Are Non-reef Habitats as Important to Benthic Diversity and Composition as Coral Reef and Rubble Habitats in Submarine Canyons? Analysis of Controls on Benthic Megafauna Distribution in the Porcupine Bank Canyon, NE Atlantic

Appah, John; A, Lim; Harris, Kimberley; O’Riordan, Ruth M.; O'Reilly, Luke; Wheeler, Andrew J.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.571820

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Meistertzheim et al 16 reason that differences in the feeding strategies and thermal tolerance between the framework-forming corals L. pertusa and M. oculata are responsible for the structure observed in the host-bacterial community composition. In line with Neulinger et al 21 , this study suggests that variations in water mass does not play a major role in structuring the bacterial communities across the different samples as these were collected between 600-800 m, where the only prevailing water mass is the Eastern North Atlantic Water 19 . Nevertheless, inherent local physical conditions (e.g., salinity, pH, temperature and oxygen saturation 14, 10 ) might have contributed to the observed divergence in microbial composition across the different samples in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Study site, sample collection and storage Coral samples were collected within a 100 m periphery of three primary locations in the upper PBC in separate areas: canyon head (52°13.6371, 14°55.5389), canyon ank (51°52.20624, 15°02.0148) and south branch (51°58.40933, 15°02.4996) as de ned by Appah et al 19 (Supplementary Table S1 and Supplementary Fig. S2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The canyon head is sediment dominated and exhibits a gentle slope while the ank reveals a steep slope with exposed bedrock. The south branch is a smaller canyon system feeding into the main canyon and contains both live and dead coral communities 82,19 . Coral samples were collected between 607-721 m depth with an average salinity and temperature of 36.3 psu and 9.3°C, respectively.…”

Section: Study Site Sample Collection and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The primary framework-forming coral in the Porcupine Bank Canyon (PBC) in the northeast Atlantic is the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa 19 . The distribution of L. pertusa (syn.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cold-water Coral Microbiome and Environmental Microbial Communities in a Remote NE Atlantic Submarine Canyon Setting: Microbial Diversity, Coral Health and Prospects

Appah¹,

Dillane²,

Lim³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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In the Porcupine Bank Canyon, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata are the main framework-forming corals producing three dimensional structures which provide a home for a range of benthic fauna and microbial communities. To understand the roles and functions that microbes perform in coral health in the Porcupine Bank Canyon, three groups of samples (corals, sediment and water) were collected between 600–800 m depth. DNA was extracted from these samples and metabarcoding was performed on the V3-V4 region of the 16S RNA gene using Illumina technology. The coral microbiome showed greater microbial diversity than both the surrounding sediment and water communities. The genera Pseudomonas, Pseudoalteramonas and Photobacterium were the bacterial communities conserved at 100% coverage of coral samples whereas at the order-level classification Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, Flavobacteriales, Rhodobacterales and Rickettsiales were in high abundance in all the coral samples. A disproportionate distribution of probiotic and pathogenic bacterial groups at the different levels of classification was observed on the corals. Corals do not appear, at present, to be stressed by climate induced changing environmental conditions in the upper Porcupine Bank Canyon. Overall, the corals in the Porcupine Bank Canyon are in a healthy state despite the detection of pathogenic bacterial groups. However, the current trend of climate change and subsequent deep-sea warming could shift the bacterial composition towards a more dominant pathogenic bacterial community, with serious implications for coral health and stability of this important ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Site Sample Collection and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The primary framework-forming coral in the Porcupine Bank Canyon (PBC) in the northeast Atlantic is the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa 19 . The distribution of L. pertusa (syn.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cold-water Coral Microbiome and Environmental Microbial Communities in a Remote NE Atlantic Submarine Canyon Setting: Microbial Diversity, Coral Health and Prospects

Appah¹,

Dillane²,

Lim³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…The Porcupine Bank Canyon is located 310 km to the southwest coast of Ireland. Coral polyp samples (n=75) were collected during a cruise in May 2019 [67] within a 100 m periphery of each of three site locations: canyon head (52°13.6371, 14°55.5389), canyon flank (51°58.40933, 15°02.49959) and south branch (51°52.20624, 15°02.01476) in the PBC [68] (Table S1 and Figure 1). The canyon head was sediment dominated and exhibited a gentle slope while the flank reveals a steep slope with exposed bedrock.…”

Section: Sampling and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Health Screening of the Reef Forming Scleractinian Cold-Water Corals <em>Lophelia pertusa</em> and <em>Madrepora oculata</em> in a Remote Submarine Canyon on the European Continental Margin, NE Atlantic

Appah¹,

Lynch²,

A³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Temperature and pH can expedite the ability of pathogens to cause diseases in cold-water corals (CWCs). The present study employed a combination of histology and polymerase chain reaction diagnostic techniques to investigate potential pathogens present in the CWCs Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata in the Porcupine Bank Canyon (PBC), NE Atlantic. No pathogen was observed in the Madrepora samples. Neither histology nor standard PCR detected Vibrio spp. in the corals, although using Illumina technology, V. shilonii was observed in some L. pertusa samples in low abundances (0.22%). A Rickettsiales-like organisms (RLOs) occurred at a prevalence of 8.0% and at a low infection intensity of 1 - 4. Lophelia showed a few RLOs infection from the PBC canyon head (2.7%) and high infections in the south branch (5.3%). Similarly, unidentified cells observed in L. pertusa from the south branch (4.0%) were more common than those found in the canyon head (1.3%) with a prevalence of 5.3%. Although the route of pathogen infection is unclear, a likely mode of entry could be associated with particulate availability and the feeding strategies of the scleractinian corals. This suggest that L. pertusa invests energy into an enhanced immune function and reduced susceptibility to global pathogens despite a changing ocean environment.

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Deep octopod habitat in the western North Atlantic characterized by Standard Ecological Classification from videos

Pratt,

France,

Vecchione

2023

Ecosphere

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Habitat characterization is important to assess fully the niches of different organisms. There is a large knowledge gap regarding habitat use by deep‐sea benthic incirrate octopods, partly due to their assumed preference for hard‐to‐sample rocky substrata. This study uses observations from in situ videos recorded by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) deployed from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and implements the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) to describe the habitat of three common species of bathyal incirrate octopods living in the western North Atlantic Ocean: Bathypolypus bairdii (Verrill 1873), Graneledone verrucosa (Verrill 1881), and Muusoctopus johnsonianus (Allcock, Strugnell, Ruggiero, & Collins 2006). Significant differences in species' preferences for geoform setting, depth, and substrate type were found. All three species are most likely to be observed by ROV in a submarine canyon and least likely to be seen on a seamount. B. bairdii was found shallower than G. verrucosa and M. johnsonianus. This is the first study of its kind using CMECS to classify the habitat of specific organisms as opposed to the habitat types in a specific area.

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Are Non-reef Habitats as Important to Benthic Diversity and Composition as Coral Reef and Rubble Habitats in Submarine Canyons? Analysis of Controls on Benthic Megafauna Distribution in the Porcupine Bank Canyon, NE Atlantic

Cited by 14 publications

References 110 publications

Cold-water Coral Microbiome and Environmental Microbial Communities in a Remote NE Atlantic Submarine Canyon Setting: Microbial Diversity, Coral Health and Prospects

Cold-water Coral Microbiome and Environmental Microbial Communities in a Remote NE Atlantic Submarine Canyon Setting: Microbial Diversity, Coral Health and Prospects

Health Screening of the Reef Forming Scleractinian Cold-Water Corals <em>Lophelia pertusa</em> and <em>Madrepora oculata</em> in a Remote Submarine Canyon on the European Continental Margin, NE Atlantic

Deep octopod habitat in the western North Atlantic characterized by Standard Ecological Classification from videos

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