Deep diving research expedition reveals unknown communities and alien species

Deep diving research expedition reveals unknown communities and alien species

Scientists from the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab recently explored the relatively unknown seabed communities off the Island of Rhodes and discovered the presence of potentially harmful alien species.

Alongside three professional divers from the NERC National Facility for Scientific Diving, hosted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), a team took to the Eastern Med and delved to depths of up to 55 metres, which are challenging levels to reach because of physiological limitations including the requirement for decompression stops.

The team, led by Oceanlab’s Professor Frithjof Kuepper and Dr Martin Sayer, from the NERC National Facility for Scientific Diving in Oban, alongside Aberdeen PhD Student Vivian Louizidou, explored communities of maerl – coralline red algae and associated organisms.

The biodiversity and ecology of such communities in the Eastern Mediterranean has rarely been explored and, besides exploring their native animal and algal inhabitants, the surveys revealed the presence of a number of alien invasive species, including fireworms, the red seaweed Womersleyella and three Caulerpa species (several of which are considered among the worst invaders of the Mediterranean).

While these invaders were previously known to impact shallow-water communities in the Eastern Mediterranean, the surveys conducted by the team suggest that their impacts are also likely profound in the low-light and colder-water, deeper communities. This could have a huge impact on the seabed community as they can displace native species, which could potentially lead to major changes in ecosystem functioning and loss of local biodiversity.

Professor Kuepper said: “Observing these communities is a quite a challenge, because the depth of the water limits your working time and can make clear thinking difficult.

“I am delighted that not only have we accessed these communities but we have also generated substantial findings from our expedition which will allow us to not only understand what lives there, but also how they function and to what extent they might be threatened by human activities.”

The work was conducted at such depths that it required careful planning with larger than usual air cylinders, independent bail-out cylinders and extra air staged for the decompression stops.  All diving was conducted using a bottom-reel to ensure that the divers always found their way back to the decompression lines.

Dr Martin Sayer said: “It was rewarding to make use of the knowledge and experience of our team to provide a platform for the scientific exploration of parts of the sea that are poorly understood.”

 

Search News

Browse by Month

2024

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2024
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2024
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2024

2014

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2014
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2014
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2014
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2013

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2013
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2013
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2013

2012

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2012
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2012
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2012
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2011

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2011
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2011
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2011
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2011
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2011
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2011
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2011
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2011
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2011
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2011
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2011