Cold seeps are encompassed in the EU Habitats Directive as “1180 Submarine
structures made by leaking gases”, but the most noteworthy occurrences in the
Alboran Sea are not within EU jurisdictional waters. Cold hydrocarbon seeps are
listed as “Essential Marine Habitats (EMH) of relevance for the management of
priority species” by the Scientific Advisory Committee of the General Fisheries
Commission for the Mediterranean (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean 2009).
9.8 Gaps of Knowledge and Further Steps
Benthic habitats as well as their associated biota have been studied in the Alboran
Sea since the nineteenth century, with a significant increase of knowledge in the last
decades. Nevertheless, there are still important gaps of information on different
aspects such as the presence and mapping of some of these habitats, the characterization of the associated biota of specific habitats or the absence of information on
some faunistic groups that compose the benthic communities.
In relation to the presence of habitats and their spatial distribution, this information is mainly available for the ones located in the intertidal and infralittoral zones,
because these have been traditionally more accessible and the focal point of different
projects from both universities and research institutions (e.g. Instituto Español de
Oceanografía) as commented in the introduction. Most of the information is available for the northern sector of the Alboran Sea, and there is a need of carrying out
similar exploration on the southern part of the basin. In the circalittoral and bathyal
zones, the habitat mapping has been mostly done developed in some marine
protected areas (MPAs) under the framework of the INDEMARES project, but it
is still missing in extensive areas. Habitat mapping has mainly been performed
within MPAs, and therefore information outside MPAs is nearly absent, and often
not accurate at small scale (meters, 10s meters). This information is sometimes
restricted to reports of the Andalusian regional authority or the Instituto Español
de Oceanografía as well as papers for specific habitats (seagrass beds) or available
online at the EMODNET Seabed Habitats. The information on the presence and
mapping for some deep-sea habitats is very scarce and mostly limited to recently
created MPAs. Regarding this, even some large seafloor geomorphological features
surely containing different habitat types have not been explored so far such as some
seamounts (e.g. El Segoviano, Maimonides 1 and 2, Al Mansour, Yussu) and
submarine canyons (e.g. Almería canyon, Ceuta canyon, Motril and Carchuna
canyons, etc.). Although habitat maps of some areas are available and some of
these areas have been designed as priorities for conservation (current MPAs), similar
works should be done in other ecologically important areas, especially in the deep
sea, in order to develop a proper spatial management for the whole Alboran Sea in
relation to habitats, habitat-forming species and the remaining species.
The information on the associated biota is not equal for the different habitat types,
and, of course, the shallower habitats have been studied in more detail than the deep9 Benthic Fauna of Littoral and Deep-Sea Habitats of the Alboran Sea: A. . .
343
structures made by leaking gases”, but the most noteworthy occurrences in the
Alboran Sea are not within EU jurisdictional waters. Cold hydrocarbon seeps are
listed as “Essential Marine Habitats (EMH) of relevance for the management of
priority species” by the Scientific Advisory Committee of the General Fisheries
Commission for the Mediterranean (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean 2009).
9.8 Gaps of Knowledge and Further Steps
Benthic habitats as well as their associated biota have been studied in the Alboran
Sea since the nineteenth century, with a significant increase of knowledge in the last
decades. Nevertheless, there are still important gaps of information on different
aspects such as the presence and mapping of some of these habitats, the characterization of the associated biota of specific habitats or the absence of information on
some faunistic groups that compose the benthic communities.
In relation to the presence of habitats and their spatial distribution, this information is mainly available for the ones located in the intertidal and infralittoral zones,
because these have been traditionally more accessible and the focal point of different
projects from both universities and research institutions (e.g. Instituto Español de
Oceanografía) as commented in the introduction. Most of the information is available for the northern sector of the Alboran Sea, and there is a need of carrying out
similar exploration on the southern part of the basin. In the circalittoral and bathyal
zones, the habitat mapping has been mostly done developed in some marine
protected areas (MPAs) under the framework of the INDEMARES project, but it
is still missing in extensive areas. Habitat mapping has mainly been performed
within MPAs, and therefore information outside MPAs is nearly absent, and often
not accurate at small scale (meters, 10s meters). This information is sometimes
restricted to reports of the Andalusian regional authority or the Instituto Español
de Oceanografía as well as papers for specific habitats (seagrass beds) or available
online at the EMODNET Seabed Habitats. The information on the presence and
mapping for some deep-sea habitats is very scarce and mostly limited to recently
created MPAs. Regarding this, even some large seafloor geomorphological features
surely containing different habitat types have not been explored so far such as some
seamounts (e.g. El Segoviano, Maimonides 1 and 2, Al Mansour, Yussu) and
submarine canyons (e.g. Almería canyon, Ceuta canyon, Motril and Carchuna
canyons, etc.). Although habitat maps of some areas are available and some of
these areas have been designed as priorities for conservation (current MPAs), similar
works should be done in other ecologically important areas, especially in the deep
sea, in order to develop a proper spatial management for the whole Alboran Sea in
relation to habitats, habitat-forming species and the remaining species.
The information on the associated biota is not equal for the different habitat types,
and, of course, the shallower habitats have been studied in more detail than the deep9 Benthic Fauna of Littoral and Deep-Sea Habitats of the Alboran Sea: A. . .
343