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The Impact of Anthropogenic Activity on Cold-Water Corals

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Marine Animal Forests

Abstract

Various human activities can have an impact on cold-water coral (CWC) habitats. Bottom trawling has been shown to degrade these habitats and, in some cases, to cause extensive damage. Among static fishing gears, bottom longlines and gillnets can be set directly on coral grounds. Intensive fishing with these gears, while having much less impacts compared to bottom trawls, may over time cause damage to CWC habitats. Current plans to begin mineral mining activities in the deep sea will pose a risk to CWC habitats due to substrate removal and smothering by toxic particulate waste material. The by-products of oil exploitation, including drill cuttings, drill mud, and wastewater discharge, can impact CWC habitats, for example, causing reduced polyp activity and growth. Effects of accidental oil spills, if occurring in the vicinity of CWC habitats, include partial tissue loss and ultimately death. Litter may affect CWC colonies in a variety of ways, e.g. smothering and entanglement in discarded plastic and lost fishing gear. Submarine cables can exert localized impacts on CWC habitats particularly during their installation, repair, and removal. Potential impacts of CWC exposure to radioactive waste are unknown, but leakages in their vicinity would represent a threat. The impact of increasing CO2-induced global warming and ocean acidification is species-specific. While accurately predicting future effects is difficult, reduced availability of suitable habitats and weaker skeletal strength of reef-forming species are to be expected. Evaluating the risk posed by human activities to CWCs remains a challenge, given the remoteness of these habitats.

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Acknowledgments

This review draws on findings from the EU-FP7 CoralFISH project (grant no. 213144) and several nationally funded projects, including the Icelandic marine habitat mapping project, the Norwegian coral and sponge monitoring project (14221), and the Irish National Geoscience Programme 2007–2013 Griffith Geoscience Award. The authors would like to thank Steinunn Hilma Ólafsdóttir at MFRI for providing useful insights into Icelandic cold-water corals and the crew of the MFRI owned research vessel R/S Bjarni Sæmundsson for assistance at sea. IvdB acknowledges funding from Ifremer and Région Bretagne.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 121, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Stefán Áki Ragnarsson & Julian Mariano Burgos

  2. Institute of Marine Research, Nordnesgt 50, 5005, Bergen, Norway

    Tina Kutti

  3. MARBEC, Ifremer, Avenue Jean Monnet, 34200, Séte, France

    Sophie Arnaud-Haond

  4. School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway University, University Road, Galway, Ireland

    Anthony Grehan

  5. Ifremer, Laboratoire Environnement Profond, 29280, CS 10070, Plouzané, France

    Inge van den Beld

  6. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 101, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Hrönn Egilsdóttir

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  5. Hrönn Egilsdóttir
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  6. Sophie Arnaud-Haond
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  7. Anthony Grehan
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Correspondence to Stefán Áki Ragnarsson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Environmental Science & Technology Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

    Sergio Rossi

  2. LECOB / Ocean Observatory, CNRS / Pierre and Marie Curie Univ, Banyuls-sur-mer, France

    Lorenzo Bramanti

  3. Dept. Marine Biology & Oceanography, Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona, Spain

    Andrea Gori

  4. Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Balearic Oceanographic Centre, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Covadonga Orejas

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Ragnarsson, S.Á. et al. (2016). The Impact of Anthropogenic Activity on Cold-Water Corals. In: Rossi, S., Bramanti, L., Gori, A., Orejas , C. (eds) Marine Animal Forests. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_27-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_27-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17001-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17001-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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