Knowledge Exchange - L Wicks & S Hennige
- 1. Changing Oceans Scottish Coral Reefs Laura Wicks and Sebastian Hennige 073 RRS James Cook Heriot-Watt University Cold-Water Corals Many people are unaware that Scotland is home to spectacular coral reefs, due to their depth ( 150 - 3000m) and inaccessability. These Coral reefs are made by Lophelia pertusa, form diverse ecosystems, and support commercially important fish species. Only now as we start to understand their importance, are we becoming aware of the threats they face. Ocean acidification (OA) is one of the biggest threats facing our oceans and reefs today, and is caused by increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from human emissions. Our research examines the threat of OA on cold-water corals. By showing the importance of these ecosystems and the threats they face, we aim to encourage the government to reduce carbon emissions, and to ensure these ecosystems are not destroyed in the future. This will be achieved by providing data and effective advice to UK conservation agencies associated with SACs, UKMPAs and Marine Conservation Zone, through the UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme. Knowledge transfer To increase public awareness of these important yet threatened vulnerable ecosystems, we would like to create a series of interactive workshops for local and rural schools in Edinburgh and the Hebrides. These workshops will focus on Scottish Cold-Water Corals and marine conservation. They will be directly relevant to Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. Additionally, we propose to build upon our existing outreach links with Dynamic Earth, to create a new Oceans Exhibit to showcase our research, creating a lasting legacy. Novel outreach To increase awareness of Scottish coral reefs, a novel outreach method will be trialled with the use of beermats. In coastal towns such as Oban and Queensferry, informative beermats will be given to cafes along the seafront. These beermats will have stunning underwater images from recent expeditions, some information about these Scottish corals, and about the threats which they face. There will be a range of beermats with different images, to encourage interest from all ages. The beer mats will have a QR code which can be scanned with a smartphone, directing the participant to special section within the Lophelia.org website. The page will contain information about the project, the threats that cold-water corals face, and the impact of having a future with no Scottish coral. Lophelia.org is a hub of deep-water coral information, run by our group at HWU and attracting over 10,000 hits annually. We will be able to monitor the site traffic to the page and promote the project through facebook and twitter UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme