PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline date 08 Jan 2024. Applications are no longer being accepted for this project
Project Overview
Long-term environmental monitoring of impacts to the seabed is rare but important, particularly as climate change accelerates. Seabed photography makes it possible, but inconsistency in application reduces comparability This project will assess climate-related ecological change in benthic fauna, and develop consistency in seabed photography key to future marine monitoring.
Project Description
Responsible environmental monitoring is fundamental to understanding and conserving marine environments in the face of accelerating climate change, and the sustainable development of marine resources. Long-term biodiversity monitoring is essential but rare in the remote deep sea. Seabed photography provides a feasible, repeatable, cost-efficient solution, and is increasingly used in the assessment and monitoring of change in remote marine environments, particularly by industry and government agencies. Effective ocean observation and monitoring require comparability between data from different time points, so practicable optimization of data collection is critical. However, these essential conditions for robust monitoring are not commonly met, and key questions remain for optimizing monitoring using imagery.
The aims of this project are to: (1) monitor temporal change in the ecology of megabenthic communities experiencing impacts of climate change using seabed imagery; and (2) establish best practices for optimizing ecological data extraction from photography for monitoring seabed communities and determining key ecosystem measures (e.g., Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables).
The study will compare benthic megafaunal communities from key monitoring sites near the UK using existing and new seabed photo datasets, including from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory, an abyssal long-term time series site where the benthos appear to be impacted by climate change. The student will assess this important change, while removing bias from the imaging methodology. In so doing, the student will identify best practices for consistent environmental monitoring using photography and generalize them as recommendations for UK-wide marine monitoring.
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the National Oceanography Centre (Southampton). Specific training will include: techniques for production and interpretation of ecological datasets from marine images, familiarisation with image annotation software, seafarer training for any opportunities to participate in research expeditions during the project, and an internship(s) at the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (advisor to the UK Government on Nature Conservation). The internship will provide experience of applied imagery analysis and quality assurance practices to meet monitoring requirements of the UK’s network of MPAs (25% UK waters), as well as an understanding of national biodiversity conservation instruments and future management approaches for the UK’s offshore natural capital resources.
[1] Horton, T. et al., 2020. Are abyssal scavenging amphipod assemblages linked to climate cycles? Progr Oceanogr, 184. 10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102318
[2] Durden, J.M., et al., 2016. Perspectives in visual imaging for marine biology and ecology: from acquisition to understanding. In R.N. Hughes, D.J. Hughes, I.P. Smith, A.C. Dale (Eds.), Oceanogr Mar Biol: Ann Rev, Vol. 54 (pp. 1-72): CRC Press.
[3] Morris, K.J., et al. 2014. A new method for ecological surveying of the abyss using autonomous underwater vehicle photography. Limnol Oceanogr Methods, 12, 795-809. 10.4319/lom.2014.12.795
