FATE_Fate of cold-water coral reefs - identifying drivers of ecosystem change

In the FATE project, funded by the Institute of Marine Research Norway, we aim to elucidate the fate of cold-water coral reef ecosystems to changing environmental conditions, and addresses the need for more information on physical, chemical and biological driving forces and key processes affecting ecosystem functions and dynamics.

Through combined field and laboratory studies the project will take currant climate research on cold-water coral ecosystems one step further by investigating not only the response of the reef building coral Lophelia pertusa, but also the two key associated species – the bivalve Acesta excavata, and the sponge Mycale lingua, in the Norwegian arctic and boreal regions. Also bioeroding community in the coral reef framework will be studied to provide information on structural resilience of the reef.