IMMERSE
Lead Research Organisation:
Bangor University
Department Name: Sch of Ocean Sciences
Abstract
Coastal and shelf marine ecosystems are highly productive, bringing great benefits to humans. These benefits, called "ecosystem services" include food supply, recycling and recreation. Coastal and shelf seas are rich, productive and close to large human populations, so they are under great pressure from factors such as fishing and climate change.
Despite years of intensive study, our knowledge of how shelf ecosystems work is still patchy. Therefore we cannot yet predict how they will respond to changes. IMMERSE combines researchers with complementary track records from across 11 UK institutes. We will develop an integrated, whole-ecosystem approach to understand how changes occur in marine ecosystems and how these affect the services they provide. We will a) synthesise and analyse the vast array of existing, but scattered, data, b) target key data gaps and choke-points in our understanding with focussed fieldwork and experimentation and c) combine these into a suite of computer models that explore future consequences of changes and perturbations for ecosystem services. Our geographical focus will be the western seas, from the western English Channel, through the Celtic and Irish Seas, to western Scotland, although relevant data will be included from a wider area.
The novelty of this project is fourfold:
First, we will use novel web-based approaches to combine existing datasets and rate process measurements, from microbes to whales, and at whole shelf scales. By combining these datasets and published data, we can deduce the underlying "ecological rules" that operate at the level of the individual but lead to patterns at the ecosystem scale - for example how an organism's mortality or feeding rate depends on its body size and the ambient temperature.
Second we will target key knowledge gaps by applying the latest method developments in understanding food webs. We will use isotopic methods to trace the relative input of seaweed and planktonic algae into the base of the food web; we will follow these isotopic tracers in the lab and in the wild to understand exactly how these plants are incorporated into the rest of food web; we will use new image analysis technology to quantify the full size range of organisms in the sea; and we will use the latest molecular techniques to trace who eats whom.
The third novelty is that we will use not just one model to understand these ecosystem linkages but six models, all based on different assumptions. This "ensemble" approach is similar to climate forecasting, but is in its infancy in the sea. We will inform these models with the data synthesised and collected above, and then compare the output across the whole ensemble. This approach limits the shortcomings of any single model for a more robust picture of how the ecosystem works. These models will then be challenged with different scenarios of change, for example changing fishing effort or establishing conservation zones, with and without warming.
The fourth novelty of our approach is that we include a small but important socioeconomic part to our proposal. This will enable policy makers to convert the output from models into economic valuations and indicators, so that judgements can be made on management decisions for a suite of marine ecosystem services.
IMMERSE is part of a larger NERC funding scheme, and its outputs spanning the whole of the food web will be tailored to support the next two rounds of funding: first in developing NERC's model of the lower reaches of the food web, and second in testing efficiency of potential management interventions. The legacies of this project will include tools and combined datasets that will place the UK in a leading position to understand whole ecosystems and the consequences of change in terms of ecosystem services.
Despite years of intensive study, our knowledge of how shelf ecosystems work is still patchy. Therefore we cannot yet predict how they will respond to changes. IMMERSE combines researchers with complementary track records from across 11 UK institutes. We will develop an integrated, whole-ecosystem approach to understand how changes occur in marine ecosystems and how these affect the services they provide. We will a) synthesise and analyse the vast array of existing, but scattered, data, b) target key data gaps and choke-points in our understanding with focussed fieldwork and experimentation and c) combine these into a suite of computer models that explore future consequences of changes and perturbations for ecosystem services. Our geographical focus will be the western seas, from the western English Channel, through the Celtic and Irish Seas, to western Scotland, although relevant data will be included from a wider area.
The novelty of this project is fourfold:
First, we will use novel web-based approaches to combine existing datasets and rate process measurements, from microbes to whales, and at whole shelf scales. By combining these datasets and published data, we can deduce the underlying "ecological rules" that operate at the level of the individual but lead to patterns at the ecosystem scale - for example how an organism's mortality or feeding rate depends on its body size and the ambient temperature.
Second we will target key knowledge gaps by applying the latest method developments in understanding food webs. We will use isotopic methods to trace the relative input of seaweed and planktonic algae into the base of the food web; we will follow these isotopic tracers in the lab and in the wild to understand exactly how these plants are incorporated into the rest of food web; we will use new image analysis technology to quantify the full size range of organisms in the sea; and we will use the latest molecular techniques to trace who eats whom.
The third novelty is that we will use not just one model to understand these ecosystem linkages but six models, all based on different assumptions. This "ensemble" approach is similar to climate forecasting, but is in its infancy in the sea. We will inform these models with the data synthesised and collected above, and then compare the output across the whole ensemble. This approach limits the shortcomings of any single model for a more robust picture of how the ecosystem works. These models will then be challenged with different scenarios of change, for example changing fishing effort or establishing conservation zones, with and without warming.
The fourth novelty of our approach is that we include a small but important socioeconomic part to our proposal. This will enable policy makers to convert the output from models into economic valuations and indicators, so that judgements can be made on management decisions for a suite of marine ecosystem services.
IMMERSE is part of a larger NERC funding scheme, and its outputs spanning the whole of the food web will be tailored to support the next two rounds of funding: first in developing NERC's model of the lower reaches of the food web, and second in testing efficiency of potential management interventions. The legacies of this project will include tools and combined datasets that will place the UK in a leading position to understand whole ecosystems and the consequences of change in terms of ecosystem services.
Planned Impact
The IMMERSE programme will have far reaching impact upon a diverse range of beneficiaries, including policy makers, environmental managers, marine monitoring initiatives and wider society. The programme outputs will place the UK as an international leader in macroecology and ecosystem modelling by improving understanding of the regulation of key ecosystem services, scale-dependence in the underlying processes, functional diversity at different trophic levels and the impact of stressors on the marine environment. It will also provide vital data for, and improvements to, UK marine modelling to explore the impact of environmental change on the structure, function and services associated with marine food webs across scales.
The research and outputs generated by the programme will primarily be of direct relevance and benefit to UK and European policymakers and environmental managers working towards the sustainable exploitation of the UK and Europe's marine environment. These include those working within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Marine Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Natural Resources Wales, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), United Nations Environmental Programme, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and others. By using already well-established links with these organizations and developing these further, targeted outputs will be disseminated to policy beneficiaries to help refine current indicators of state and drivers, ensuring a common currency and, therefore, a smooth transition of robust science between the scientific and policy communities.
The novel, whole system approach employed in IMMERSE will also be of benefit to a wide range of organisations and networks with an interest or involvement in marine monitoring, resource management, marine planning, fisheries, aquaculture, energy provision, licencing, predicting ecosystem change, conservation and food security. The programme will consolidate a range of data sources to provide these organisations and networks with clean, rationalised datasets that are of meaningful and add value to their activities. These include: AFBI, British Ecological Society (BES), Celtic Seas Partnership (CPS), Cefas, Sea Watch Foundation, fisheries Regional Advisory Councils, RSPB, Valuing Nature Network, Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, and data networking and integrating groups such as Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), National Biodiversity Network, Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN), UK Integrated Marine Observing Network (UKIMON), European Marine Ecosystem Observatory (EMECO), UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy Evidence Groups, NERC Knowledge Exchange Programme on Sustainable Food Production, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, British Marine Aggregate Producers Association, Ifremer and IUCN. Existing collaborations combined with new links will facilitate the dissemination and publicity of IMMERSE outputs to the benefit of these organisations and networks.
There is a wider public interest in the research of IMMERSE in that shelf seas are a source of food and energy that is susceptible to environmental change with subsequent socio-economic implications. This includes interest from educational institutes that often require societally-relevant, novel issues to provide context to the science curriculum. This programme will also demonstrate to wider interest groups the shift from individual, narrowly focused studies to "big picture" research endeavours, designed to feed into addressing large social challenges and illustrate how marine science can provide wide-ranging benefits to society.
Methods for engaging with stakeholders are described in the IMMERSE Pathways to Impact.
The research and outputs generated by the programme will primarily be of direct relevance and benefit to UK and European policymakers and environmental managers working towards the sustainable exploitation of the UK and Europe's marine environment. These include those working within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Marine Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Natural Resources Wales, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), United Nations Environmental Programme, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and others. By using already well-established links with these organizations and developing these further, targeted outputs will be disseminated to policy beneficiaries to help refine current indicators of state and drivers, ensuring a common currency and, therefore, a smooth transition of robust science between the scientific and policy communities.
The novel, whole system approach employed in IMMERSE will also be of benefit to a wide range of organisations and networks with an interest or involvement in marine monitoring, resource management, marine planning, fisheries, aquaculture, energy provision, licencing, predicting ecosystem change, conservation and food security. The programme will consolidate a range of data sources to provide these organisations and networks with clean, rationalised datasets that are of meaningful and add value to their activities. These include: AFBI, British Ecological Society (BES), Celtic Seas Partnership (CPS), Cefas, Sea Watch Foundation, fisheries Regional Advisory Councils, RSPB, Valuing Nature Network, Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, and data networking and integrating groups such as Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), National Biodiversity Network, Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN), UK Integrated Marine Observing Network (UKIMON), European Marine Ecosystem Observatory (EMECO), UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy Evidence Groups, NERC Knowledge Exchange Programme on Sustainable Food Production, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, British Marine Aggregate Producers Association, Ifremer and IUCN. Existing collaborations combined with new links will facilitate the dissemination and publicity of IMMERSE outputs to the benefit of these organisations and networks.
There is a wider public interest in the research of IMMERSE in that shelf seas are a source of food and energy that is susceptible to environmental change with subsequent socio-economic implications. This includes interest from educational institutes that often require societally-relevant, novel issues to provide context to the science curriculum. This programme will also demonstrate to wider interest groups the shift from individual, narrowly focused studies to "big picture" research endeavours, designed to feed into addressing large social challenges and illustrate how marine science can provide wide-ranging benefits to society.
Methods for engaging with stakeholders are described in the IMMERSE Pathways to Impact.
Organisations
Publications
Lambert G
(2014)
Quantifying recovery rates and resilience of seabed habitats impacted by bottom fishing
in Journal of Applied Ecology
Lambert GI
(2017)
Defining thresholds of sustainable impact on benthic communities in relation to fishing disturbance.
in Scientific reports
Lieber L
(2018)
Fine-scale hydrodynamic metrics underlying predator occupancy patterns in tidal stream environments
in Ecological Indicators
P.G.H Evans
(2020)
Impacts of climate change on marine mammals, relevant to the coastal and marine environment around the UK
in MCCIP Science Review 2020
Phillips JA
(2021)
Consistent concentrations of critically endangered Balearic shearwaters in UK waters revealed by at-sea surveys.
in Ecology and evolution
Robbins JR
(2022)
Shipping in the north-east Atlantic: Identifying spatial and temporal patterns of change
in Marine Pollution Bulletin
Sciberras M
(2018)
Response of benthic fauna to experimental bottom fishing: A global meta-analysis
in Fish and Fisheries
Searle KR
(2022)
Opposing effects of spatiotemporal variation in resources and temporal variation in climate on density dependent population growth in seabirds
in Journal of Animal Ecology
Serpetti N
(2021)
Modeling Small Scale Impacts of Multi-Purpose Platforms: An Ecosystem Approach
in Frontiers in Marine Sciences
Spence MS
(2021)
Sustainable fishing can lead to improvements in marine ecosystem status: an ensemble-model forecast of the North Sea ecosystem
in Marine Ecology Progress Series
Title | Illustration frontal systems and seabirds |
Description | Illustration to explain outcomes of a paper: Waggitt, J.J., Cazenave, P.W., Howarth, L.M., Evans, P.G.H., Kooij, J.v.d. & Hiddink, J.G. (2018) Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat-selection in foraging seabirds. Biology Letters, 14, 20180348. |
Type Of Art | Image |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | Article in Hakai magazine: https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/some-seabirds-thrive-at-the-margins/ |
URL | https://www.hakaimagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/cartoon-seabird-margins.jpg |
Description | We developed methods to create maps of the distribution of seabirds and cetaceans for the NW European seas based on the largest available collation of survey data. We quantified the size distribution of seabed organisms, ranging from the smallest worms to the largest fish, and examined how these size-distributions where related to fishing and primary production. Our results show that both trawling and primary production have strong and interacting effects. |
Exploitation Route | Our maps of top predators will be very useful for spatial planning of their conservation. Our analyses of benthic ecosystems will help managers understand how different components of the ecosystem may respond to climate change and fisheries management. |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
Description | Outputs have been feeding into several pieces of ICES advice to the EU on management of bottom trawl fisheries. The working mapping the distribution of cetaceans and seabirds in NW Europe has been feeding into advice to governments, through organisations like ICES and JNCC. The working mapping the distribution of cetaceans and seabirds in NW Europe has been feeding into advice to governments through organisations like the Crown Estate, Natural England, NRW, Marine Scotland Science, ICES and JNCC. Developments of the original approaches have contributed to projects assessing impacts from wind-farms and climate change, as well as estimating previous changes in distribution and abundance. Further developments have formed key-components of successful NERC Highlight Topic applications, and submitted NERC SMMR applications. The association data collation has acted as a benchmark/blue-print in developing a centralised collation of at-sea cetacean surveys, to be hosted by ICES, contributing to a range of conservation and marine management needs. |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | Contribution to ICES WGMME |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Contributing information on the abundance and distribution of marine mammals to assist conservation and marine management in European waters. |
Description | Contribution to ICES working group WKBEDPRES1 |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | WKBEDPRES1 resulted in advice to the EU through ICES about how to identify the main physical disturbance pressures on the seabed in European waters and to derive methods for aggregating cumulative pressures appropriate to the assessment of adverse effects on benthic habitats. |
URL | http://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/WKBEDPRES1.aspx |
Description | ICES WKBENTH |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
URL | http://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2017/Special_requests/eu.2017.13.pdf |
Description | Marine Stewardship Council. |
Amount | £153,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Centre for Stewardship |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 08/2019 |
Description | Seafish |
Amount | £69,569 (GBP) |
Organisation | Seafish |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2016 |
End | 11/2017 |
Title | Celtic and Irish Sea benthic biomass size spectra data |
Description | Howarth, L.M., Somerfield, P., Blanchard, J. & Hiddink, J.G. (2018) Celtic and Irish Sea benthic biomass size spectra data, September 2015 and April 2016. British Oceanographic Data Centre - Natural Environment Research Council). |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Underpins this paper: Howarth, L.M., Waggitt, J.J., Bolam, S.G., Eggleton, J., Somerfield, P.J. & Hiddink, J.G. (2018) The effects of bottom trawling and primary production on the biological traits composition of benthic assemblages. Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 602, 31-48. |
URL | https://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/published_data_library/catalogue/10.5285/674d4224-7cc5-4080-e053-6c86abc... |
Title | Data from: Assessing bottom-trawling impacts based on the longevity of benthic invertebrates. |
Description | Hiddink, J.G., Jennings, S., Sciberras, M., Bolam, S.G., Cambiè, G., McConnaughey, R.A., Mazor, T., Hilborn, R., Collie, J.S., Pitcher, R., Parma, A.M., Suuronen, P., Kaiser, M.J. & Rijnsdorp, A.D. (2018) Data from: Assessing bottom-trawling impacts based on the longevity of benthic invertebrates. Dryad Digital Repository. doi:10.5061/dryad.426658h. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Underpins: Hiddink J, Jennings S, Sciberras M, Bolam S, Cambiè G, McConnaughey R, Mazor T, Hilborn R, Collie J, Pitcher R, Parma A, Suuronen P, Kaiser M, Rijnsdorp A (2018) Assessing bottom-trawling impacts based on the longevity of benthic invertebrates. Journal of Applied Ecology, online in advance of print. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13278 |
URL | https://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.426658h |
Title | Data from: Distribution maps of cetacean and seabird populations in the North-East Atlantic |
Description | 1. Distribution maps of cetaceans and seabirds at basin and monthly scales are needed for conservation and marine management. These are usually created from standardised and systematic aerial and vessel surveys, with recorded animal densities interpolated across study areas. However, as individual surveys have restricted spatial and temporal coverage, distribution maps at basin and monthly scales have previously not been possible. 2. This study develops an alternative approach consisting of: (1) collating diverse survey data to maximise spatial and temporal coverage, (2) using detection functions to estimate variation in the surface area covered (km2) among these surveys, standardising measurements of effort and animal densities, (3) developing species distribution models (SDM) that overcome issues with heterogeneous and uneven coverage. 3. 2.68 million km of survey data in the North-East Atlantic between 1980 and 2018 were collated and standardised. SDM using Generalized Linear Models (GLM) and General Estimating Equations (GEE) in a hurdle-model were developed. Distribution maps were then created for 12 cetacean and 12 seabird species at 10 km and monthly resolution. Qualitative and quantitative assessment indicated good model performance. 4. Applications and synthesis: This study provides the largest ever collation and standardisation of diverse survey data for cetaceans and seabirds, and the most comprehensive distribution maps of these taxa in the North-East Atlantic. These distribution maps have numerous applications including the identification of important areas needing protection, and the quantification of overlap between vulnerable species and anthropogenic activities. This study demonstrates how the analysis of existing and diverse survey data can meet conservation and marine management needs. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Description | A collation of European at-sea surveys identifies and explains persistent areas of cetacean diversity and abundance at regional and decadal scales |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the European Cetacean Conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | BENTHIS Final symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Jan Geert Hiddink, Rijnsdorp, Jennings, Kaiser, Hilborn, Bolam, Van Denderen, Ivanovic, O'Neill et al. How does trawling affect benthic ecosystems? BENTHIS Final Symposium: Benthic Ecosystem Fisheries Impact Studies. 14 June 2017, Brussels. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Collating at-sea cetacean and seabird datasets at a European and decadal scale to answer key questions in ecology and conservation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Presentation at JNCC Joint Cetacean Protocol Workshop |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Collating at-sea cetacean and seabird datasets at a European and decadal scale: experiences and recommendations |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the JNCC Joint Cetacean Protocol Workshop |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Decadal and regional- scale response of the North-East Atlantic cetacean community to environmental change. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation at the World Marine Mammal Conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Ecologically informed and dynamic distribution maps for cetacean communities in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the European Cetacean Society Conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Ecologically informed and dynamic distribution maps for seabird communities in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Oral Presentation at the Seabird Group Conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Patterns in top-predator diversity: taxa-specific responses to environmental gradients in the north-east Atlantic Ocean |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the British Ecology Society Conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Preparedness and Response to Marine Emergencies Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Discussed mitigation of and repsonses to mass-standings of seabirds. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Understanding and predicting European marine mammal distributions at seasonal and decadal scales. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the Mammal Society Autumn Symposium |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Understanding and predicting spatio-temporal dynamics in marine top-predator communities at regional and decadal scales |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the ICES/PICES Early Career Science Conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Understanding and predicting spatio-temporal variations in marine top-predator distributions in European Waters, at regional and decadal scales |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the Seabird Group Conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Understanding the drivers of top-predator distributions: implications for the designation of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop Presentation at the European Cetacean Society Conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |