HR: 10:20h
AN: B22A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Biodiversity Science In The Deep Sea: The ESF EuroDEEP Programme
AU: * Jonckheere, I G
EM: ijonckheere@esf.org
AF: European Science Foundation (ESF), Unit Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences 1, quai Lezay-Marnésia, Strasbourg cedex, 67080, France
AB: What little we know of deep-sea ecosystems indicates that they host one of the highest biodiversities on the planet as well as important mineral and biological resources, which are increasingly being exploited. Understanding deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, from viruses to megafauna, is essential to assess the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors and provide management options. The aim of the multidisciplinary ESF EUROCORES Programme EuroDEEP, Ecosystem Functioning and Biodiversity in Deep Sea, is to further explore and identify the different deep-sea habitats, assessing both the abiotic and biotic processes that sustain and maintain deep-sea communities. The scope is to interpret variations of biodiversity within and between deep-sea habitats, and the interactions of the biota with the ecosystems in which they live. The resulting scientific data are a prerequisite for the sustainable use and the development of management and conservation options aiming at the sustainable use of marine resources that will benefit society as a whole. The Programme aims at providing the necessary framework and funding for the development of top-quality deep- sea research at the European level in a global context (Census of Marine Life and SCOR/IGBP). In particular, it builds on sharing of national large-scale resources, which are essential for deep-sea research (i.e. ships, ROVs, submersibles, AUVs, deep-towed vehicles, deep-sea sampling equipment, new sensors, etc.) as well as the coordination of efforts amongst scientists and laboratories from the countries involved and links with ongoing projects. EuroDEEP will participate in the development of new technologies as well as data management, analysis and modelling. Most of all, EuroDEEP will catalyse excellent research on what biodiversity exists in the deep sea, how it is generated and maintained by abiotic and biotic processes, and what the role of the deep-sea is in the biogeochemical processes affecting the global biosphere. EuroDEEP is a Programme for deep-sea biology and ecology that strongly depends and requires collaboration between taxonomists, microbiologists, ecologists, physical and chemical oceanographers and geologists. The EuroDEEP Programme has been officially launched in June 2007 and four international, multidisciplinary collaborative research projects are supported particularly by research funding agencies from Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain, and by the European Science Foundation through contract No. ERAS-CT-2003-980409 of the European Commission, DG Research, FP6. EuroDEEP is coordinated by Dr. Inge Jonckheere at the ESF, Strasbourg, France.
UR: http://www.esf.org/eurodeep
DE: 0410 Biodiversity
DE: 0460 Marine systems (4800)
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting