Download 4. Exploring the Ocean Floor 1. The Challenge 6. Tracing Lobster

Into the Unknown: Exploring Marine Biodiversity in Frontier Areas
1. The Challenge
3. Who We Are
Canada is an ocean nation; it
has 16% of the world’s
coastlines and the largest
territorial sea in the world.
Many stressors (climate
change, habitat
modification, natural
resource exploitation)
affect ocean health.
Studying kelp beds on the coast of Nova Scotia
We have rather little information on Canada’s oceans and
the things that live in it and a relatively small scientific
community.
CHONe is a university –
government research partnership
that addresses questions on
conservation and sustainable
ocean use.
The team includes about 140
researchers from across Canada
Taking samples of biodiversity and
and focuses on 3 interrelated
abundance of ice algae
research themes:
 Who/where: How many
and what type of plants
and animals live in our
oceans and where do we
find them?
 How: How are groups of
animals connected?
Rockfish take shelter in deep water corals on
Learmonth Bank, British Columbia
 So what: How do plants,
animals and stressors
influence how the
marine environment
works?
Feather stars form part of the high biodiversity on Canada’s
Pacific Coast
Oceans …
 Provide 95% of the livable
environment on earth
 Host the greatest breadth
of species diversity on our
planet - between 500,000
and 10 million species
 Provide significant food
resources (e.g. fish, shellfish,
kelp)
North Pacific rockfish grow
slowly and mature at a late
age. Vulnerable to fishing,
many species have declined
to the point of being listed
Rockfish
as of special concern in
In response, the federal
Canada.
government has
established Rockfish
Conservation Areas (RCAs)
along the British Columbia
coast.
Research Vessel CCGS Amundsen
Findings:
 Many new and previously
unknown animals
discovered
 The number and type of
animals on the seafloor
influence the nutrients in the
water
Getting ready for a scuba diving survey
Discovery of a new marine worm
(polychaete) species
Processing seafloor samples aboard Canada’s
research vessel Hudson
4. Exploring the Ocean Floor
The number and types of bottom-dwelling
animals that live in any one place can depend on
how rough the seafloor is.
A rougher seafloor provides more living and
feeding spaces and can support more species.
Exploring marine biodiversity along the Arctic corridor
 Help regulate climate change
Deep ocean floor community off the coast of
Nova Scotia
Rockfish habitat
Isabelle Côté, Ryan Cloutier
8. Healthy Oceans
The dispersal of larval lobsters is
necessary to connect adult
populations. Larvae are carried by
ocean currents, but may alter their
dispersal direction, distance and
speed by swimming.
CHONe’s research helps to:
 Understand the vulnerability
and the resilience of the living
sea
Larval lobsters from St.
George's Bay, Nova Scotia
 Protect highly productive
areas to maintain species
diversity
Deployment of a mooring in the
Beaufort Sea
 Predict how marine systems
and populations can adapt to
change
 Suggest strategies for life in a
changing ocean
only sparse animals.
Using an underwater robot
with a video camera and
attaching a novel laser tool,
we are able to explore the
ocean floor, count and
measure animals, and
measure the roughness of
the seafloor.
This project is helping to recover inshore rockfish
6. Tracing Lobster Movements
Findings:
• Identification of factors influencing
larval lobster swimming
• Improved ability to predict
larval settlement
Video-laser scan of rough seafloor: a deep-sea Farrea
occa sponge covered in rockfish and seastars.
Our research shows that RCAs can be
effective in protecting rockfish,
sheltering comparatively higher
populations.
Heike Link, Virginie Roy, Philippe Archambault,
Video-laser scan of flat seafloor: deep-sea sand with
 Support diverse industries
(e.g. fisheries, energy,
transport)
Sea snail in estuary of Magdalen Islands, Québec
Collection net for larval lobster samples
Retrieving net with lobster sample
This work can help fisheries managers
develop strategies to protect valuable
species such as lobsters.
Ryan Stanley, Eric Pederson, Remi Daigle, Paul Snelgrove, Anna Metaxas, Fred Guichard
Remotely operated vehicle ROPOS with
camera and laser attached to the top front
This tool helps locate priority areas for
species that need protection.
Cherisse Du Preez, Verena Tunnicliffe
Sea pig on the continental slope off the west coast of Canada
The Canadian Arctic Ocean rivals other Canadian
oceans in the number and types of plants and animals
that live in it. Many stressors will affect this last nearpristine ocean habitat. We urgently
need to know more about what
organisms live there and what they
do.
This work has helped identify many
ecologically important areas.
Shallow seafloor community in coastal waters of New
Brunswick
 Produce half the oxygen we
breathe
7. Protecting Rockfish
Life on the ocean floor of the NorthWest Passage
Study of biodiversity changes due to
mussel farming
2. Why Should We Care about the Ocean?
5. Exploring the Arctic Ocean
Photo Credits: P. Archambault, I. Côté, R. Daigle, C. Du Preez, M. Gautier, P. Lawton, H. Link, A. Metaxas, F.
Olivier, E. Pedersen, A. Piot, ROPOS, R. Scheibling, P. Snelgrove, R. Stanley, M.Strong and M.-I. Buzeta, V.
Tunnicliffe
Contact
Canadian Healthy Oceans Network
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, A1C 5S7
Tel: 709-864-6797 Fax: 709-864-6983
web: www.chone.ca
 Ensure
sustainability for all
life on Earth
Biodiversity at Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents
Marine Protected Area, BC
Major Funding Partners