energy, renewable energy, and marine minerals in response to the 2019 Presidential Memorandum’s Section 2 National Strategy on Ocean Mapping, Exploring and Characterizing the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Currently, two general deepwater areas offshore Northern and Central California are under consideration for potential wind energy development. This project will provide important information regarding deepwater benthic habitats, such as chemosynthetic communities and deep-sea corals, that could be affected by offshore wind development.
While the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will use the information collected by this work to inform renewable energy activities, these data would also have long-term applicability to any conventional or critical marine mineral development. This research will characterize the ecology of benthic invertebrates associated with deep-sea environments and broader food-web dynamics within hardground features, seeps, and adjacent soft sediments. Examination of the sediment community ecology will build on previous work conducted off the U.S. East Coast (Bourque et al 2017; Prouty et al. 2020; Robertson et al. 2020) in areas under consideration for leasing. Additionally, this study will apply environmental DNA (eDNA) and molecular techniques to characterize the sediment community ecology, providing tools to rapidly assess benthic communities following a natural or anthropogenic disturbance. This research will increase knowledge of how invertebrate biodiversity is distributed in targeted deep-sea habitats along the U.S. Pacific margin. We will examine the functional characteristics of benthic habitats within the wider California Current ecosystem and inform near-term and future management decisions for multiple federal agencies. This project will advance knowledge of the benthic communities that reside in and around Pacific deep-sea habitats, including estimates of trophic connectivity from the water column to benthic communities.
This project is coordinated with BOEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the USGS. The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, specifically the Land Management Research Program, has a long-term commitment to providing information for preserving and protecting benthic communities, including deep-sea corals, seeps, and canyons, as it relates to energy exploration and offshore wind energy development.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Underwater vehicles (i.e., autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUV, and remotely operated vehicles, or ROV) will provide imagery and associated environmental data to assess megafaunal benthic communities around deep-sea coral, seep, canyon, and background habitats. Megafauna and primary food resources will also be collected and analyzed to assess trophic connectivity using stable isotope analyses. Sediment cores will characterize macrofaunal communities and associated sediment chemistry. The use of eDNA will be implemented and compared with macrofauna taxonomy to develop more rapid monitoring and assessment tools for benthic communities. Additionally, environmental DNA will be used to barcode water taken from the water column to detect microbes and fishes around these same areas.
Future Steps: Preliminary work in the Pacific margin began in 2018 with the EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems (EXPRESS) project. Additional sampling was conducted in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Data collected on these cruises will determine the trophodynamics, connectivity, and biodiversity of benthic habitats along the U.S. Pacific margin. Results from this study will inform management and potential mitigations for renewable energy projects along the western coast of the U.S.
USGS researchers will characterize the ecology of benthic invertebrates associated with deep-sea environments and broader food-web dynamics within hardground features, seeps, and adjacent soft sediments. This project will provide important information regarding deepwater benthic habitats, such as chemosynthetic communities and deep-sea corals, that could be affected by offshore wind development.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Effective natural resource management relies on a complete understanding of the managed ecosystem. The Pacific Region has an urgent need for information about deepwater benthic habitats and resources to guide potential management decisions associated with conventional energy, renewable energy, and marine minerals in response to the 2019 Presidential Memorandum’s Section 2 National Strategy on Ocean Mapping, Exploring and Characterizing the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Currently, two general deepwater areas offshore Northern and Central California are under consideration for potential wind energy development. This project will provide important information regarding deepwater benthic habitats, such as chemosynthetic communities and deep-sea corals, that could be affected by offshore wind development.
While the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will use the information collected by this work to inform renewable energy activities, these data would also have long-term applicability to any conventional or critical marine mineral development. This research will characterize the ecology of benthic invertebrates associated with deep-sea environments and broader food-web dynamics within hardground features, seeps, and adjacent soft sediments. Examination of the sediment community ecology will build on previous work conducted off the U.S. East Coast (Bourque et al 2017; Prouty et al. 2020; Robertson et al. 2020) in areas under consideration for leasing. Additionally, this study will apply environmental DNA (eDNA) and molecular techniques to characterize the sediment community ecology, providing tools to rapidly assess benthic communities following a natural or anthropogenic disturbance. This research will increase knowledge of how invertebrate biodiversity is distributed in targeted deep-sea habitats along the U.S. Pacific margin. We will examine the functional characteristics of benthic habitats within the wider California Current ecosystem and inform near-term and future management decisions for multiple federal agencies. This project will advance knowledge of the benthic communities that reside in and around Pacific deep-sea habitats, including estimates of trophic connectivity from the water column to benthic communities.
This project is coordinated with BOEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the USGS. The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, specifically the Land Management Research Program, has a long-term commitment to providing information for preserving and protecting benthic communities, including deep-sea corals, seeps, and canyons, as it relates to energy exploration and offshore wind energy development.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Underwater vehicles (i.e., autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUV, and remotely operated vehicles, or ROV) will provide imagery and associated environmental data to assess megafaunal benthic communities around deep-sea coral, seep, canyon, and background habitats. Megafauna and primary food resources will also be collected and analyzed to assess trophic connectivity using stable isotope analyses. Sediment cores will characterize macrofaunal communities and associated sediment chemistry. The use of eDNA will be implemented and compared with macrofauna taxonomy to develop more rapid monitoring and assessment tools for benthic communities. Additionally, environmental DNA will be used to barcode water taken from the water column to detect microbes and fishes around these same areas.
Future Steps: Preliminary work in the Pacific margin began in 2018 with the EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems (EXPRESS) project. Additional sampling was conducted in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Data collected on these cruises will determine the trophodynamics, connectivity, and biodiversity of benthic habitats along the U.S. Pacific margin. Results from this study will inform management and potential mitigations for renewable energy projects along the western coast of the U.S.