How much do scientists know about deep-sea ecosystems?
The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (MNM) is a large marine protected area founded in 2009 by a United States Presidential Proclamation affording protection to the deep-sea ecosystems, and the species they support, within the boundaries of the monument (Proclamation №8335, 3 C.F.R. 3, 2009). Although this monument is in place, managers responsible for developing research strategies and monitoring the condition of the area and species still require a better understanding of what we know and what we don’t know.
The goals of our research were to document scientists’ current perceptions of human-driven threats to deep-sea ecosystems in the Marianas Trench MNM and to identify which systems scientists believe are least understood or should be research priorities. We interviewed seven academic and government scientists with expertise of deep-sea ecosystems (≥1000 m depth below the ocean’s surface) in the Marianas Trench MNM.
The scientists we interviewed shared similar views on current knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems and potential human-driven threats within the Marianas Trench MNM. Scientists identified that deep pelagic (1000 to 4000 m depth) and trench (6000 to 11 000 m depth) ecosystems are the least understood and should be research priorities. Climate change, litter and waste, mining, and fishing, as well as interactions between these drivers of change were identified as critical knowledge gaps. To fill key knowledge gaps, scientists identified the need for monitoring networks and time-series data.
Our findings can inform the research and conservation community about scientists’ perceptions of what is known and what is not known and needs to be explored further. This information can better both our basic understanding of deep-sea ecosystems and guide decisions related to research priorities, management of fisheries and ecosystems, and monitoring and mitigation of pollution or mining impacts to the Mariana Trench MNM. There are a growing number of international groups addressing questions about anthropogenic disturbance in deep-sea ecosystems; our findings offer informative perspectives for this emerging field of deep-sea science.
Read the full paper — Knowledge sharing about deep-sea ecosystems to inform conservation and research decisions by Stephanie R. Januchowski-Hartley, Kimberly A. Selkoe, Natalya D. Gallo, Christopher E. Bird and J. Derek Hogan on the FACETS website.
