The main goal is to investigate connectivity between populations of deep-sea organisms along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Estimating population connectivity (i.e., the exchange of individuals among populations) is essential to understand the resilience of biological communities and the ability of the ecosystem to recover after human disturbances such as mining.
Understanding population connectivity is also needed to preserve biodiversity through marine protected area networks, in line with a precautionary approach to environmental management planning.
Therefore, WP3 aims to answer the following research questions:
- What is the scale of connectivity of deep-sea fauna along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge?
- How can the inferred degree of connectivity along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge influence ecosystem recovery after eventual mining activities have ceased?
Approaches used to answer the research questions are:
- Simulations using a biophysical model of larval dispersal
- Analysis of population genetic structure of hydrothermal vent fauna and deep-sea sponges using molecular methods (RAD-Seq)