Low connectivity between shallow, mesophotic and rariphotic zone benthos

Stefanoudis, Paris V.; Rivers, Molly; Smith, Struan R.; Schneider, Craig W.; Wagner, Daniel; Ford, Helen; Rogers, Alex D.; Woodall, Lucy C.

doi:10.1098/rsos.190958

i

Low connectivity between shallow, mesophotic and rariphotic zone benthos

2019
By: Stefanoudis, Paris V. ; Rivers, Molly ; Smith, Struan R.
Source: Royal Society Open Science, 6(9), 190958

Details

Journal Title:

Royal Society Open Science
Personal Author:

Stefanoudis, Paris V. ; Rivers, Molly ; Smith, Struan R. ; Schneider, Craig W. ; Wagner, Daniel ; Ford, Helen ; Rogers, Alex D. ; Woodall, Lucy C.
NOAA Program & Office:

OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; OER (Ocean Exploration and Research) ; CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)
Description:

Worldwide coral reefs face catastrophic damage due to a series of anthropogenic stressors. Investigating how coral reefs ecosystems are connected, in particular across depth, will help us understand if deeper reefs harbour distinct communities. Here, we explore changes in benthic community structure across 15–300 m depths using technical divers and submersibles around Bermuda. We report high levels of floral and faunal differentiation across depth, with distinct assemblages occupying each depth surveyed, except 200–300 m, corresponding to the lower rariphotic zone. Community turnover was highest at the boundary depths of mesophotic coral ecosystems (30–150 m) driven largely by taxonomic turnover and to a lesser degree by ordered species loss (nestedness). Our work highlights the biologically unique nature of benthic communities in the mesophotic and rariphotic zones, and their limited connectivity to shallow reefs, thus emphasizing the need to manage and protect deeper reefs as distinct entities.
Keywords:
- Multidisciplinary
Source:

Royal Society Open Science, 6(9), 190958
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190958
ISSN:

2054-5703
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

The Royal Society
Document Type:

Journal Article
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Library
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/54764/noaa_54764_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.40 MB]
Collection(s):

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) ; Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:493898255cce85870fd6f1bdaa890327de5001c87955c0142bce29b898779d14

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