Research Ideas and Outcomes :
Workshop Report
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Corresponding author: Paris V Stefanoudis (paris@nektonmission.org)
Received: 04 May 2020 | Published: 06 May 2020
© 2020 Paris Stefanoudis, Sheena Talma, Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Lucy Woodall
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Stefanoudis PV, Talma S, Samimi-Namin K, Woodall LC (2020) Deep reef ecosystems of the Western Indian Ocean: addressing the great unknown. Research Ideas and Outcomes 6: e53913. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.6.e53913
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Indian Ocean coral reef ecosystems are some of the least explored, least funded and least protected worldwide. "First Descent: Indian Ocean" represents a series of research expeditions undertaken by Nekton between 2018-2022 in partnership with Governments in the Indian Ocean region to contribute to establishing a baseline of marine life and catalyse 30% protection by 2030. Two recent expeditions, the 2018 WILDOCEANS/ACEP Comoros Mesophotic Biodiversity Expedition (led by WILDTRUST), and the 2019 First Descent: Seychelles (led by Nekton Foundation) systematically surveyed deeper reef ecosystems in those areas, resulting in collections of biological meterial and underwater footage.
In August 2019, taxonomic experts from across the globe, attended a workshop in order to identify the collected material and provide a first snapshot of the diversity of the surveyed habitats. Part of the workshop also focused on providing taxonomic training to host nation scientists and early career researchers.
This document is a report on the proceedings and some of the first outcomes of this workshop.
Taxonomy, training, deep reefs, corals, sponges, Western Indian Ocean, Seychelles, Comoros, South Africa
The taxonomic workshop was held at the National Research Foundation, South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB) in Grahamstown between the 1st to the 9th of August 2019.
The workshop was divided in 2 parts:
A total of 28 people from 10 different countries were directly or indirectly involved with the workshop, with diverse affiliations ranging from Universities and Research Institutes, to Governmental Departments and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Sixteen were taxonomic experts covering all major benthic groups. Six of those physcially attended the workshop and provided hands-on training sessions and lectures, five joined remotely to give online lectures, and a further five were involved with identification of specimens post-workshop.
Finally, a total of nine individuals from Seychelles, Comoros and South Africa joined for the training session.
For a full list of participants see Table
List of participants.
Name | Role | Affilliation | Country of Institution | Nationality of individual |
Lucy Woodall | Organiser; Benthic ecologist | University of Oxford | UK | UK |
Paris Stefanoudis | Organiser; Benthic ecologist | University of Oxford | UK | Greece |
Sheena Telma | Organiser | Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change | Seychelles | Seychelles |
Kaveh-Samimi Namin* | Organiser; Octocoral Taxonomist | University of Oxford | UK | Iran |
Carlos Moura |
Hydrozoan Taxonomist |
University of Azores | Portugal | Portugal |
Jennifer Olbers | Ophiuroid Taxonomist | Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife | South Africa | South Africa |
Liesl Janson | Sponge Taxonomist | Department of Environmental Affairs | South Africa | South Africa |
Monika Bryce | Octocoral Taxonomist | Western Australia Museum | Australia | Austria |
Robyn Payne | Sponge Taxonomist | University of Western Cape | South Africa | South Africa |
Toufiek Samaai | Sponge Taxonomist | Department of Environmental Affairs | South Africa | South Africa |
Catherine McFadden* | Octocoral Taxonomist | Harvey Mudd College | USA | USA |
Chris Mah* | Sea star Taxonomist | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History | USA | USA |
Daniel Wagner* | Black Coral Taxonomist | NOAA | USA | USA |
Rowana Walton* | Scleractinian Taxonomist | Consultant | UK | UK |
Charles Messing** | Crinozoa Taxonomist | Nova Southeastern University | USA | USA |
Paul Clark** | Brachyuran Crab Taxonomist | Natural History Museum London | UK | UK |
Sammy De Grave** | Caridean Shimp Taxonomist | Oxford Museum of Natural History | UK | UK |
Wayne Florence** | Bryozoan Taxonomist | Iziko South African Museum | South Africa | South Africa |
Zoleka Filander** | Sea Urchin Taxonomist | Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa | South Africa | South Africa |
Ashley Pothin | Trainee | Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change | Seychelles | Seychelles |
Ayesha Bobat | Trainee | WildTrust | South Africa | South Africa |
Gilberte Gendron | Trainee | Seychelles National Park Authority | Seychelles | Seychelles |
Kady Ramjattan | Trainee | WildTrust | South Africa | South Africa |
Louw Kyss | Trainee | Rhodes University | South Africa | South Africa |
Rabia Somers | Trainee | Marine Conservation Society Seychelles | Seychelles | Seychelles |
Ramadhoini Ali | Trainee | University of Comoros | Comoros | Comoros |
Richard Jeanne | Trainee | Green Islands Foundation | Seychelles | Seychelles |
Stuart Laing | Trainee | University of Seychelles | Seychelles | South Africa |
*Indicates taxonomic experts that could not attend the workshop, but gave a remote lecture | ||||
**Indicates taxonomic experts that could not attend the workshop, but who will process biological samples post-workshop |
The Indian Ocean is among the least known (http://www.obis.org), least funded (<2% of all financial commitments at Our Oceans 2018 was aimed for the Indian Ocean) and least protected water mass ( http://www.mpatlas.org), with its coastal population highly reliant on seafood harvests (e.g.
Most of the past and present reef surveys and monitoring efforts in the Indian Ocean have been focusing on shallow-waters (≤30 m), leaving adjacent, deeper mesophotic (30‒150 m) habitats understudied (
Nekton Foundation launched “First Descent: Indian Ocean”, a series of research expeditions to take place between 2018-2022 in order to contribute to establishing a baseline of marine life in the Indian Ocean and address the issues raised above. In 2018, Nekton successfully collaborated with other research organisations (WildTrust) to conduct field resarch in Comoros, and in 2019 completed its first major research expedition in Seychelles, working with, and on behalf of the Government of Seychelles.
During 48 days the First Descent expedition collected hundreds of biological samples from depths between 10‒250 m. The real challenge, however, was still ahead: the processing, statistical analysis, and interpretation of the collected marine data. Taxonomic workshops represent invaluable tools to expedite this process. These events represent a unique opportunity to bring together participating scientists and taxonomic experts across the globe, in order to accelerate the taxonomic identification and analysis. At the same time, if designed appropriately, they can also provide training to early career researchers from the world's best experts, thus ensuring that taxonomic knowledge and expertise is passed on to the next generation of marine scientists.
The aims of the workshop were two-fold:
During the first part of the workshop, the majority of activities took place in a laboratory setting in order to facilitate the identification of collected specimens by the taxonomists. During the training part, it was a mixture of lectures introducing the trainees to the major benthic taxonomic groups typical in reef habitats, followed by hands-on practical sessions with representative samples from some of these groups (see Fig.
Agenda for the Workshop.
Date | Time | Activity | Place | Responsible |
---|---|---|---|---|
01-08-19 | 09:00-09:30 | Introduction to taxonomic experts and safety tour | Library Meeting Room | Lucy Woodall |
09:30-10:00 | Coffee break | Library | ||
10:00-12:30 | ID session 1 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:30-15:00 | ID session 2 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break | Cafeteria | ||
15:30-16:30 | ID session 3 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
16:30-17:30 | Catch up session | Laboratory | Lucy Woodall | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
02-08-19 | 08:45-10:30 | ID session 1 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts |
10:30-11:00 | Coffee break | Library | ||
11:00-12:30 | ID session 2 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:30-15:00 | ID session 3 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break | Library | ||
15:30-16:45 | ID session 4 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
16:45-17:00 | Catch up session | Laboratory | Lucy Woodall | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
03-08-19 | 08:45-10:30 | ID session 1 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts |
10:30-11:00 | Coffee break | Library | ||
11:00-13:00 | ID session 2 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
19:00 | Networking event | All participants | ||
04-08-19 | Safari trip to Addo Elephant National Park | All participants | ||
05-08-19 | 08:45-10:30 | ID session 1 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts |
10:30-11:00 | Coffee break | Library | ||
11:00-12:30 | ID session 2 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:30-15:00 | ID session 3 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break | Library | ||
15:30-16:45 | ID session 4 | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
16:45-17:00 | Catch up session | Laboratory | Lucy Woodall | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
06-08-19 | 08:45-09:15 | Introduction to trainees and safety tour | Library Meeting Room | Lucy Woodall |
09:15-10:00 | Lecture 1 - Scleractinian Taxonomy* | Library Meeting Room | Rowana Walton | |
10:00-12:30 | Lecture 2 - Sponge Taxonomy | Library Meeting Room | Toufiek Samaai | |
11:00-12:30 | ID training session 1: Sponges | Laboratory | Toufiek Samaai, Liesl Janson, Robyn Payne | |
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:45-15:00 | ID training session 2: Sponges | Library Meeting Room | Toufiek Samaai, Liesl Janson, Robyn Payne | |
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break | Library | ||
15:30-16:30 | Lecture 3 - Sea Star Taxonomy* | Library Meeting Room | Chris Mah | |
16:30-17:00 | Catch up session | Laboratory | Lucy Woodall | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
07-08-19 | 08:45-09:45 | Lecture 1 - Hydrozoan Taxonomy | Library Meeting Room | Carlos Moura |
09:45-10:00 | Coffee break | Library | ||
10:00-11:00 | Lecture 2 - Octocoral Sample Collection, Processing and Identification Techniques* | Library Meeting Room | Kaveh Samimi-Namin | |
11:00-12:30 | ID training session 1: Octocorals | Laboratory | ||
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:30-14:00 | Lecture 3 - Octocoral Taxonomy | Library Meeting Room | Monika Bryce | |
14:00-15:00 | ID training session 2: Octocorals | Laboratory | Monika Bryce | |
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break | Library | ||
15:30-16:00 | Lecture 4 - Ophiuroid Taxonomy | Library Meeting Room | Jennifer Olbers | |
16:00-17:00 | ID training session 3: Ophiuroids | Laboratory | Jennifer Olbers | |
17:00-18:00 | Lecture 5 - Octocoral Systematics* | Library Meeting Room | Catherine McFadden | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
08-08-19 | 08:45-09:30 | ID training session 1: Using Underwater Benthic Footage | Library Meeting Room | Paris Stefanoudis |
09:30-10:00 | Coffee break | Library | ||
10:00-12:30 | ID training session 2: Focus on Underwater Benthic Footage | Library Meeting Room | Paris Stefanoudis | |
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:30-15:00 | ID training session 3: Focus on Underwater Benthic Footage | Library Meeting Room | Paris Stefanoudis | |
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break | Library | ||
15:30-16:45 | ID training session 4: Free session customised to trainees' needs | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
16:45-17:00 | Catch up session | Laboratory | Paris Stefanoudis | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
09-08-19 | 08:45-10:00 | Practical Session: Using z-stacking in a Stereomicroscope | Laboratory | Jennifer Olbers |
10:00-10:30 | Coffee break | Library | ||
10:30-12:30 | ID training session 1: Free session customised to trainees' needs | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts | |
12:30-13:30 | Lunch break | Cafeteria | ||
13:30-15:00 | Cleaning lab and curating samples | Laboratory | All taxonomic experts, Paris Stefanoudis and Sheena Talma | |
15:00-16:00 | Lecture 1 - Black Coral Taxonomy* | Library Meeting Room | Daniel Wagner | |
16:00-16:15 | Wrap-up session | Library Meeting Room | Paris Stefanoudis | |
19:00 | Networking event | Local venue | All participants | |
*Indicates lecture given remotely |
During the workshop, we identified at total of 632 biological samples from the Seychelles expedition, including subsamples of larger organisms taken for post-workshop molecular and scanning electron microscopy work. These included (in decreasing order): 189 sponges, 99 octocorals, 67 brittle stars, 52 crabs, 36 hydroids, 19 sea urchins, 17 shrimps, 14 crinoids, 12 gastropods, 10 red algae, 9 sea stars, 9 polychaetes, 8 green algae, 7 bryozoans, 6 bivalves. The remaining 78 was a combination of other taxonomic groups and fin clips of fish, the latter to be used to facilitate an additional study led by one of the participants.
The respective numbers for the Comoros survey were 44 biological samples: 20 octocorals, 7 sponges, 3 crinoids and 14 belonging to other groups.
We also reviewed hundreds of taxa in their natural environment by examining the rich underwater footage collected from both research expeditions.
As a result of the participating experts it was possible, in just two weeks, to gain first impressions of the diversity of Seychellois and Comorian reefs. This task would have taken months, or in some cases it would have not been possible at all, if it was tackled by a few individuals or one institution alone. Initial results, revealed numerous genera and species of sponges and corals, many of which represented new records for Seychelles and Comoros and in some cases for the whole of the Indian Ocean, as well as significant depth range extensions, thus improving our knowledge of the biogeography for the region. Interestingly, taxonomic experts thought they found potentially dozens of new species, both from shallow and deeper waters, indicating that reefs in the WIO are still poorly known. Additional, more detailed taxonomic work will be required to confirm those initial beliefs in the coming months.
Through the lectures and practical laboratory sessions, host nation scientists and early career researchers were able to obtain a holistic understanding of the different benthic groups present in reef ecosystems, and the multitude of steps required to make accurate identifications. Participants learnt, that identification of physical samples is a time-consuming, yet necessary process, which typically involves the use of stereo- and light microscopes along with identification guides, but in many cases requires additional steps such as comparisons with type specimens in museum collections, or the use of scanning electron microscopy and DNA sequencing. For those dealing with identifications of specimens from underwater imagery and videos, it became clear that identification is often made to the lowest taxonomic level possible, which depending on the taxon might be to genus or family level. Furthermore, matching the commonly observed organisms in marine footage with physically collected samples, can enhance the taxonomic robustness of a study.
Overall, throughout the industrious nine days at NRF-SAIAB, we were able to enhance our taxonomic knowledge of the WIO reef fauna and provide networking opportunities and potentially foster new collaborations between scientists from the region. The provided training and knowledge exchange opportunities for host nation scientists and early career researchers, will hopefully prove useful in the coming years.
We wish to thank NRF-SAIAB for being such excellent hosts and providing assistance with all associated logistics. In particular we wish to thank Dr. Angus Patterson for enabling us to host the workshop in NRF-SAIAB, Naniswa Nyoka for assisting with catering, travel and accommodation of all participants, Nkosinathi Mazungula and Maditaba Meltaf for providing access to laboratory and video-conferencing facilities, and finally, the Seychelles Ministry of Environment Energy and Climate Change for facilitating the transfers of all genetic material from Seychelles to South Africa.
This is Nekton Contribution No. 18.
National Research Foundation, South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity
All biological specimens processed during the workshop had appropriate permits in place, issued by the Government of Seychelles.
No CITES listed specimens were used.
We have no conflict of interest to report.