Poster presented at Knowledge Exchange Scotland Conference at Heriot-Watt University, in October 2012.

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