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A new Horizon EU project aims to identify the locations within the European seas where MPAs would protect the highest number of species, habitats and ecosystems. This information will support stakeholders involved in marine spatial planning in establishing effective conservation areas. Participants, including from OBIS, reunited in early March in Bodø, Norway, to kick off the project.
Establishing a functional network of marine protected areas (MPAs) is crucial to preserving marine biodiversity. But where should those MPAs be established? A new EU Horizon project aims to map the optimal locations for MPAs in European seas considering a range of biodiversity indicators - from species to ecosystems. Researchers will use large scale data-driven models to identify the 10% and 30% of area which maximizes the conservation of species, habitats and ecosystems, while also maximizing blue carbon benefits. More information on MPA Europe see: https://mpa-europe.eu
As a first step, the team involved in the project met in Bodø, Norway, to kick off this initiative. During the meeting, participants presented their work and shared how they expect to contribute to the different work packages involved in the MPA Europe project.
The OBIS team involved in the project will contribute by predicting the potential distribution of species and biogenic habitats, an essential information to map the locations that would maximize the conservation of species and ecosystems. Researchers will use species distribution models to derive species-level distribution maps for approximately half the European marine species, describing the places where they are more likely to be found. Using this information, they will also identify areas of higher species richness and biogenic habitats (habitats formed by species like corals, calcifying algae and polychaetes).
As part of the project outcomes for OBIS’ users, distribution maps of species will be available as a new service on the platform. The framework established to produce the distribution maps will also be available as open-source code, so it can be replicated in other parts of the world. Another important outcome of the project is that additional marine biodiversity data that is not available in OBIS, including those available in other platforms like GBIF, will be used. This will help marine researchers by reducing the time spent in obtaining biodiversity data from multiple sources.