Evaluating seabed habitat representativeness across a set of Marine Protected Areas on the mid-Atlantic Ridge

Outcomes: Authors produced an extent-based evaluation of the representativeness and level of protection offered to the range of seabed habitats found in the Azore MPA network. The conclusions of the assessment highlighted the need for protection of bathyal and abyssal habitats, and to apply a suitable ecological coherence criterion to the MPA network.

How EMODnet Seabed Habitats helped the user: EMODnet was the first product to provide a broad-scale full-coverage map of the study region. 

University of the Azores – Institute of Marine Research (IMAR), University of the Azores

When was it used: 2020

What product was used: EU SeaMap 2016, both seabed substrate and biological zones

How was the product used: Seabed substrate and biological zone data were clipped to the study area, and coverage of each EUNIS habitat in each biological zone was estimated. An index of impact was the assigned to each habitat, based on extractive and non-extractive human activities, to determine the level of protection offered to each habitat type.

Abstract available here