How can ship anchors affect Antarctic ecosystems? This is what a recent study published in Frontiers in Conservation Science hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated how damage caused by ship anchors and chains could have drastic consequences for marine life in Antarctica. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand the environmental impacts of ship anchors and chains on protected Antarctic marine life.
For the study, the researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind analysis regarding a connection between ship anchors and chains and the damage they could potentially be inflicting on protected Antarctic marine life. Between 2022-2023, the researchers used deep-sea cameras to observe and document damage that ship anchors or chains were inflicting on seafloor marine life, specifically sponge colonies, and conducted over 32 surveys and 62 hours of 4K footage. In the end, the researchers discovered unnatural seafloor dirt upheaval, likely caused by anchors being uplifted, and scour marks. However, they also observed increased biodiversity that formed on these impacted areas.
“The observed damage was a near miss to three giant volcano sponges, believed to be the oldest animals on the planet which may live up to 15,000 years,” said Matthew Mulrennan, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of conservation non-profit, Kolossal, and lead author of the study. “The weird and wonderful animals that are impacted, like sponges, are important for filtering water, carbon sequestration, and providing shelter, food, and complex habitats which benefit the whole marine ecosystem, including penguins and seals – the animals tourists come to see.”
The researchers make several suggestions regarding how to mitigate future damage from ship anchors and chains, including an anchor database, damage estimation over specific areas, identifying more sites with potential damage, long-term seafloor habitat recovery, and gathering data regarding the amount of species impacted.
What new connections between ship anchors and Antarctic marine life will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Frontiers in Conservation Science, EurekAlert!
