ANTROMARE will incides in the natural variability and in the main factors induced by human activities (impacts derived from global warming, impact of trawling, pollution) in the deep sea ecosystems of the Mediterranean, with the aim of determining the parameters that may be more important in the changes experienced in the ecosystem. The high environmental stability of these floors in comparison with the littoral zones, especially below the 1000 m depth where they are intended to work, make them an optimal scenario for the study of the human impact on diversity. Antromare proposes considering different spatio-temporal scales, depending on the nature of the impact to be followed. The present project will address several key problems in relation to the anthropogenic impact of the marine environment:1) long-term temporal variability in the Mediterranean deep sea communities, and their relationship with climatic and hydrographic factors; 2) the impact of trawling on diversity in a vulnerable habitat such as the isidella elongata facies, with implications for the knowledge and protection of a potential marine protected area; 3) the incidence of pollution on the health status of species and ecosystems (parasitism, pathologies), within which the effects of pollutants on the environment (case of biomarkers of pollution) at great depth and in fauna is especially important (the bentopelagic or suprabenths) that seems especially susceptible to this contamination in the trophic networks of great depth (based on the first results of the biomare project, in course by the same team of the present application). The aim is to identify the possible connections between contamination and biological responses (histological alterations, changes in diet and degree of parasitic infestation). that is, to influence the state of the ecosystems in relation to exposure to pollutants / activities of anthropogenic origin, without ignoring the dynamics of the communities themselves. To cover these objectives, a multidisciplinary approach is planned that will cover the following activities: 1) sampling of deep mega and macro fauna communities, after ca. 20 years, in the same area, with identical methods, as well as the monitoring of series of catches for some key deep sea species and oceanographic / climatological data; 2) determination of the natural variability of the physical parameters (temperature, salinity, particles in suspension, etc.) and trophic (labile organic matter, pigments) of the water column and sediment, with special emphasis on the water-sediment interface ; 3) determination of the presence of contaminants (pcbs, ddts, heavy metals) in sediments and / or organisms in the study areas; 4) evaluation of biomarkers of effect at the cellular and physiological level through cytohistological and parasitological studies of the populations; 5) determination of changes at the ecosystem level (diversity, specific wealth, etc.); and 6) construction of models (eg mlrs, glms, anovas) or application of multivariate techniques that allow to correlate / test among them all the indicators observed in the study habitats to establish which are the variables that explain or indicate with greater reliability the state of alteration / degradation of the medium

ANTROMARE-3 Cruise (29SG20110616) carried out on the Research Vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2011