Advancing Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) research in the greater Weddell Sea: 2025 scholarship progress overview.

The greater Weddell Sea is a biologically rich and ecologically significant region of the Southern Ocean, shaped by dynamic oceanographic processes and climate variability. Despite its remoteness, it is among the most data-rich areas in the Southern Ocean, particularly in terms benthic imagery collected over decades of scientific expeditions. However, much of this imagery remains unprocessed, limiting its use for ecological synthesis and marine spatial planning. This project aims to map VME hot- and cold-spots in the greater Weddell Sea by integrating deep-learning image analysis with multivariate modelling techniques. To ensure the widest spatial coverage within the two-year timeframe, the methodology has shifted from estimating percentage cover to compiling a presence–absence matrix of CCAMLR-defined VME indicator taxa. The study draws on still and video imagery from 16 research cruises conducted between 1985 and 2021, representing a range of depths and seabed types across shelf and deep-sea habitats. Progress to date includes the consolidation of cruise metadata, evaluation of dataset consistency, and the development of a standardised annotation strategy. The next steps involve image sub-setting and automated annotation using BIIGLE software. Modelling efforts, including the development of Region of Common Profiles to relate environmental variables to current VME distributions and to predict future distributions under IPCC scenarios, will begin in late 2025. Ultimately, this work will generate an open-access database and VME distribution maps to support bioregionalisation, fisheries management, and conservation planning in the Southern Ocean.