Conventional and technical diving surveys reveal elevated biomass and differing fish community composition from shallow and upper mesophotic zones of a remote United States coral reef

PLOS ONE, Nov 2019

The world’s coral reefs appear to be in a global decline, yet most previous research on coral reefs has taken place at depths shallower than 30 m. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (depths deeper than ~30 m) studies have revealed extensive, productive habitats and rich communities. Despite recent advances, mesophotic coral ecosystems remain understudied due to challenges with sampling at deeper depths. The few previous studies of mesophotic coral ecosystems have shown variation across locations in depth-specific species composition and assemblage shifts, potentially a response to differences in habitat or light availability/water clarity. This study utilized scuba to examine fish and benthic communities from shallow and upper mesophotic (to 45 m) zones of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS, 28°0ʹN; 93°50ʹW) from 2010–2012. Dominant planktivores were ubiquitous in shallow and upper mesophotic habitats, and comparisons with previous shallow research suggest this community distribution has persisted for over 30 years. Planktivores were abundant in shallow low-relief habitats on the periphery of the coral reef, and some of these sites that contained habitat transitioning from high to low relief supported high biomass of benthic predators. These peripheral sites at FGBNMS may be important for the trophic transfer of oceanic energy to the benthic coral reef. Distinct differences between upper mesophotic and shallow communities were also observed. These included greater overall fish (as well as apex predator) biomass in the upper mesophotic, differences in apex predator community composition between depth zones, and greater percent cover of algae, rubble, sand, and sponges in the upper mesophotic. Greater fish biomass in the upper mesophotic and similar fish community composition between depth zones provide preliminary support that upper mesophotic habitats at FGBNMS have the capacity to serve as refugia for the shallow-water reefs. Diving surveys of the upper mesophotic and shallow-water coral reef have revealed valuable information concerning the reef fish community in the northern Gulf of Mexico, with implications for the conservation of apex predators, oceanic coral reefs, and the future management of FGBNMS.

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Conventional and technical diving surveys reveal elevated biomass and differing fish community composition from shallow and upper mesophotic zones of a remote United States coral reef

November Conventional and technical diving surveys reveal elevated biomass and differing fish community composition from shallow and upper mesophotic zones of a remote United States coral reef Roldan C. Muñoz 0 1 2 3 Christine A. Buckel 0 1 3 Paula E. Whitfield 0 1 3 Shay Viehman 0 1 3 Randy Clark 0 1 3 J. Christopher Taylor 0 1 3 Brian P. Degan 0 1 3 Emma L. Hickerson 0 1 3 0 Current address: NOAA National Ocean Service , Silver Spring, Maryland , United States of America 1 Funding: This study was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Conservation Program, https://coralreef.noaa. gov, with in-kind support from Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. Recipients: RC 2 NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center Beaufort Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America, 2 NOAA National Ocean Service, Beaufort Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America, 3 NOAA National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, United States of America, 4 NOAA National Ocean Service, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary , Galveston, Texas , United States of America 3 Editor: Sebastian C. A. Ferse, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research , GERMANY The world's coral reefs appear to be in a global decline, yet most previous research on coral reefs has taken place at depths shallower than 30 m. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (depths deeper than ~30 m) studies have revealed extensive, productive habitats and rich communities. Despite recent advances, mesophotic coral ecosystems remain understudied due to challenges with sampling at deeper depths. The few previous studies of mesophotic coral ecosystems have shown variation across locations in depth-specific species composition and assemblage shifts, potentially a response to differences in habitat or light availability/ water clarity. This study utilized scuba to examine fish and benthic communities from shallow and upper mesophotic (to 45 m) zones of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS, 28Ê0ÂN; 93Ê50ÂW) from 2010±2012. Dominant planktivores were ubiquitous in shallow and upper mesophotic habitats, and comparisons with previous shallow research suggest this community distribution has persisted for over 30 years. Planktivores were abundant in shallow low-relief habitats on the periphery of the coral reef, and some of these sites that contained habitat transitioning from high to low relief supported high biomass of benthic predators. These peripheral sites at FGBNMS may be important for the trophic transfer of oceanic energy to the benthic coral reef. Distinct differences between upper mesophotic and shallow communities were also observed. These included greater overall fish (as well as apex predator) biomass in the upper mesophotic, differences in apex predator community composition between depth zones, and greater percent cover of algae, rubble, sand, and sponges in the upper mesophotic. Greater fish biomass in the upper mesophotic and similar fish community composition between depth zones provide preliminary support that upper mesophotic habitats at FGBNMS have the capacity to serve as - Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. JCT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. refugia for the shallow-water reefs. Diving surveys of the upper mesophotic and shallowwater coral reef have revealed valuable information concerning the reef fish community in the northern Gulf of Mexico, with implications for the conservation of apex predators, oceanic coral reefs, and the future management of FGBNMS. Introduction Remote and/or protected coral reefs across the Pacific [ 1 ], Indian Ocean [ 2 ], and Caribbean Sea [ 3 ] are known to support high biomass of apex predators and piscivores. These reefs represent stark contrasts to the majority of locations closer to human population centers that lack substantial biomass from upper trophic levels (e.g., Carcharhinidae, Lutjanidae, Serranidae). Although recent work suggests these patterns may be influenced by such factors as sea surface temperature, oceanic primary productivity, reef complexity, lower trophic level biomass, and biological factors such as competition and reproduction [4±6], proximity to human populations and fishing pressure appear to exert the strongest influence on degradation of trophic structure [1, 7±10]. Even low levels of fishing can have a substantial negative effect on the biomass of apex predators and large piscivores [ 11 ]. Overfishing and habitat degradation are two of the myriad human activities that tog (...truncated)


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Roldan C. Muñoz, Christine A. Buckel, Paula E. Whitfield, Shay Viehman, Randy Clark, J. Christopher Taylor, Brian P. Degan, Emma L. Hickerson. Conventional and technical diving surveys reveal elevated biomass and differing fish community composition from shallow and upper mesophotic zones of a remote United States coral reef, PLOS ONE, 2017, Volume 12, Issue 11, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188598