Two multi-year research projects aimed at increasing understanding of the biodiversity of deep-sea waters in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands were two of 31 projects chosen to receive funding through the Darwin Plus program. The program, also known as the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund, provides funding for the “conservation of unique and globally significant environments found in U.K. Overseas Territories.”
Beneath the Waves (BTW) is dedicated to promoting ocean health and using science to catalyze ocean policy, focusing on shark conservation and marine protected areas. For their Deep-Sea Conservation Initiatives, Beneath the Waves uses a suite of non-invasive monitoring tools to collaboratively address the data deficit in the deep ocean, in primary sampling locations throughout the Northern Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, and campaign-based work in the Pacific Oceans.
As commercial fisheries have overfished surface waters, the fishing industry is now expanding its footprint further and deeper into the ocean, posing risks to some of the slowest growing fish and invertebrate species on our planet and those we have yet to describe properly. In addition, there is the looming threat of deep seabed mining, whereby the impacts on deep-sea ecosystem processes and ocean health remain unknown. Failing to categorize deep-sea biodiversity could result in countless areas and species continuing to fall through the cracks of fragmented ocean governance.
Rapid biodiversity sampling is employed to generate proxy-based evidence for how ecologically important species are distributed on shelf habitats from 200 – 1,000 meters and in deeper abyssal zones. The Beneath the Waves team integrates oceanography with biology to gather a comprehensive understanding of the function of these ecosystems. Tools include deep-sea drop camera rigs, which can record species abundance remotely for seven to eight hours in virtually any deep-sea ecosystem on our planet up to 5,000 meters. In addition, water sampling is frequently used for environmental DNA, and submersibles and remotely-operated vehicles are used.
On Saturday, June 5, 2021, as part of World Environment Day, the U.K. government announced that it would be investing £8 million over the next three years to address the global biodiversity crisis. The Darwin Initiative is a U.K. government grants scheme that helps protect biodiversity and the natural environment in developing countries. Darwin-funded projects usually aim to help preserve biodiversity and the local community that lives alongside it. Since 1992, the Darwin Initiative has awarded over £177m to more than 1,220 projects across 159 countries. Beneath the Waves was awarded two grants by the Darwin Initiative to conduct research in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.
The projects are co-led by Dr. Austin Gallagher, Chief Scientist at Beneath the Waves, a non-profit research institute using cutting-edge science to advance scientific discovery and catalyze ocean policy. BTW’s approach focuses on the conservation of biodiversity and highly migratory species throughout the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific Oceans.
The Bermuda-based research project, which brings together partners in the Bermuda Government, scientific research, non-profit conservation, and U.S. university education sectors, received a competitive research grant of £316,829 for a two-year study anticipated to begin later this summer.
Through innovative methodologies, the project will fill critical knowledge gaps on Bermuda’s mobile deep-sea biodiversity and support both the Bermuda and UK Government’s strategic biodiversity conservation priorities. The complementary use of environmental DNA metabarcoding and baited cameras will generate baseline data to feed into the nascent MPA network as the government develops spatial protection measures under the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme (BOPP). The work will focus on species of highly migratory and mobile predatory fishes.
Dr. Gallagher said, “The deep-sea is our Earth’s largest ecosystem and our planet’s final frontier for research and discovery. However, deep-sea environments remain largely unexplored, poorly understood, and have few conservation measures in place. We have realized that the deep sea is a place we actually have a chance to conserve before it gets exploited. Through our deep-sea research in the Lucayan Archipelago, we know that critical migratory species and predatory fishes, like sharks, are extensively found in deep-sea areas. Bringing our innovative research methodology to this project, we seek to understand further how these species use the deep-sea and provide scientific support for the Bermuda, Cayman Islands’, and UK Government’s strategic biodiversity conservation priorities.”
The investigation will use a combination of approaches to accomplish this goal, including baited underwater camera systems to attract fish to study locations, which helps scientists minimize disturbances while observing fish population biodiversity. Dr. Brennan Phillips, project partner and assistant professor in ocean engineering at the University of Rhode Island, specializes in developing and applying novel instrumentation of oceanographic research. His experience and expertise will allow the team to test low-cost, low-light imaging options for deep-water research.
Another tool that will be employed is the collection of eDNA (or environmental DNA) from the study sites. Organisms continually release eDNA into their surrounding environment; common sources from fish include waste material, old scales, mucous, and reproductive cells. By taking water samples from the area around the underwater cameras, scientists can extract genetic material and sequence it to identify each fish species present in the area at the time of the sample. That allows them to obtain more accurate estimates of biodiversity.
Data collected in the field will be relayed to the Bermuda Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources through project partner Dr. Joanna Pitt, a marine resources officer and a member of the BOPP Steering Committee. Pitt will lead the integration of these data into the BOPP Marine Spatial Planning initiative, the Shark Management Action Plan, and lead the development of a Deepwater Fisheries Management Plan.
Kaitlin Noyes, director of education and community engagement at BIOS, will develop digital education resources for incorporation into the Institute’s Ocean Academy curriculum, which serves Bermuda’s students, teachers, and mentors. Shayna Brody, project partner and director of media and communications at the Waitt Institute, which coordinates the BOPP, will be assisting in the project’s outreach efforts.
The second grant provides funding of £207,681for two years of collaborative research in the Cayman Islands, a project that will be co-led by Beneath the Waves. The Cayman Islands lie adjacent to deep ocean trenches, yet little is known of its marine life below 50m or whether its deep reefs offer a refuge from climate change. The project will undertake surveys of Cayman seabed habitats down to 2,000m and evaluate connectivity between shallow-water and deep-reef communities.
Alongside the Cayman Islands’ Government Department of Environment, and scientists from Heriot-Watt University, BTW will focus on threatened and commercial fish species, including sharks. The project will also map the distribution of deep-water coral and other biotopes over the next two years, to hopefully designate additional protected areas.
“With our work in the deep-sea, we seek to bring our data, research, and findings to the forefront of the policy frontlines, and protect some of these ecosystems before it’s too late,” Gallagher said. “These two Darwin Initiative grants provide an incredible opportunity to collaborate with scientists and governments alike around conservation strategies and implementation.”
Beneath the Waves has several conservation goals with these initiatives. By protecting deep-sea habitats before it’s too late, the team has a chance to protect the planet’s final frontier before it's destroyed. By using innovative, non-invasive technology available at a low cost, requiring low personnel, but providing high output, Beneath the Waves can deepen the scientific understanding of sharks and migratory species and improve Caribbean conservation. These two initiatives tie into their larger goal of protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, starting in the Caribbean through a collaborative approach to conservation and research.
About Beneath the Waves
Founded in 2013, Beneath the Waves is an ocean NGO using cutting-edge science to advance scientific discovery and catalyze ocean policy, focusing on threatened species and ecosystems. Led by a group of established and emerging leaders in the marine conservation world, they have initiatives focusing on the conservation of biodiversity and highly migratory species such as sharks throughout the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific Oceans. Their work has generated nearly 100 scientific publications and numerous first-ever discoveries, and they have been involved in the study and conservation of nearly 1 million square kilometers of protected marine areas.
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