Memorializing the Middle Passage on the Atlantic seabed in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

Turner, Phillip J.; Cannon, Sophie; DeLand, Sarah; Delgado, James P.; Eltis, David; Halpin, Patrick N.; Kanu, Michael Imran; Sussman, Charlotte; Varmer, Ole; Dover, Cindy Lee Van

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104254

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The deep seabed encompasses a vast mosaic of poorly sampled habitats, many of them characterized by fine-grained sediments that, for more than 50 years, have been known to host surprisingly high levels of biodiversity (Hessler and Sanders, 1967;Ramirez-Llodra et al, 2010;Rex and Etter, 2010). It conceals a variety of material resources, services and history that are of cultural value to human societies (Wenhai et al, 2019;Turner et al, 2020) as well as ecosystems of considerable and growing economic importance (Armstrong et al, 2012;Thurber et al, 2014). However, estimating and conserving deep-sea biodiversity remain major challenges , with many of the species found in deep-sea samples being undescribed (Glover et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eukaryotic Biodiversity and Spatial Patterns in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and Other Abyssal Regions: Insights From Sediment DNA and RNA Metabarcoding

et al. 2021

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The abyssal seafloor is a mosaic of highly diverse habitats that represent the least known marine ecosystems on Earth. Some regions enriched in natural resources, such as polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), attract much interest because of their huge commercial potential. Since nodule mining will be destructive, baseline data are necessary to measure its impact on benthic communities. Hence, we conducted an environmental DNA and RNA metabarcoding survey of CCZ biodiversity targeting microbial and meiofaunal eukaryotes that are the least known component of the deep-sea benthos. We analyzed two 18S rRNA gene regions targeting eukaryotes with a focus on Foraminifera (37F) and metazoans (V1V2), sequenced from 310 surface-sediment samples from the CCZ and other abyssal regions. Our results confirm huge unknown deep-sea biodiversity. Over 60% of benthic foraminiferal and almost a third of eukaryotic operational taxonomic units (OTUs) could not be assigned to a known taxon. Benthic Foraminifera are more common in CCZ samples than metazoans and dominated by clades that are only known from environmental surveys. The most striking results are the uniqueness of CCZ areas, both datasets being characterized by a high number of OTUs exclusive to the CCZ, as well as greater beta diversity compared to other abyssal regions. The alpha diversity in the CCZ is high and correlated with water depth and terrain complexity. Topography was important at a local scale, with communities at CCZ stations located in depressions more diverse and heterogeneous than those located on slopes. This could result from eDNA accumulation, justifying the interim use of eRNA for more accurate biomonitoring surveys. Our descriptions not only support previous findings and consolidate our general understanding of deep-sea ecosystems, but also provide a data resource inviting further taxon-specific and large-scale modeling studies. We foresee that metabarcoding will be useful for deep-sea biomonitoring efforts to consider the diversity of small taxa, but it must be validated based on ground truthing data or experimental studies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eukaryotic Biodiversity and Spatial Patterns in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and Other Abyssal Regions: Insights From Sediment DNA and RNA Metabarcoding

et al. 2021

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“…This is a key difference with other domains, such as food systems, where there are calls for democratised knowledgegovernance (rather than science-policy) interfaces that enable diverse perspectives 59 and differentiate responsibilities from civil society and private actors 60 . Creatures from the deep sea have some place in human imagination and popular culture 61 and the mesopelagic zone contains prey species for culturally and economically important epipelagic fish such as tuna and swordfish 62 , and yet the mesopelagic zone has no direct traditional users and only limited cultural significance when compared to coastal marine ecosystems and even the deep seabed 63,64 . Furthermore, where trade-offs between food security and climate mitigation are already being estimated for terrestrial food production 65 and in coastal fisheries 66 , this has yet to be considered for the mesopelagic zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science governs the future of the mesopelagic zone

et al. 2023

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The potential of the mesopelagic zone (200–1000 m depth) to provide natural resources and ecosystem services is of increasing interest to a broad range of societal stakeholders. As this interest grows, divergent ideas about its current and future role in supporting human life are being expressed in scientific and public discourse. We use automated content analysis to identify 13 key topics about the mesopelagic zone from 2226 scientific abstracts and 4066 tweets. Two dominant ideas emerge: (1) the exploitation of fish resources and (2) the role of the mesopelagic zone as a carbon sink. We find that, in the absence of significant mesopelagic zone policy, science plays a de facto governing role by shaping how the ecosystem is known to the public and policymakers alike. These results indicate the need and potential for new knowledge and governance arrangements that can broaden the range of meanings and knowledge needed to anticipate future uses of deeply uncertain ecosystems and resources.

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“…As Tilot et al (2021) 9 note, 'DSM is not distanced from the island environment because the ocean is at the heart of one's identity, and part of each individual's future'. Furthermore, the international seabed is an important source of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, for example for the African diasporic cultural memory of the transatlantic slave trade, which has not yet been considered at the ISA 22 .…”

Section: Potential Impacts Of Dsm On Peoplementioning

confidence: 99%