From physics to fish: 50 Years of research at Great Meteor Seamount, NE Atlantic

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Seamounts are among the most common physiographic systems in the global deep ocean, defining habitat for a hugely diverse biome. Great Meteor Seamount is located in the subtropical Northeast Atlantic and is considered one of the largest seamounts worldwide. Despite its remoteness, it remains one of the few seamounts globally with a long research history dating back more than 50 years. In this study, we aim to review the recent history of scientific research at Great Meteor Seamount, integrating multidisciplinary datasets of the entire seamount ecosystem, including data on plankton, benthos, fishes, and physical oceanography. The interaction of the seamount topography with background low-frequency and tidal currents creates a unique dynamical response due to its location at the critical latitude for seamount trapped diurnal waves, and the high amplitudes of semidiurnal tides. Biological observations show elevated patchiness on horizontal scales smaller than the seamount, which compares well to other seamounts with shallow summits. Regardless of ecosystem pressures associated with geographic isolation and the nutrient and organic matter deprivation inside the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, Great Meteor Seamount hosts a diverse species composition including megafaunal taxa such as sponges and corals, as well as species rich fish populations and meiofaunal groups of copepods and nematodes. Due to the ecological vulnerability of seamount habitats to unsustainable exploitation and their important role as open ocean hotspots of marine life, the Portuguese government plans to designate Great Meteor Seamount as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Here, we summarize and recount important results from the long history of research at Great Meteor Seamount in the context of present-day challenges and the initiatives to protect vulnerable ecosystems.