BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

DEEPCORAL-IV_CORAL-9 Cruise (29GD20090214) carried out on the Research Vessel García del Cid in 2009, Study of the communities of deep corals in the margin of the the mediterranean continental shelf.The main objective of the project is the study of the role of the communities of benthic suspensible organisms in the platform-slope areas in the processes of transfer of matter and energy, as important creators of habitat (three-dimensional structure), reservoirs of biological diversity and areas of protection and breeding ("nurseries") of numerous pelagic and nectonic species, some of them of commercial interest. The project is an integrated and multidisciplinary study of these communities in the north-western Mediterranean, with special emphasis on the headwaters of the submarine canyons. Knowledge of the specific composition of the communities, their distribution, both geographic and batimetric, their intra-interspecific and intra-occupational relationships and the environmental characteristics of the habitat are the first studies to be developed in the first phase of the project. Once these bases on diversity and structure have been established, a second phase of the project will be focused on the ecology (function) of these communities with the study of key species in the studied systems. Experimenting with living organisms (mainly cnidarians and sponges) will allow you to know different aspects of their ecology and the influence these communities have on the planktonic and benthonic system. Other important objectives of the project will be to analyze the influence of the benthic suspensible organisms on the microbial trophic chains of the layers of the water column closer to the bottom and the study of epibenthenic zooplankton communities. Knowledge of the dynamics of these communities will allow them to make a proper management plan for them, as well as, if necessary, the creation of reserve areas due to their importance as areas with high biodiversity, Commercial interest and role in the processes of transfer of matter and energy along the platform-slope axis. The project is carried out in collaboration with the company PRAESENTIS with the purpose of developing a new submarine vehicle prototype equipped with cameras of video and photography (EVO) and the Organization ADENA Spain (WWF) with which they are considering The strategies for conservation and dissemination of the state of seabed platforms in Mediterranean waters

INDEMARES-0 Cruise (29GD20090721) carried out on the Research Vessel García del Cid in 2009, To study the benthic communities of the Cap de Creus canyon and the Menorca channel. 1. Perform video transects using the ROV-EVO in order to be able to study the benthic communities, as well as the type of dominant substrate in each sampling area. 2. Collect samples of benthos using bottom dredges in order to complement the video material and obtain granulometry data from the land. 3. Carry out transects with trawl nets in order to capture organisms (macrofauna) for taxonomic identification and various analyzes

INDEMARES-1 Cruise (29GD20090921) carried out on the Research Vessel García del Cid in 2009, To study the benthic communities of the Cap de Creus canyon and the Menorca channel.The campaign was carried out both on the continental shelf and on the Creus Canyon. Divided into two halves, much of the efforts of the first half were used to consolidate and expand the work carried out on the platform in the INDEMARES-0 campaign, while in the second part of the campaign, samples were taken. Mainly video transects with ROV were made, which allowed to obtain excellent images in high resolution. A total of 25 dives were carried out, collecting both images to analyze quantitatively and close-ups to contribute to a better identification, later in the laboratory, of the most representative sessile species. Likewise, 17 trawl transects were carried out with the "Martin Rauschert" dredge for the study of megafauna communities and to characterize the macrofauna communities and the type of substrate, the bottom dredging was completed with the 33 sets of the dredge "Van Veen" ", And plankton trawls were made. In the second part of this campaign, samples were taken by 12 sets of CTD and Rossette, and work was done very specifically on the southern flank of the canyon. Finally, in the night shifts, the analysis of the bathymetric profile of the study area that still needed to be completed was carried out. A total of 20 of the 33 video transects of the INDEMARES 0 and I campaigns have been analyzed in detail, covering an area larger than 3,000 m2 that corresponds to more than 11,000 linear meters. This analysis has provided data on density and distribution of the 36 taxa identified on the continental shelf. Thus, video transects have identified (with the exception of sponges and ascidians) up to the lowest possible taxonomic level 14,950 benthic invertebrates, corresponding to 36 different taxonomic groups. Among them, 7 polychaetes, 18 cnidarians and 10 echinoderms, the rest being sponges, ascidians, equiuros and bivalves. In addition, it is observed that the species P. spinosum and A. palmatum are the most conspicuous and that the distribution of all the species analyzed is very heterogeneous