Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs)
Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex
The Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex comprises 10 seamounts: Atlantis, Cruiser, Hyeres, Irving, Pico Sul, Plato, Tyro, Meteor Bank, the latter including Great Meteor, Closs and Small Meteor.
Benthic biological communities on seamounts are highly vulnerable to human activities. Many benthic species are long-lived, slow-growing and vulnerable to human impacts. Seamounts are defined as isolated topographic features of the seabed that have a limited lateral extent and rise more than 1000m from abyssal depths (Menard, 1964). Large seamounts usually originate as volcanoes and are primarily associated with intraplate hotspots and mid-ocean ridges (Staudigel et al., 2010). Generally, seamount topography is responsible for these structures qualifying as high complexity sites. Due to their isolated location, these structures can be an obstacle to the free circulation of the oceans. This gives rise to different kinds of phenomena and disturbances, including an increase in the speed of sea currents, upwellings, turbulence, Taylor cones, eddies and even jets in the zones where the seamounts interact with ocean currents (Richardson et al., 2000; Kunze & Smith, 2004; White et al., 2007; Pakhorukov, 2008).
Seamounts are hotspots of marine life (e.g., Rogers, 1994; Gubbay, 2003; Morato & Pauly, 2004; Pitcher et al., 2007, 2010; Mendonça et al., 2012) and in general are areas of enhanced productivity in comparison with nearby abyssal areas. In most cases, around the seamounts there is an extensive anticyclonic eddy associated with the lifting of nutrients from the rich deep water, giving rise to high concentrations of nitrates and chlorophyll in shallow waters (Coelho & Santos, 2003), which encourages the development of a wealth of flora and fauna on the structures, leading to exposed hard substrates and improved food conditions for epibenthic suspension feeders (e.g., Cartes et al., 2007 a), b); Genin & Dower 2007), such as cold-water corals or deep-water sponges (e.g., Samadi et al., 2007; Sánchez et al., 2008), tunas (e.g., Yasui 1986; Morato et al., 2010, Ressurreição & Giacomello, 2013), marine mammals (e.g., Cañadas et al., 2002; Correia et al., 2015), and other organisms that apparently feed on prey aggregations (e.g., Boehler & Sasaki, 1988; Porteiro & Sutton, 2007; Tabachnick & Menchenina, 2007). Seamounts are biologically distinctive habitats of the open ocean exhibiting unique features (Rogers, 1994; Probert, 1999; Morato & Clark, 2007). These structures can host very distinctive biological communities that are different from the communities on nearby abyssal plains dominated by soft sediment, and these particular places may attract pelagic fish, including larger, commercially valuable species and other marine top predators such as loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and marine mammals (e.g., Holland & Grubbs, 2007, Kaschner, 2007, Santos et al., 2007).
The Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex is part of the Macaronesian region. The area is situated about 1500 km northwest of the African continent and contains 10 banks, which usually have flat summit plateaus, together with a few lesser seamounts. The whole feature is a large volcanic complex in the central North Atlantic Ocean, situated some 700 km south of the Azores (Verhoef, 1984). It is the southernmost of a chain of large seamounts extending south from the Azores Plateau (Figure 1).
The Meteor bank is one of the best explored seamounts in the world, and since an expedition in 1998, detailed information on the meiofauna inhabiting its plateau has been made available. The Great Meteor resembles an isolated “island” in respect to the colonization by meiofauna. More data is included in the descriptions of some seamounts, such as Atlantis, Hyeres, Irving and Plato, than others (see Table 1), due to a greater sampling effort. Most of the older research was focused on geology.
Table 1 – Summary of the EBSA criteria met by each structure of the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex (Crit 1 (Uniqueness or rarity), 2 (Special importance for life-history stages of species, 3 (Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats), 4 (Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery), 5 (Biological productivity), 6 (Biological diversity) and 7 (Naturalness). Nº sps – total number of species in each structure. Nº refs - total number of references in each structure. n.i. – No information available.
In terms of geology the structures of the area have different compositions, locations and ages.
The shallower parts of the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex are elevated structures and, with the exception of the Atlantis seamount, are oriented roughly parallel to the ridge, implying a lithospheric control for these volcanic constructions (Gente et al., 2003). The seamount with the highest proportion of studies recorded in the Atlantic was the Great Meteor seamount (Kvile et al., 2014).
The Meteor bank, situated south of the Azores, is one of the largest banks in the North-East Atlantic, with a wide plateau of ∼1500 km2 developed between 400 m and its summit at 275 m water depth. Great Meteor has a volcanic core and is capped by 150-600 m of post-Middle Miocene carbonate and pyroclastic rocks and covered by highly reworked, residual bioclastic sands. During the late Miocene to Pliocene it was levelled by wave truncation (Mironov & Krylova, 2006). Since the Pliocene, the summit plateau subsided, probably isostatically, to its present water depth of 275 m, interrupted by eustatic sea-level fluctuations during the Plistocene. The Great Meteor is also capped by a sedimentary section around 400 m in thickness (Hinz, 1969). In these areas the sediments mainly comprise carbonated biogenic remains, with very low sedimentation rates. For the last 450,000 years, the pelagic sedimentation rate of deep-sea sediments has been calculated to average 0.25–0.6 cm per thousand years (Kuijpers et al., 1984; Brandes, 2011). As a tablemount, the bank is covered by reef sediments and the debris thereof on the slopes. Seismic reflection and refraction profiles indicate that the Great Meteor seamount mainly consists of volcanic rock superimposed by a cap of sediments, probably consisting of biogenic limestones and calcareous sands (Hinz, 1969; von Rad, 1974).
Between the geographical coordinates 30°45'N and 32°50'N and around 28°W lies a complex of seamounts comprising the Cruiser, Irving and Hyeres. Southward of the Cruiser plateau, the Irving seamount is one of three major volcanic peaks: the Hyeres seamount in the southwest (crestal depth 300 m), the large, flat-topped guyot Irving seamount in the north-central area (265 m) and the Cruiser seamount in the northeast (735 m). These seamount crests are mostly unsedimented (Tucholke and Smoot, 1990).
The Cruiser seamount is located to the furthest North-East, with a maximum height of 590 m below sea level. The seamount rises to 735 m, and its length is about 70 km. Cruiser seamount contains no flat surface (Verhoef, 1984).
Irving seamount is situated at about 32°N/28°W. It rises to 250 m below sea level and is a tablemount. The general direction of Irving seamount is NW-SE, but due to its oval shape it is difficult to assign a distinct orientation to this seamount. The length of the structure is about 100 km.
Between Irving and Hyeres seamounts, there are several structures that are not as shallow as the other seamounts. The alignment of these structures is the same as for the other seamounts inside the complex. Hyeres seamount is the most southwestern structure (Verhoef, 1984).
The Hyeres seamount has a recorded minimum depth of 330 m at 31°20'N/28°50'W. The seismic profiles over Hyeres seamount show no flat surface. Coming from the northwest, Hyeres rises abruptly from the ocean floor. It then seems to divide in two branches in the south-east. Hyeres seamount has a length of about 100 km (Verhoef, 1984).
Inside the complex formed by Cruiser, Irving and Hyeres seamounts, several sedimentary basins are to be found (e.g., between Cruiser and Irving seamounts). On several profiles, a sedimentary cover on the seamounts has been recorded (e.g., the profiles over the northwestern part of Irving seamount) (Verhoef, 1984).
Plato seamount is aligned in a general E-W direction. It consists of an echelon structure with a WNW-ESE direction. The overall length of Plato seamount is about 110 km, and the recorded minimum depth is 580 m. Plato seamount forms the connection with another complex structure, the Atlantis seamount group (Verhoef, 1984).
The Atlantis seamount complex consists of several elevations, separated by deep saddles and with a common base at about 2400m. Some summits and slopes have composite relief with hills and peaks measuring 100 to 200 m. Therefore, the horizontal dimensions of these two seamounts on the contour charts are only schematic Studies conducted by Heezen et al. (1969) concluded that Atlantis seamount was an island within the past 12,000 years.
Tyro seamount is situated at 34°40'N/27°30'W with a minimum depth of 1370 m and roughly defined SE direction (Verhoef, 1984).
Seamounts are locations for a broad range of current-topography interactions and biophysical coupling, with implications for both phyto and zooplankton. Seamounts appear to support relatively large planktonic and higher consumer biomass when compared to surrounding ocean waters, particularly in oligotrophic oceans. It has been a widely held view that in situ enhancement of primary production fuels this phenomenon, but this has recently been challenged (Genin & Dower 2007).
Productivity in oceanic settings depends on light and nutrient availability, while overall production is the result of productivity and accumulation of the phytoplankton. At a seamount, either a seamount-generated, vertical nutrient flux must be shallow enough to reach the euphotic zone and the ensuing productivity retained over the seamount long enough to allow transfer to higher trophic levels, or the seamount must rely on allochthonous inputs of organic material to provide a trophic subsidy to resident populations (Clark et al., 2010).
In terms of biology, these structures have not been extensively studied. A total of 437 species have been identified throughout the area (see feature description). Although seamounts are ecologically important and abundant features in the world’s oceans (Hillier & Watts, 2007), biological research on some seamounts has been limited (see Table 1) (Consalvey et al., 2010).
The most detailed investigations on biodiversity, composition and distribution of the seamount benthic macrofauna and meiofauna have been carried out in the North Atlantic, particularly at the Great Meteor seamount (Emschermann, 1971; Grasshoff, 1977; Bartsch, 1973, 2003, 2004, 2008; Hartmann-Schröder, 1979; George & Schminke, 2002; George 2004; Gad 2004, 2009; Gad & Schminke, 2004; Piepenburg & Müller, 2004; Mironov & Krylova, 2006).
The area is situated roughly 700 km south of the Azores and about 1500 km northwest of Africa. It has a total area of 134,079 km2, with depths ranging from 265m (top of Atlantis seamount) to 4800m (bottom of Great Meteor seamount). The area is bounded by the parallels 35º30’0,000’’N and 29º12’0,000’’N, and meridians -27º0’0,000’’W and -31º30’0,000’’W.
The polygon is defined by 19 points (see Table 2). The datum used is World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).
Table 2 – Geographic coordinates in two different formats: Decimal degrees and Degrees, Minutes and Seconds, corresponding to the vertices of the polygon that defines the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex
Vertices Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude
1 31,00000000° -29,00000000° 31° 0' 0,000" N -29° 0' 0,000" W
2 31,60000000° -29,30000000° 31° 36' 0,000" N -29° 18' 0,000" W
3 32,00000000° -28,60000000° 32° 0' 0,000" N -28° 36' 0,000" W
4 32,90000000° -28,60000000° 32° 54' 0,000" N -28° 36' 0,000" W
5 33,00000000° -30,50000000° 33° 0' 0,000" N -30° 30' 0,000" W
6 34,00000000° -31,40000000° 34° 0' 0,000" N -31° 24' 0,000" W
7 35,00000000° -31,50000000° 35° 0' 0,000" N -31° 30' 0,000" W
8 35,00000000° -30,30000000° 35° 0' 0,000" N -30° 18' 0,000" W
9 34,00000000° -29,50000000° 34° 0' 0,000" N -29° 30' 0,000" W
10 34,00000000° -28,70000000° 34° 0' 0,000" N -28° 42' 0,000" W
11 35,50000000° -28,50000000° 35° 30' 0,000" N -28° 30' 0,000" W
12 35,40000000° -27,00000000° 35° 24' 0,000" N -27° 0' 0,000" W
13 33,30000000° -27,60000000° 33° 18' 0,000" N -27° 36' 0,000" W
14 32,20000000° -27,00000000° 32° 12' 0,000" N -27° 0' 0,000" W
15 30,70000000° -28,20000000° 30° 42' 0,000" N -28° 12' 0,000" W
16 29,30000000° -28,00000000° 29° 18' 0,000" N -28° 0' 0,000" W
17 29,20000000° -29,30000000° 29° 12' 0,000" N -29° 18' 0,000" W
The Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex includes 10 seamount structures.
Knowledge of the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex is based on the analysis of 146 scientific articles containing relevant information about the described area. Several of the seamounts are well known, with a great number of geological and biological studies. The total number of 437 species reported was estimated from scattered taxonomical literature, and the species number is probably underestimated. Knowledge of each structure is uneven.
Around of 4 per cent of the 437 species identified in all seamounts on Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex are legally protected or assessed as threatened by CITES, IUCN Red List, European Union Habitats and Birds Directives, Food and Agriculture Organization (VMEs), Bern Convention and OSPAR Convention. For example, OSPAR identified as endangered or declining the deep-water sharks Centroscymus coeleopsis and Centrophorus squamosus. Other examples of species with legal protection (CITES Appendix II) are the corals, Antipathella subpinnata, Leiopathes spp., Parantipathes hirondelle, Aulocyathus atlanticus, Caryophyllia abyssorum, Deltocyathus eccentricus, Deltocyathus moseleyi, Dendrophyllia cornigera, Desmophyllum dianthus, Flabellum alabastrum, Flabellum chuni and Lophelia pertusa among others. For example, the species of sea urchin Centrostephanus longispinus is protected by the EU Habitats Directive, and Ranella olearia is protected by Annex II of the Bern Convention.
The species studied in the described area belong to several phyla, classes or orders (Figure 3). The Meteor Seamount includes various species of scleractinians and gorgonians. In some seamounts the gorgonian and sponge species were reported to form dense gorgonian coral habitat-forming aggregations of Callogorgia verticillata and Elisella flagellum, which may represent important feeding and sheltering grounds for seamount fishes and potential shark nurseries (WWF, 2001; Etnoyer & Warrenchuk, 2007; OSPAR, 2011). Cold-water, deep, habitat-forming corals can shelter higher megafauna in association with the corals than other habitats without coral communities (Roberts et al, 2006; Mortensen et al, 2008, Rogers et al, 2008). Seamounts also harbour large aggregations of demersal or benthopelagic fish (Koslow, 1997; Morato & Pauly, 2004; Pitcher et al., 2007; Morato et al., 2009, 2010).
Most of the study cruises that have visited the described area focus on Great Meteor bank, with sampling of the demersal vertebrate fauna (fish). Most studies are qualitative and often focus on specific taxonomic groups, such as copepods or gastropods (George & Schminke, 2002; Gofas, 2007; Pitcher et al., 2010).
The unique ecosystems of seamounts are highly vulnerable and sensitive to external actions. Most of the fauna found on seamounts are long-lived, slow-growing organisms with low fecundity and natural mortality (Brewin et al., 2007). Fisheries for horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus, Carangidae), mackerel (Scomber sp., Scombridae), scabbardfish (family Trichiuridae) and orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) have been operating on the seamounts of the area (Uiblein et al., 1999).
Allain, V. and P. Lorance, 2000. Age estimation and growth of some deep-sea fish from the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Cybium 24(3) Suppl.:7-16.
Bartsch, I. (1973). Halacaridae (Acari) von der Josephinebank und der Großen Meteorbank aus dem östlichen Nordatlantik. I. Die Halacaridae aus den Schleppnetzproben. Meteor Forsch-Erg D 15: 51-78.
Bartsch, I. (2003). Lohmannellinae (Halacaridae: Acari) from the Great Meteor Seamount (Northeastern Atlantic). Description of new species and reflections on the origin of the seamount fauna. Mitteilungen aus dem hamburgischen zoologischen Museum und Institut 100: 101-117.
Bartsch, I. (2004). Halacaridae (Acari) from the Great Meteor Seamount (Northeastern Atlantic). Description of Simognathus species. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut 101: 185-196.
Bartsch, I. (2008). Notes on ophiuroids from the Great Meteor Seamount (Northeastern Atlantic). Spixiana 31: 233-239.
Beckmann, A., & Mohn, C. (2002). The upper ocean circulation at Great Meteor Seamount. Ocean Dynamics 52(4): 194–204.
BirdLife International (2019). The Seabird Tracking Database. www.seabirdtracking.org
Boehlert, G. & Sasaki, T. (1988) Pelagic biogeography of the armourhead, Pseudopentaceros wheeleri, and recruitment to isolated seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean. Fishery Bulletin US 86: 453-465.
Boehlert, G. W., & Mundy, B. C. (1993). Ichthyoplankton assemblages at seamounts and oceanic islands. Bulletin of Marine Science 53(2): 336-361.
Brandes, H. (2011). Geotechnical characteristics of deep-sea sediments from the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Ocean Engineering 38(7): 835-848.
Brewin, P., Stocks, K. & Menezes, G. (2007) A History of Seamount Research. Chapter 3. pp 41- 61. In Pitcher, T.J., Morato, T., Hart, P.J.B., Clark, M.R., Haggan, N. and Santos, R.S. (eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Carreiro-Silva, M., Andrews, A. H., Braga-Henriques, A., De Matos, V., Porteiro, F. M., & Santos, R. S. (2013). Variability in growth rates of long-lived black coral Leiopathes sp. from the Azores. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 473, 189-199.
Cañadas, A., Sagarminaga, R., & Garcıa-Tiscar, S. (2002) Cetacean distribution related with depth and slope in the Mediterranean waters off southern Spain. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 49(11): 2053-2073.
Cartes, J., Huguet, C., Parra, S. & Sanchez, F. (2007 a)) Trophic relationships in deep-water decapods of Le Danois bank (Cantabrian Sea, NE Atlantic): Trends related with depth and seasonal changes in food quality and availability. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 54: 1091–1110.
Cartes, J., Serrano, A., Velasco, F., Parra, S., & Sanchez, F. (2007 b)) Community structure and dynamics of deep-water decapod assemblagesfrom Le Danois Bank (Cantabrian Sea, NE Atlantic): Influence of environmental variables and food availability, Progress in Oceanography 75: 797–816.
Clark, M. (2001) Are deepwater fisheries sustainable? The example of orange roughy. Fisheries Research 51: 123–35.
Clark, M., Rowden, A., Schlacher, T., Williams, A., Consalvey, M., Stocks, K., Rogers, A., O’Hara, T., White, M., Shank, T. & Hall-Spencer, J. (2010) The ecology of seamounts: structure, function, and human impacts. Annual Review of Marine Science 2: 253-278.
Coelho, H. & Santos, R. (2003) Enhanced primary production over seamounts: a numerical study. Thalassas 19: 144-145.
Consalvey, M., Clark, M., Rowden, A. & Stocks K. (2010) Life on seamounts. In: McIntyre AD (ed.), Life in the world’s oceans. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. pp 123–138.
Convention on Biological Diversity (2008) Decision IX/20. Ninth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Montreal: Convention on Biological Diversity.
Correia, A., Tepsich, M., Rosso P., Caldeira M., & Sousa-Pinto, I. (2015) Cetacean occurrence and spatial distribution: Habitat modelling for offshore waters in the Portuguese EEZ (NE Atlantic). Journal of Marine Systems 143: 73– 85.
Dong, C., McWilliams, J. C., & Shchepetkin, A. F. (2007). Island wakes in deep water. Journal of Physical Oceanography 37(4): 962-981.
Emschermann, P. (1971). Loxomespilon perezi—ein entoproctenfund im mittelatlantik. Überlegungen zur benthosbesiedlung der Großen Meteorbank. Marine Biology 9(1): 51-62.
Etnoyer, P. & Warrenchuk, J. (2007) A catshark nursery in a deep gorgonian field in the Mississipi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 81: 553−559.
Fock, H., Matthiessen, B., Zidowitz, H. & Westernhagen, H. (2002). Diel and habitat-dependent resource utilisation by deep-sea fishes at the Great Meteor seamount: Niche overlap and support for the sound scattering layer interception hypothesis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 244, 219–233.
Gad, G. (2004). The Loricifera fauna of the plateau of the Great Meteor Seamount. Archive of Fishery and Marine Research 51(1-3): 9-29.
Gad, G. (2009). Colonisation and speciation on seamounts, evidence from Draconematidae (Nematoda) of the Great Meteor Seamount. Marine Biodiversity 39(1): 57-69.
Gad, G., & Schminke, H. K. (2004). How important are seamounts for the dispersal of meiofauna. Archive of Fishery and Marine Research 51(1): 3.
Genin, A. & Dower, J. (2007) Seamount plankton dynamics. In: Pitcher, T.J., T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan and R.S. Santos (Eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries & Conservation. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series 12, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom, pp 85-100.
Gente, P., Dyment, J., Maia, M. & Goslin, J. (2003). Interaction between the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge and the Azores hot spot during the last 85 Myr: Emplacement and rifting of the hot spot‐derived plateaus. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 4(10).
George, K. & Schminke, H. (2002). Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda) of the Great Meteor Seamount, with first conclusions as to the origin of the plateau fauna. Marine Biology 141(5): 887-895.
George, K. H. (2004). Meteorina magnifica gen. et sp. nov., a new Idyanthidae (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) from the plateau of the Great Meteor Seamount (Eastern North Atlantic). Meiofauna Marina 13: 95-112.
Gofas, S. (2007). Rissoidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from northeast Atlantic seamounts. Journal of Natural History 41(13-16): 779-885.
Grasshoff, M. (1977). Die Gorgonarien des östlichen Nordatlantik und des Mittelmeeres. III Die Familie Paramuriceidae (Cnidaria, Anthozoa). Meteor Forsch. Ergebnisse 27: 5-76.
Gubbay, S. (2003) Seamounts of the North-East Atlantic. WWF Germany, Frankfurtam Main, Germany.
Hartmann-Schröder, G. (1979). Die Polychaeten der “Atlantischen Kuppenfahrt” von FS “Meteor” (Fahrt 9 c, 1967). 1. Proben aus Schleppgeräten. Meteor Forschungs-Ergebnisse, Reihe D 31: 63-90.
Heezen, B., Johnson, G. & Hollister, C. (1969). The Northwest Atlantic mid-ocean canyon. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 6(6): 1441-1453.
Hillier J. & Watts A. (2007) Global distribution of seamounts from ship-track bathymetry data. Geophysical Research Letters 34: L13304.
Hinz, K. (1969). The Great Meteor Seamount. Results of seismic reflection measurements with a pneumatic sound source, and their geological interpretation. Meteor Forsch Ergebn C(2): 63-77.
Holland, K. & Grubbs, R. (2007) Fish Visitors to Seamounts: Tunas and Billfish at Seamounts. Chapter 10 Section A. in Pitcher, T.J., Morato, T., Hart, P.J.B., Clark, M.R., Haggan, N. and Santos, R.S. (eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. pp. 189-201.
Kaschner, K. (2007) Air-breathing visitors to seamounts: Marine Mammals. Chapter 12 Section A. in Pitcher, T.J., Morato, T., Hart, P.J.B., Clark, M.R., Haggan, N. and Santos, R.S. (eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. pp. 230-238.
Koslow, J. (1997) Seamounts and the ecology of deep-sea fisheries. Americam Scientist 85: 168-176.
Kuijpers, A.; Schüttenhelm, R.T.E.; Verbeek, J.W. (Ed.) (1984). Geological Studies in the Eastern North Atlantic. Mededelingen Rijks Geologische Dienst. Nieuwe Serie 38(2)
Kunze, E. & Llewellyn Smith, S. (2004) The role of small-scale topography in turbulent mixing of the global ocean. Oceanography 17(1): 55–64.
Kvile, K., Taranto, G., Pitcher, T. & Morato, T. (2014) A global assessment of seamount ecosystems knowledge using an ecosystem evaluation framework. Biological Conservation 173: 108-120.
Martin, B. & Nellen, W. (2004). Composition and distribution of zooplankton at the Great Meteor Seamount, subtropical north-east Atlantic. Archive of Fishery and Marine Research 51(1-3): 89-100.
Menard, H. (1964) Marine Geology of the Pacific, 271 pp., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Mendonça, A., Arístegui, J., Vilas, J., Montero, M., Ojeda, A., Espino, M. & Martins, A. (2012) Is there a seamount effect on microbial community structure and biomass? The case study of Seine and Sedlo Seamounts (Northeast Atlantic). PLoS ONE 7(1).
Mironov, A. & Krylova, E. (2006). Origin of the fauna of the Meteor Seamounts, north-eastern Atlantic. Biogeography of the North Atlantic Seamounts 22-57.
Molodtsova T.N. 2006. Black corals (Antipatharia: Anthozoa: Cnidaria) of North-East Atlantic. pp. 141-151 In: Mironov A.N., A.V. Gebruk and A.J. Southward (eds.) Biogeography of the North Atlantic seamounts. Moscow. KMK Press 201 p. (Parantipathes hirondelle n.sp.- GMsm)
Molodtsova T.N. 2011. A new species of Leiopathes (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the Great Meteor seamount (North Atlantic) Zootaxa 3138: 52–64 (Leiopathes montana n.sp. - GMsm)
Morato, T. & Clark, M. (2007). Seamount fishes: ecology and life histories. Chapter 9 In:Pitcher, T.J., Morato, T., Hart, P.J.B., Clark, M.R., Haggan, N. & Santos, R.S. (eds) Seamounts: ecology, fisheries & conservation. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. pp. 170 -188.
Morato, T. & Pauly, D. (2004). Seamounts: Biodiversity and fisheries. Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia.
Morato, T., Allain, V., Hoyle, S. & Nicol, S. (2009) Tuna Longline Fishing around West and Central Pacific Seamounts. Information Paper. Scientific Committee, Fifth Regular Session, 10-21 August 2009, Port Vila, Vanuatu. WCPFC-SC5-2009/EB-IP-04. Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, Palikir, Pohnpei.
Morato, T., Hoyle, S., Allain, V. & Nicol, S. (2010) Seamounts are hotspots of pelagic biodiversity in the open ocean. PNAS Early Edition - www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0910290107.
Morato, T., Hoyle, S., Allain, V., & Nicol, S. (2010) Seamounts are hotspots of pelagic biodiversity in the open ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107(21): 9707–9711.
Morato, T., Kvile, K., Taranto, G., Tempera, F., Narayanaswamy, B., Hebbeln, D., Menezes, G., Wienberg, C., Santos, R. & Pitcher, T. (2013) Seamount physiography and biology in The North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Biogeosciences 10(5): 3039–3054.
Morato, T., Varkey, D., Damaso, C., Machete, M., Santos, M. & Pitcher, T. (2008) Evidence of a seamount effect on aggregating visitors. Marine Ecology Progress Series 357: 23-32.
Mortensen, P., Buhl-Mortensen, L., Gebruk, A. & Krylovab, E. (2008) Occurrence of deep-water corals on the MidAtlantic Ridge based on MAR-ECO data. Deep-Sea Research II 55:142–152
Mouriño, B., Fernández, E., Serret, P., Harbour, D., Sinha, B., & Pingree, R. (2001). Variability and seasonality of physical and biological fields at the Great Meteor Tablemount (subtropical NE Atlantic). Oceanologica Acta 24(2): 167–185.
OSPAR (2011) Background Document on the Josephine Seamount Marine Protected Area. Report prepared by the OSPAR Intersessional Correspondence Group on Marine Protected Areas. Biological Diversity and Ecosystems, 551: 27.
Pakhorukov, N. (2008) Visual observations of fish from seamounts of the Southern Azores Region (the Atlantic Ocean). Journal of Ichthyology 48: 114–123.
Piepenburg, D. & Müller, B. (2004). Distribution of epibenthic communities on the Great Meteor Seamount (North-east Atlantic) mirrors pelagic processes. Archive of Fishery and Marine Research 51(1-3): 55-70.
Pitcher, T., Clark, M., Morato, T. & Watson, R. (2010) Seamount fisheries: Do they have a future?. Oceanography 23: 134–144.
Pitcher, T., Morato, T., Hart, P., Clark, M., Haggan, N. & Santos, R. (2007) Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries, and Conservation, Blackwell Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Series, Vol. 12, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 527 pp.
Porteiro, F. & Sutton, T. (2007) Midwater fish assemblages and seamounts. In: Pitcher, T.J., T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan and R.S. Santos (Eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries & Conservation. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series 12, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom. pp. 101–16.
Probert P. (1999) Seamounts, sanctuaries and sustainability: moving towards deep-sea conservation. Aquatic Conservation 9: 601-605.
Pusch, C., Beckmann, C., Porteiro, F. M., & von Westernhagen, H. (2004). The influence of seamounts on mesopelagic fish communities. Archive of fishery and marine research 51(1): 165-186.
Romagosa, M., Lucas, C., Pérez‐Jorge, S., Tobeña, M., Lehodey, P., Reis, J., ... & Silva, M. A. Differences in regional oceanography and prey biomass influence the presence of foraging odontocetes at two Atlantic seamounts. Marine Mammal Science.
Ressurreição, A. & Giacomello, E. (2013) Quantifying the direct use value of Condor seamount. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 98: 209–217.
Richardson, P., Bower, A. & Zenk, W. (2000) A census of Meddies tracked by floats. Progress in Oceanography 45: 209–250.
Roberts, J., Wheeler, A. & Freiwald, A. (2006) Reefs of the deep: The biology and geology of cold-water coral ecosystems. Science 213: 543–547.
Rogers, A. (1994) The biology of seamounts. Advances in marine biology 30: 305-305.
Rogers, A., Baco, A., Griffiths, H., Hart, T. & Hall-Spencer, J. (2007) Corals on seamounts. In: Pitcher, T., Morato, T., Hart, P., Clark, M., Haggan, N. & Santos, R. eds. Seamounts: ecology, fisheries, and conservation. Blackwell Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Series 12. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. pp 141–169.
Rogers, A., Clark, M., Hall-Spencer, J. & Gjerde, K. (2008) The Science behind the Guidelines: A Scientific Guide to the FAO Draft International Guidelines (December 2007) for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas and Examples of How the Guidelines May Be Practically Implemented. IUCN, Switzerland.
Samadi, S., Schlacher, T. & de Forges, B. (2007) Seamount benthos. In: Pitcher, T.J., T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan and R.S. Santos (Eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries & Conservation. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series 12, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom, pp 119-140.
Sánchez, F., Serrano, A., Parra, S., Ballesteros, M. & Cartes, J. (2008) Habitat characteristics as determinant of the structure and spatial distribution of epibenthic and demersal communities of Le Danois Bank (Cantabrian Sea, N. Spain). Journal of Marine Systems 72: 64–86.
Santos, M., Bolten, A., Martins, H., Riewald, B. & Bjorndal, K. (2007) Air-breathing Visitors to Seamounts: Sea Turtles. Chapter 12 Section B. in Pitcher, T.J., Morato, T., Hart, P.J.B., Clark, M.R., Haggan, N. and Santos, R.S. (eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK. pp. 239-244.
Silva, M.A., Prieto, R., Jonsen, I., Baumgartner, M.F., Santos, R.S. 2013. North Atlantic Blue and Fin Whales Suspend Their Spring Migration to Forage in Middle Latitudes: Building up Energy Reserves for the Journey? PLoS ONE 8(10): e76507. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076507
Staudigel, H. & Clague, D. (2010) The geological history of deep-sea volcanoes: Biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere interactions. Oceanography 23(1): 58–71.
Stevens, J. 2009. Prionace glauca. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T39381A10222811. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T39381A10222811.en.
Tabachnick, K. & Menchenina, L. (2007). Revision of the genus Asconema (Porifera: Hexactinellida:Rossellidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 87: 1403–1429.
Tucholke, B. & Smoot, N. (1990). Evidence for age and evolution of Corner seamounts and Great Meteor seamount chain from multibeam bathymetry. Journal of Geophysical Research 95(B11): 17555–17569.
Uiblein, F., Geldmacher, A., Kˆster, F., Nellen, W., & Kraus, G. (1999). Species composition and depth distribution of fish species collected in the area of the Great Meteor Seamount, Central Eastern Atlantic, during cruise M42/3, with seventeen new records. Informes Tecnicos del Instituto Canario de Ciencias Marinas 5: 1-32.
Vandeperre F, Aires-da-Silva A, Fontes J, Santos M, Serrao Santos R, et al. (2014) Movements of Blue Sharks ( Prionace glauca ) across Their Life History. PLoS ONE 9(8): e103538. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103538
Verhoef, J. (1984). A geophysical study of the Atlantis-Meteor seamount complex. Geologica ultraiectina 38, 1-153.
Von Rad, U. (1974). Great Meteor and Josephine seamounts (eastern North Atlantic): composition and origin of bioclastic sands, carbonate and pyroclastic rocks. Meteor Forschungsergebnisse C 19: 1-61.
White, M., Bashmachnikov, I., Aristegui, J. & Martins, A. (2007) Physical processes and seamount productivity. In: Pitcher, T., Morato T., Hart, P., Clark, M., Haggan, N. & Santos, R. (Eds) Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries & Conservation. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series 12, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom, pp 65-84.
WWF (2001) Implementation of the EU Habitats Directive Offshore: Natura 2000 sites for reefs and submerged seabanks. Vol. II. Northeast Atlantic and North Sea, 87pp. World Wildlife Fund.
Yasui, M. (1986). Albacore, Thunnus alalunga, pole-and-line fishery around the Emperor Seamounts. From Environment and Resources of Seamounts in the North Pacific. R. Uchida, S. Hayashi, and G. Boehlert [eds]. NOAA Technical Report NMFS 43. September 1986. pp 37 – 40.
- Maps and Figures for Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex.docx (/api/v2013/documents/02AF792E-F056-F0F0-FD96-1B62CF35FB48/attachments/613208/Maps%20and%20Figures%20for%20Atlantis-Meteor%20Seamount%20Complex.docx)
- 15/25
The fish Protogrammus sousai (Callionymidae) is endemic to Great Meteor Seamount (Uiblein et al., 1999), as is the antipatharian (Leiopathes montana) (Molodstova, 2011). The Atlantis Seamount has strong effects on the composition of the mesopelagic fish community (Pusch et al., 2004).
The fish fauna are ecologically distinct, with some evidence of morphologic adaption of certain fish populations (e.g., Phycis phycis) to the special food-poor conditions at the seamount (Uiblein et al., 1999).
Meiofaunal groups of copepods and nematodes exhibit pronounced endemism, e.g., 54 of 56 observed species of the copepod Harpacticoida are new to science (George and Schminke, 2002).
Atlantis and Great Meteor Banks are vital stopping points for certain migratory species of whales and cetaceans, including sperm whales (e.g., Physeter microcephalus), fin whales (e.g., Balaenoptera acutorostrata), striped (e.g., Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (e.g., Tursiops truncatus).
The seamounts support many species of seabirds that use these places to feed; tracking data reveal the occurrence of at least 11 species using the area during breeding and/or the non- breeding seasons e.g., Calonectris borealis,Puffinus lherminieri baroli – an OSPAR listed species – and the threatened Rissa tridactyla, Pterodroma deserta and Pterodroma madeira (BirdLife International 2019).
There is a blue shark nursery in the Central North Atlantic, roughly delimited by the Azoresarchipelago in the North and the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex in the South (Vandeperre et al., 2014)
The aggregation of commercially important fish species in this area use this ecosystem for spawning and as nursery grounds (e.g., Aphanopus carbo, Beryx splendens, Zenopsis conchifer) (Uiblein et al., 1999).
There is evidence for mid-latitude foraging in central North Atlantic waters for fin and blue whales migrating to the northern feeding sites. More importantly, these species can suspend their seasonal migration and remain foraging in middle latitude areas for extended periods of time and much later into the summer than generally assumed (Silva et al., 2013).
Around 4 per cent of the species identified in Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex are legally protected or assessed as threatened by CITES (e.g., Antipathes furcata, Leiopathes spp., Parantipathes hirondelle, Desmophyllum dianthus, etc), European Union Habitats (e.g., Centrostephanus longispinus), Bern Convention (e.g., Ranella olearium) or OSPAR Convention (e.g., Centroscymnus coelolepis) (see “feature description of the area”).
Tracks of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), which is protected by CITES, indicate their use of seamount as habitat (Pitcher et al., 2010).
Atlantis seamount and Meteor Bank are vital stopping points for certain migratory species of whales and cetaceans, including sperm whales (e.g., Physeter microcephalus), fin whales (e.g., Balaenoptera acutorostrata), striped (e.g., Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (e.g., Tursiops truncates, Romagosa et al., 2009).
Some globally threatened seabird species are also known to occur in the area, such as Rissa tridactyla (VU), Pterodroma deserta (VU) and Pterodroma madeira (EN), along with the OSPAR listed Puffinus lherminieri baroli (BirdLife International 2019).
Blue shark (Prionace glauca) is on the IUCN Red List as a threatened species. As the seamount complex is confirmed as a nursery, it is of paramount importance to the species (Stevens, 2009).
These seamounts host unique marine ecosystems, supporting fragile habitats and vulnerable species like habitat-forming sponges and cold-water corals (e.g., Madrepora oculata). Some of these species exhibit extremely slow recovery, such as the black corals (Leiopathes spp.); the age of some specimens in this part of the Atlantic was approximated to be >2000 yrs (Carreiro-Silva et al., 2012).
In the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex, at least 35 species of cold-water corals have been reported (e.g., Antipathella subpinnata; Parantipathes hirondelle, Leiopathes montana, Caryophyllia smithii; Dendrophyllia cornigera, Flabellum macandrewi). All these corals are particularly fragile and recover very slowly (Molodtsova, 2006; Rogers et al., 2007; Molodtsova, 2011).
Presence of species with some legal protection with characteristic features particularly attending to biological factors, such as longevity, low fecundity, and slow growth rates (e.g., sharks and rays) (e.g., Clark, 2001; Morato et al. 2008). Twenty-two species of sharks and rays (e.g., Dalatias licha (shark), Raja clavata (ray)) are reported in this area (see Figure 5).
Long-lived and slow-growing orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), one of the longest-lived fish species known, with an estimated life span of more than 130 years, is reported in deep waters, over steep continental slopes, ocean ridges and seamounts south of Azores, including Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex (Allain & Lorance, 2000).
Productivity of the area in general is characterized as low; however, physical oceanography of seamounts leads to enhanced productivity in seamount areas. A circulation system, in the form of an anticyclonic vortex reported atop the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex, has the potential to accumulate mesopelagic zooplankton, micronekton, and even fish species with weak swimming capabilities (Boehlert & Mundy, 1993; Dong et al., 2007).
Studies with plankton prove that the Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex (Mouriño et al., 2001; Beckmann & Mohn, 2002; Fock et al., 2002; Martin & Nellen, 2004; Morato et al., 2013) has a relatively high biological productivity.
These structures, like other seamounts, have been conceptualized as habitat “islands” in the deep-sea. The Atlantis-Meteor Seamount Complex structures have high species diversity, with 437 different species registered, some of which are new to science (e.g., George, K. & Schminke, 2002; George, 2004)
The structures also host large aggregations of demersal or benthopelagic fish (see, e.g., Uiblein et al.,1999; Mironov & Krylova, 2006)
In the Atlantis, Hyeres and Irving seamounts, as well as the Meteor banks there is evidence of a great diversity, with records of midwater fish as major predators of zooplankton, such as the highly abundant and very common species, snipefish (Macroramphosus scolopax), seabass (Anthias anthias), boarfishes (Capros aper and Antigonia capros), flatfish (Arnoglossus rueppelli) and aulopid (Aulopus filamentosus). Also, there is presence of corals (e.g., Antipathella subpinnata, Parantipathes hirondelle, Leiopathes spp.), hydroids (e.g., Acryptolaria conferta), echinoderms (e.g., Centrostephanus longispinus), molluscs (e.g., Dermomurex gofasi) and sponges (e.g., Craniella longipilis). These kinds of species often form extensive reef-like structures, which themselves provide a diverse habitat for other animals, for example Cephalopoda (e.g., Ornitoteuthis antillarum, Tremoctopus violaceus) and Elasmobranchii (Heptranchias perlo).
Atlantis seamount and those of the Meteor bank are vital stopping points for certain migratory species of whales and cetaceans, including sperm whales (e.g., Physeter microcephalus), fin whales (e.g., Balaenoptera acutorostrata), striped (e.g., Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (e.g., Tursiops truncatus). The seamounts of Meteor Bank receive many species of seabirds that use these places to feed (e.g., Calonectris diomedea, Oceanodroma castro, Puffinus myasthenia). Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) tracks indicate use of seamount as habitat (Pitcher et al., 2010).
This is an FAO Fishing Area (No. 27 / No. 34). The fisheries for horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus, Carangidae), mackerel (Scomber sp., Scombridae), scabbardfish (family Trichiuridae) and orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) have been operating in the seamounts (Uiblein et al., 1999).
