Between 17 and 24 February 2019 a scientific workshop was held at the Fundacion San Ignacio del Huinay, where scientists from Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Scotland and Canada came together to support and discuss how they can in their individual fields contribute to the study of climate change and it’s impacts on marine life worldwide. Dr. Graham Edgar and Dr. Mark Costello, conducted as part of two larger projects that encompass both global climate change and the status of marine protected areas worldwide, led the workshop.

The main objective of this group is to discover how high sea temperatures are affecting reef species, specifically concerning the consequences of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. IPCC reports (2018) indicate that between 2030 and 2052 the world will have an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial temperature levels. More than 93% of this heat generated by the emission of effective greenhouse gases has been absorbed by the sea (IUCN 2017). It is estimated that the average sea temperature will increase between 1 and 4 degrees by the year 2100. Due to this increase in sea temperature, it is predicted that there will be a loss of between 70-90% of the biodiversity of the world’s coral reefs (IPCC 2018). Additionally, this increase in temperature affects fish, birds and mammals, as the loss of breeding areas intensifies, mortalities increase and species migrations increase (IUCN 2017).

One of the purposes of the workshop was to conduct dives in different points of the fjord, transects in sites originally visited in 2012, to corroborate the effects of the multiple use Marine Protected Area of the Fundacion San Ignacio del Huinay on biodiversity conservation, which was part of the network of the global Reef Life Survey. This Reef Life Survey (RLS) is a global citizen science program that monitors marine biodiversity. The results of the original survey was published in the highly respected scientific journal ‘Nature’ as part of a global study on the effectiveness of marine protected areas worldwide. Conclusions were that at least four out of five requirements must be met for marine protected areas to have a significant impact on biodiversity conservation, compared to unprotected marine areas. The five requirements are: that it be an area without properly applied exploitation, larger than 100 square km, approximately 10 years old, and that the area should be isolated by deep water or sand.

After the dives in the protected area. What were the conclusions or impressions of international
scientists?

Dr. Graham Edgar of the University of Tasmania, leader of this research group referred to what he saw during the visit on his dives, “I saw no indicator of conservation benefits made by the marine protected area”. He exposes “Human activities have had a negative impact on the fjord ecosystem since my visit six years ago. There is a lot of garbage from aquaculture and artisanal fishing, which is already distributed on the bottom of the sea and plastics on the shores. The abundance of deep-water coral species also seems to be declining. The marine protected area does not seem to be respected so it [the designation as an MPA] has produced little or no advantage that I could see.” However, Dr. Edgar said he remains fascinated by the unique marine life found in the region,” including many species normally limited to deep waters. They haven’t changed much since the dinosaur era!”

What are the challenges posed after the visit of this group of scientists?

The challenges posed corresponded to the true effectiveness of the marine protected area of San Ignacio del Huinay. Unfortunately, according to the study by Dr. Edgar and various scientists, this particular MPA is considered ineffective. Reasons for this include the allowance of artisanal fishing, the cultivation of shellfish and salmon within the boundaries of the area. Ideally, to have a significant impact on biodiversity conservation the area should be one of no exploitation or a ‘no-take’ area. Additionally, the size of the San Ignacio del Huinay MPA is only 4.15 sq km (significantly less than the 100 sq km proposed for minimal biodiversity conservation benefit) and finally, the MPA is not isolatedto boat traffic. Nonetheless, all these activities are with the permission of the law, since the designation of this marine protected area is for multiple uses. As a conclusion, it is questionable whether the designation of protected areas as multiple-use are really worth it?

Figure 1: From Left to Right: Rodrigo Sanchez, Christoph Mayr, Lilian Reiss, Gunter Försterra, Aris Thomasberger, Luis Hernández Maldonado.

In January 2018 a team of six brave scientists from the Huinay Scientific Field Station embarked an adventurous expedition into the heart of the archipelago Madre de Dios (Mother of Gods Archipelago) situated in the province of Última Esperanza (Province of Last Hope) of the Region Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

The expedition group consisted of two teams, a terrestrial and a marine one, plus Huinay’s fearless captain Don Boris. The terrestrial team’s (Christoph and Lilian) mission was to collect calcareous sinter, a freshwater calcium carbonate deposit with well-developed lamination, as well as core samples of old trees in order to reconstruct the climate history of the area through stable isotope analysis.

The marine team`s (Fossi, Rodrigo and Aris) mission was to visit an experiment site in the narrow Copihue Channel (50°20’24.23″S, 75°22’42.51″W) were a recent mass mortality of the hydrocoral Errina antarctica is being investigated. After monitoring equipment installed on a prior Huinay expedition was reported missing, the team brought a full new set of instruments including multiple temperature logger, a conductivity meter, two current meter and one acoustic doppler current profiler that needed to be installed in the Channel.

After a 24 hours boat trip from Puerto Natales through the channels of the Magellanes Region, the group arrived at their destination and basecamp – the world’s southernmost limestone mine on the very isolated Guarello Island where accommodation, food and workspace was provided by IMOPAC, the mine operator.

Figure 2: World’s southernmost limestone mine on Guarello Island.

Shortly after arrival, the marine team started to unpack the expedition boxes and dive gear while the terrestrial team already started to explore the surrounding forests.

During the following ten days, ten dives were conducted in occasionally difficult conditions due to very strong and rapidly changing wind driven currents. The monitoring instruments were successfully deployed and pictures were taken of recruitment tiles installed in 2016. To the delight of the divers, multiple new recruits of the hydrocoral E.antarctica were spotted along the channel’s walls, some measuring about 25cm in diameter, after a mass mortality event eradicated the entire population some years ago.

Figure 3: Diver installing a current meter.

In September 2018 divers will head back to this remote area to retrieve the instruments and read out the data, revealing some more secrets of this incredibly interesting and unknown world and hopefully giving hints to what could have led to the sudden death of hydrocorals in the narrow channel.

In April and May 2018, divers and scientists from Huinay Scientific Field Station (HSFS) sailed to Canal Martinez and Canal Messier in Southern Patagonia where they carried out dozens of transect dives in depths ranging from 0m to 499m and discovered deep-sea sharks, chimaeras, coral banks and colourful sea fans.

Part I:

Transect Dives

In order to reach the destination of the expedition, the group from Huinay teamed up with Keri Pashuk and Greg Landreth, owners of the sailboat Saoirse and long-term collaborators of the station. After days of travelling in the pristine and breath-taking fjords of Patagonia and meeting the captains of Saoirse in Puerto Eden, the SCUBA dive team finally reached Canal Martinez, where the first part of the expedition would take place (Fig. 1). D uring that following week, the dive team conducted more than 10 hours of transects in 0-20 m depth, covered what is equivalent to a 3 km horizontal stretch and collected more than 1000 transect photographs. which will be analysed by scientists from the Institute of Marine Sciences at Austral University of Chile  during the austral winter/spring 2018.

Stranded Teams in Isolated Patagonia

After completing the transect SCUBA dives, it was time to sail back to Puerto Eden to collect the remaining and newly arriving Huinay team, however, this was easier said than done. As the dive team laid anchor in Connor’s Cove to rest for the night, the propeller got stuck. In spite of great effort, underwater investigations of the propeller and intense pulling for several days, the propeller did not move a single inch. Meanwhile, things were not looking brighter for the arriving Huinay team either.

Defying all wind, weather and waves, the second group finally arrived at Connor’s Cove in the evening, after having spent two wet and cold days in rough sea on an artisanal fishing vessel while towing Noctiluca, the station’s research vessel equipped to operate the ROV. It was a series of unfortunate events, including a ferry collision with a rock resulting in team having to return to harbour, and wait for a replacement boat to Puerto Eden.

Part II:

ROV Dives and Underwater Footages 

Pleased to be reunited, the group set out the following day to embark the second part of the expedition: to explore the unexplored Canal Messier – the deepest channel in the world outside of Antarctica. But shortly after, while attempting to launch the ROV, the group was facing new challenges. A large amount of electrical discharges was emitted from a 100 kg heavy cable reel that was connected to the ROV, which consequently prohibited the team from continuing their research. Therefore, the team saw no other option but to return to Connor’s Cove in order to solve the problem. Working days and nights without completely solving the technical issue, including disassembling the reel with 600 m of cable, disconnecting all the cables to the ROV and making numerous satellite phone calls to a technician of the manufacturer, the team was once more prepared to test the underwater robot (Fig. 2).

Fig. 4.  Hydrocorals (Errina antarctica) are often used as substratum by basket stars (Gorgonocephalus chilensis). Sea anemones (Metridium senile lobatum) are dominating in most shallow areas. Photos: Vreni Häussermann.

With a highly compromised ROV, the scientific team eventually managed to carry out two more ROV dives in Canal Messier, including a 499 m dive where they discovered deep-sea sharks, the closely related chimaera, precious coral banks and colourful sea fans. Although, the expedition did not proceed as expected, the Huinay team did not leave empty handed. They still managed to cover a large area through SCUBA diving and launched the ROV on a few locations that have never been explored before.

ith a highly compromised ROV, the scientific team eventually managed to carry out two more ROV dives in Canal Messier, including a 499 m dive where they discovered deep-sea sharks, the closely related chimaera, precious coral banks and colourful sea fans. Although, the expedition did not proceed as expected, the Huinay team did not leave empty handed. They still managed to cover a large area through SCUBA diving and launched the ROV on a few locations that have never been explored before.

Fig. 5. The Huinay team is closely monitoring the marine life and the bathymetry in the deep parts of Canal Messier. Photos: Mette Schiønning.

Take-Home Message from Vreni Häussermann: 

“The take-home message from this trip is unquestionably regardless of how well prepared you are for any expedition, Patagonia is and remains extremely challenging for scientific research. Its harsh climate, the limited days of decent weather, the intricate fjords and the travel time needed to get from a to b. These are only a fraction of all the factors that have to be taken into account in order to conduct marine research in Patagonia. However, this is also what makes this region so special. It is one of the last untouched areas on earth which reveals an incredible biodiversity and a multitude of animals in a pristine environment, which is important to protect so it can be explored and enjoyed by future generations to come.” 

The entire team from Huinay would like to express their sincere gratitude for the all the support received from Greg, Keri and Aliro from Puerto Eden and their great readiness and professionalism.