REMP project - Global habitat suitability of deep-water Antipatharia

Antipatharia are a diverse group of corals with many species found in deep water. Many Antipatharia are habitat for associates, have extreme longevity and some species can occur beyond 8500 m depth. As they are major constituents of 'coral gardens', which are Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs), knowledge of their distribution and environmental requirements is an important pre-requisite for informed conservation planning particularly where the expense and difficulty of deep-sea sampling prohibits comprehensive surveys. This study uses a global database of Antipatharia distribution data to perform habitat suitability modelling using the Maxent methodology to estimate the global extent of black coral habitat suitability. The model of habitat suitability is driven by temperature but there is notable influence from other variables of topography, surface productivity and oxygen levels. This data set has been used as one of the data inputs in the Atlantic REMP project. This project, funded by the European Union, worked together with stakeholders to produce a draft Regional Environmental Management Plan (REMP) for the Area in the North Atlantic, with a focus on the polymetallic sulphide deposits of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which are of interest for deep-sea mining. There was close collaboration with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and a consortium of scientific organisations. Marine data from multiple data services underpinned the environmental management plan development. A selection of the data sets is included in EMODnet Ingestion for wider distribution.