AT A GLANCE Project Information
Project Title: 1. Response of deep-water sponge fauna to oil drilling discharges: linking molecular and biological parameters (RESPONSE) 2. Vulnerable habitats and species in petroleum resource management: impact of sediment exposure on Arctic sponge grounds (SedExSponge)
Project Objective: Evaluate the response of deep water sponge fauna to particulate oil drilling discharges to provide scientific- based guidelines for petroleum resource management by identifying threshold values for sedimentation impact on sponge grounds.
Project Duration and Timing: • RESPONSE (2011-2015) • SedExSponge (2013-2016)
Project Funding: Norwegian Research Council
©Photo:IMR
“We believe that our work will establish valuable information for marine scientists, and will also prove practically relevant for environmental managers, consultants, politicians and industry”
adjust to changing conditions – although these evolutionary responses are not always sufficient to mitigate the harmful byproducts of human activities, according to Kutti. “Sponges can shut down when exposed to certain levels of natural sediment, but don’t seem to have the same coping mechanisms when exposed to other, unnatural substances. They are resilient in some ways, but less so in others.” “We believe that our work will establish
valuable information for marine scientists, and will also prove practically relevant for environmental
managers, consultants,
politicians and industry,” says Bannister. “The oil sector in particular has been keen
54
to obtain more details concerning sponge communities and their vulnerabilities to suspended sediments, and nationally this data is especially important for implementing conservation efforts.” Following the end of his current four- year project, Bannister will continue with an additional overlapping study until the end of 2016, which will seek out new collaborative opportunities in order to increase the group’s knowledge of marine ecosystems. The team already has partners in Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, who are helping to create tools
for understanding larger aquatic
ecosystems through modelling. “The natural progression for our present research will be to move away from lab experiments and begin to initiate fieldwork,” says Bannister.
“Once we
develop an understanding of sponge tolerance thresholds in the lab and develop biomarkers to measure these in conjunction with our international colleagues, we will seek to apply them to sponges in a natural setting and ascertain if they behave identically to laboratory subjects. It’s clear that more information and knowledge is needed to understand the vulnerability of these widespread ecosystems to human activities, and also to help fathom their ecological significance.”
★ Insight Publishers | Projects
Raymond Bannister Raymond is a benthic ecologist, specialising on the ecophysiology of marine sponges. He has a background in tropical coral reef ecosystems, but since 2009, he has been studying the ecological importance of cold water sponge aggregations and their vulnerabilities to anthropogenic stressors.
Contact: Tel: +47 5523 8500 Email:
raymondb@imr.no Web:
http://www.imr.no/om_hav- forskningsinstituttet/ansatte/b/ray- mond_bannister/nb-no
Project Partners: • RESPONSE (SINTEF Materials and Chemistry and SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, Norway; University of Alberta, Canada; University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
• SedExSponge (University of Bergen, Norway; University of Alberta, Canada, University of New South Wales, Australia; Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, The Netherlands)
MAIN CONTACT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64