Patterns and Processes of Ecosystems In the Northern Mid-Atlantic (MAR-ECO)

Patterns and Processes of Ecosystems in the Northern Mid Atlantic (MAR-ECO) is an exploratory and process-oriented investigation of how a major geologic feature – the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and associated circulation boundaries – affects distribution and productivity of organisms. MAR-ECO aims to describe and understand the patterns of distribution, abundance and the trophic relationships among the organisms inhabiting the waters over and around the mid-Atlantic Ridge. It also aims to identify and model the ecological processes that cause variability in these patterns. The project will chiefly focus on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and gelatinous plankton and other actively swimming organisms, but there will also be some focus on top predators such as seabirds and cetaceans, which interact with the more surface environment. Utilizing an ecosystem-based approach that includes diverse physical, chemical and biological parameters, this remote deep-water study area requires the testing and demonstration of new approaches and technologies that can be applied to similar boundary studies around the world.

For current news and information, please visit the MAR-ECO project website.

MAR-ECO Project Team

MAR-ECO Secretary: Tone Falkenhaug, Institute of Marine Research, Norway

Education and Outreach Coordinators:
Morten Steffensen, University of Bergen, Norway
Jo Hoyer, Institute of Marine Research, Norway
Elinor Bartle, Institute of Marine Research and Univeristy of Bergen, Norway

Reports and Other Documents

‘Lophenteropneust’ hypothesis refuted by collection and photos of new deep-sea hemichordates, Nature: 434, 374 – 376 (17 March 2005) (Subscription needed to view full article)

MAR-ECO Newsletters

MAR-ECO Science Plan (May 2001)

Workshop Report, Os, Norway, 12-13 February 2001