Targeted Research

Deepwater Mission Discovers New Species, Ancient Corals and More

Unidentified anemone anchored to rock.

Newly discovered species of sea life including corals, anemones, cylindrical glass sponges and sea stars, a volcanic seamount, and fossilized coral that holds clues to oceanographic conditions stretching back thousands of years — these are but a few of the findings of a deepwater mission led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in July 2010. The goal: to explore and document the biology and geology of the ocean bottom surrounding Flemish Cap and Orphan Knoll, located in the Northwest Atlantic off the east coast of the island of Newfoundland outside the 200-mile limit.

On July 8, an international team of scientists and crew aboard the CCGS Hudson embarked on the 20-day mission. The multidisciplinary, international team of contributing science staff and students included biologists, geologists, biogeographers and hydrographers from eight different organizations. Under their direction, staff from the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility deployed an underwater vehicle known as ROPOS (Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Science) to depths up to 3,000 metres. Fitted with a movable arm, cameras and other scientific equipment, the vehicle collected biological and geological samples, high-definition video and digital photographs of life on the sea floor.

The mission encompassed fishery areas that have been closed by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to protect coral, sponges and other vulnerable marine ecosystems. Closure of these areas was based on bottom topography and bycatch data from research vessel surveys. The main goal of the mission led by the Department was to determine in situ coral and sponge density inside some of the closed areas for comparison with the survey estimates. The comparisons will be used to determine if the protected areas need to be refined or expanded when they are reviewed in 2011, and could determine future fishing policy in the regulatory area. Baseline information collected from outside of the closed areas and the fishing footprint, where fishing currently takes place, will be used to evaluate areas that are still too deep for existing fishing technologies but could be accessible in years to come and to inform exploratory fishing protocols in the future.

The biological and geological expertise on board allowed for a quick interpretation of mission findings, which included many potentially new and interesting species of corals and sponges as well as unique deposits of manganese nodules that are among the slowest growing geological phenomena on Earth; for each nodule, one centimetre of diameter represents several million years of growth.

Now that the mission is complete, scientists are also using the information collected for a variety of other research purposes including to:

identify and define the newly discovered species and their role in local ecosystems;
trace oceanographic conditions over thousands of years by analyzing the chemical composition of fossilized coral collected during the mission; and
examine the impact of survey trawling gear on benthic corals and sponges (research by collaborator, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography)

Figure A&B — Images of volcanic features seen on a seamount just south of Orphan Knoll. C&D — Manganese nodules on the ocean floor and in the lab, just 1 cm of diameter can equal millions of years of growth, a possible window on the ocean’s past. E — A cliff covered in the hard coral Desmophyllum sp. F — When dead, the ~100-year-old Desmophyllum drop to the base of the cliff and are then covered by accumulated sediment from the water column. The investigation of select radio-isotopes within long-buried coral from these “graveyards” can provide clues to ocean climate and circulation phenomenon.

Communicating Findings from the Depths

While a remote-controlled underwater vehicle roamed the ocean floor during a July 2010 deepwater mission led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, some members of the scientific team were contributing to an unprecedented scientific outreach initiative for the Department that involved commentating on live and recorded streaming video via Skype with the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario, The Rooms Museum in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. This unique communications opportunity enabled researchers on board to collaborate with onshore partners that had a vested interest in the mission but were otherwise unable to go to sea. A mission blog (http://hudson0292010.blogspot.com) and Twitter account were updated frequently and provided another resource for the general public, media, managers and collaborators to stay up to date on the progress of the mission.

Figure A — Unidentified anemone anchored to rock. B — Soft corals Anthomastus sp. (red) and low-lying unidentified octocoral (cream). C — Unidentified vase glass sponge on transported boulder. D — Unidentified purple and cylindrical glass sponges. E — Diverse benthic fauna on outcrop. F — Abundant sponge grounds (mostly large structure forming Geodia sp.) within a Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization sponge closure area on the Flemish Cap. Canadian and Spanish research vessel bycatch records have been instrumental in identifying closure areas with high concentrations of both corals and sponges as further supported by visual evidence seen here.

Ocean Acidification — Researching Potential Impacts on Canada’s Fisheries

Vancouver Island’s coastal habitat includes creatures like this Kincaid coastal shrimp or “broken-back shrimp” (Heptacarpus kincaidi), seen here among corals and other small organisms that also require calcium carbonate to grow. Photo: Copyright Mike Wetklo.

Ocean acidification is a significant international governance issue and the scientific community is now moving more quickly to investigate its implications. Each year, about one third of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) in fossil fuel emissions enters the oceans. As the CO₂ dissolves in surface waters it forms carbonic acid, increasing ocean acidity. Eventually this excess carbon will become more evenly distributed, but in the short term (roughly 100 years) its impacts will be intensified near the surface where much of the marine life that humans depend upon live.

Over the past 200 years, global ocean pH (a measure of acidity) has decreased by 0.1 units — about a 30 percent increase in acidity. By the turn of the next century, the pH is projected to decrease by another 0.3 to 0.5 units, raising concerns about the potential impacts on marine food webs, ecosystem productivity, commercial fisheries and global food security.

Department scientists are exploring ocean acidification in Canada’s three oceans and its potential impacts through two research initiatives: the Climate Change Science Initiative and the Science Program of the International Governance Strategy. Ultimately, this research will help predict how ecosystems and individual marine species will respond to increased acidification. There are particular concerns about the impacts on organisms that use calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) to form solid structures such as shells and skeletons (called “marine calcifiers”) including shellfish, corals and some species of phyto- and zooplankton. The findings will also inform future fisheries management decisions.

In Canada, the mechanisms driving ocean acidification vary by region:

In the Pacific, older sub-surface waters are naturally higher in CO₂ due to biological decomposition. Upwelling in the summer brings this acidic water to the surface over the shelf. Ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ increases the acidity further.
In the Arctic, cold and fresh water is inherently corrosive to marine calcifiers. Although ocean acidification is a global phenomenon, modeling studies predict that high-latitude surface waters will experience detrimental effects earliest, likely within decades, due to a variety of factors including sea ice melting. The pH of some Arctic surface waters is already at the level of possible corrosiveness to marine calcifiers.
In the Atlantic, the threat of ocean acidification comes in two ways — the direct uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ (the Northwest Atlantic is the largest storehouse of anthropogenic CO₂), and the outflow of corrosive Arctic water through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to the shelf regions of Canada’s east coast.

These acidification mechanisms potentially affect the high biological activity and important commercial fisheries in Canadian waters.

Humboldt Squid Swarm British Columbia Waters

Kent Tebbutt and Meggie Hudspith, both graduate students from the University of Southampton, U.K., display specimens of Humboldt squid collected during the Fisheries and Oceans Canada month-long fall survey aboard the CCGS W.E. Ricker.

Sightings of Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas), a large predatory species that isn’t usually found north of California, have become more common in British Columbia waters. The sightings have increased since 2004 and Humboldts were extremely abundant and widespread in 2009. Stranded squid were reported from Tofino to Haida Gwaii, and squid also showed up in commercial and research catches. Humboldt squid can function as keystone predators, potentially affecting ecosystem structure and function. Their diet is largely determined by prey availability, and researchers are examining the potential effects of this new predator on commercially important hake, herring and salmon.

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture — From Research to Commercial Reality

The success of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture research in collaboration with Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is being widely noted as new environmentally based methods and technologies are being developed. Scientists visited from Brazil and New Zealand in 2009–2010 and presentations were given at numerous industry and scientific conferences.

A great deal of research around the world is exploring ways to improve the productivity and sustainability of marine aquaculture practices. One approach under investigation is Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture, which involves growing finfish, shellfish and marine plants together for the benefit of these crops and the environment.

The program, led by Drs. Shawn Robinson of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (St. Andrews Biological Station) and Thierry Chopin of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, promotes the practice in which the wastes from one species are recycled to become fertilizers or food for another. This creates an operation that is more socially acceptable, economically profitable and environmentally benign.

The shellfish culture portion of the program, carried out in collaboration with Cooke Aquaculture Inc., has recently made progress on several fronts:

The design of a mussel raft evolved in 2009–2010, enabling more mussels to be grown in a smaller footprint and harvested more efficiently. This has led to additional studies measuring how currents flow in and around the rafts since the current carries food to the mussels.
Research advanced on the distribution and timing of the settlement of mussels for the collection of seed to stock the new rafts. A network of sampling stations in Passamaquoddy Bay and the Fundy Isles revealed that the highest numbers of settling larvae are in Passamaquoddy Bay and that they settled primarily during the third week of July. This information enabled the Cooke team to determine the best time and areas to collect spat (very young mussels) for their operations.
Studies of the relative growth and mortality of the animals within mussel socks found that all of the mussels grew well in and around the salmon aquaculture site, with the mussels that were hung closest to the salmon cage having slightly higher growth rates.
Research into the zone of influence a salmon site can have on the local area revealed that although the zone is less than 100 metres, some organisms can do very well within it. Scallops and sea urchins grown beside a salmon site in the Bay of Fundy showed some of the highest growth rates ever seen in that area.

Oyster Farming — Why Are Oysters Grazing Slowly to Market Length?

Diagram of the Pelagic Ecosystem Tunnel: The unit measured 153 cm × 57 cm × 45 cm. It was sealed by applying several layers of plastic wrap over a frame of Aquamesh^®. Upstream and downstream ends were left open, allowing water to flow through the compartment holding the oysters.

Oyster farming and other bivalve aquaculture is becoming increasingly important in Canada. Since bivalves extract food (phytoplankton) from the environment, rather than being fed, there is an inherent sustainability in the practice, assuming that the oyster aquaculture operation is an appropriate size for the phytoplankton biomass available.

To learn more about the grazing rates of cultivated oysters in their environment, researchers at the Department’s Gulf Fisheries Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, developed a novel system called the Pelagic Ecosystem Tunnel. A fluorometer at the inflow end of the tunnel measures phytoplankton biomass before it reaches the oysters, which are positioned in the middle. A second fluorometer at the outflow end measures the phytoplankton biomass after it passes by the oysters. These measurements, combined with simultaneous monitoring of current speeds, enables researchers to calculate the grazing rates of the oysters.

During field trials, several of the specialized tunnels holding 500 oysters each were deployed in Baie St. Simon, a major oyster farming area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The tunnels were suspended in mid-water, enabling the current and phytoplankton to flow freely through them. In summer, the oysters consumed approximately 40 percent of the phytoplankton that flowed through the tunnel. In autumn, oysters initially grazed intensively on a developing phytoplankton bloom; however, consumption gradually declined later in the season before the bloom fully developed.

Two theories for the decline in grazing are that the oysters may have already fulfilled their food requirements or water temperatures fell below a critical threshold. Ongoing studies by the same research team indicate that oyster grazing rates can fall substantially when temperatures drop below 16°C. Regardless of the exact cause, the findings imply an inability of the oysters to take full advantage of seasonal phytoplankton blooms, which would partly explain the slow growth of oysters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where it takes four to eight years for oysters to reach the legal market length.

Science in Support of the Regulation of Genetically Modified Fish

The Fisheries and Oceans Canada Centre for Aquatic Biotechnology Regulatory Research in West Vancouver, British Columbia, conducts regulatory research related to fish products of biotechnology, including genetically modified fish. Investigation into the genetic, physiological and ecological characteristics of these fish provides scientific knowledge in support of their regulation under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which the Department undertakes in conjunction with Environment Canada and Health Canada.

Physical and biological containment strategies can be used to reduce the risk of genetic impact on local fish populations in the event of an accidental release. One biological strategy is induced-triploidy, which produces fish with three sets of chromosomes and results in sterility, alleviating potential impacts on the environment. In 2009, the centre assessed this technique on a large scale and found that triploidy can be induced in 99.8 percent of the fish produced using this technique. Further research is under way to determine the reason for non-triploid exceptions and to improve containment methods using molecular genetic approaches.

Ongoing research into the effect of environmental factors on fish reveals that rearing conditions in small tanks typical of most aquatic facilities inhibit growth and alter physical characteristics and behaviour. To more closely mimic natural conditions for salmon, the Department developed new large tank marine facilities (mesocosms) with more than 1,000,000 litres of rearing space. The characteristics of the first wild-type fish reared in the new tanks were much more like those of their counterparts in nature.

Other research in 2009–2010 found strong genetic, physiological and behavioural similarities between strains of salmon growth-accelerated by domestication or by genetic engineering (the transfer of genes from one organism to another). Integration of these research findings with modeling approaches is providing a better understanding of the effects of genetic modification in fish, and how to reduce the potential risks they may pose to natural populations.

HydroNet — How Hydropower Operations Impact Canada’s Aquatic Ecosystems

A national five-year research program involving Fisheries and Oceans Canada, academia and industry is focused on improving our understanding of the effects of hydropower operations on aquatic ecosystems. Initiated in 2010 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, HydroNet provides access to a critical mass of national fisheries-aquatic scientists with valuable knowledge that can contribute to estimates of the environmental impacts of hydropower and the development of mitigation strategies.

Support for the program within the Department involves the Habitat Management Program and the Centre of Expertise on Hydropower Impacts on Fish and Fish Habitat, which is providing funding to scientists for collaborative research related to HydroNet’s themes.

Research priorities developed by the Department and industry have been integral to the development of the HydroNet research program, which encompasses 21 projects under three themes:

analysis of productive capacity of fish habitats in rivers, including an evaluation of biological, physical and chemical drivers, with a view to developing reliable models of habitat quality;
modeling of the productive capacity of fish habitats in lakes and reservoirs; and
using behavioural ecology and hydraulic engineering to predict the risk of fish becoming caught (entrained) in water diverting through hydropower turbines or other water release structures at dams, with the goal of developing and implementing strategies to actively reduce the risks of entrainment.

The knowledge generated by HydroNet is essential to balance the competing demands for limited water resources and to ensure that hydropower is sustainable and contributes effectively to healthy aquatic ecosystems and Canada’s economy.

Aquatic Animal Health — Surveillance and a New Screening Test for VHSV

The National Aquatic Animal Health Program is a science-based regulatory program that addresses aquatic animal diseases of finfish, molluscs and crustaceans. The lead agency for the program is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is responsible for its administration and enforcement. Fisheries and Oceans Canada co-delivers the program by providing laboratory diagnostic and research expertise through the National Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory System.

One disease of concern to Canada’s Aquatic Animal Health Program is Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Virus (VHSV), which causes devastating losses to both wild and cultured fish throughout the Northern Hemisphere, potentially leading to impacts on fish populations and trade. VHSV first appeared in Lake Ontario in 2005. In 2007, program specialists implemented a surveillance program for the virus in the Great Lakes Basin and the upper St. Lawrence River (Ontario and Quebec regions). The goals of surveillance are to determine the current distribution of the virus in susceptible, wild freshwater fish populations in high-risk areas, and to build empirical evidence for substantiating freedom from disease in key regions to support disease control measures and minimize trade disruption associated with VHSV.

In 2010, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Quebec collected approximately 2,200 fish samples for VHSV testing from 13 different sites in Ontario and Quebec. The samples were analyzed at three Department labs in the National Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory System.

Jackie Sutton, a technologist at the Gulf Fisheries Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, performs a necropsy on fish from a diagnostic submission in order to harvest the tissues required for further testing. Kidney tissue is harvested in order to screen for VHSV using the test devised by Dr. Garver.

Early in the surveillance initiative, samples were also used by the labs to develop and validate a rapid screening technique for VHSV. The key step to preventing and controlling aquatic viral diseases lies in the ability to accurately detect the agent responsible for disease. At the Department’s Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, British Columbia, research scientist Dr. Kyle Garver has developed a new test for VHSV that overcomes the limitations of traditional cell culture detection methods. The new genetics-based test — VHSV quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or VHSV RT-qPCR — is highly sensitive, fast, recognizes all known strains of the virus, and enables large numbers of samples to be screened within several days rather than weeks when using cell culture techniques.

The test developed in Canada by Dr. Garver is now the national screening test for VHSV in Canada and has been used in surveillance and survey efforts since 2007. This test has also been officially recognized by the United States Animal Health Association and the Joint Committee on Aquaculture of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.