Cold-Water Corals. Distribution of fauna and ... - Jacobs University

Pollution events
The potential impact a pollution event may have on CWC ecosystems is not well known. All
oil and gas industry production in Norwegian waters is only allowed after submission of
pollution mitigation and cleanup plans being submitted to the authorities prior to
commencement of production (Fosså and Skjoldal, 2010).
1.6.3 Rubbish
A concern of the HERMIONE project is the increase in plastic marine litter across the deep
sea ecosystems. The direct effect of such waste on fauna is unclear in many cases. Such
rubbish has been found in great quantity within Mediterranean coral thickets, and although
present within Norwegian margin reefs, densities of waste material seem lower and this
potential hazard to reef health will not be discussed at length within this thesis.
1.6.4 Climate change
The major structure forming scleractinian corals found at CWC sites secrete calcium
carbonate skeletons with growth - they are calcifying organisms. The ability for such
organisms to produce skeletons in progressively more acidic seas is one of the principal
concerns over ocean acidification. Additionally, the majority of predictive models expect that
the oceans of higher latitudes will suffer the most rapid increase in acidity over the
forthcoming years. This is of prime concern for reefs on the Norwegian margin, some of
which may be below the aragonite saturation horizon within 100 years.
1.7 References
Broch H (1912) Die Alcyonarien des Trondhjemsfjordes II. Gorgonacea. Kgl Norske Vidensk
Selskabs Skrifter 2: 1-48
Brock R, English E, Kenchington E, Tasker M (2009) The alphabet soup that protects coldwater
corals in the North Atlantic. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 397: 355-360
Buerk L, Freiwald A (2005) Bioerosion patterns in a deep-water Lophelia pertusa
(Scleractinia) thicket (Propeller Mound, northern Porcupine Seabight). In: Freiwald A,
Roberts JM (eds) Cold-Water Corals and Ecosystems, Springer, Berlin, p 915-936
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