Assessing the ‘deep reef refugia’ hypothesis: focus on Caribbean reefs

Bongaerts, Pim; Ridgway, Tyrone; Sampayo, Eugenia M.; Høegh-Guldberg, Ove

doi:10.1007/s00338-009-0581-x

Cited by 476 publications

(524 citation statements)

References 122 publications

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“…The longevity of these fragile colonies confirms the lack of natural disturbance associated with mesophotic coral ecosystems (Bongaerts et al 2010).…”

supporting

confidence: 55%

Growth rate for a zooxanthellate coral (<i>Leptoseris hawaiiensis</i>) at 90m

Kahng

2013

Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies

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In Hawaii, zooxanthellate corals of the genus Leptoseris have been observed growing in situ to depth over 150 m (Kahng et al. 2010). Due to clear oligotrophic waters and geological history, the main Hawaiian Islands have more potential area for zooxanthellate coral habitat at mesophotic depths than in shallow water ＜30 m (Locker et al. 2010). In the Indo-Pacific, Leptoseris spp. are among the most abundant zooxanthellate corals in the lower photic zone (Kahng et al. 2010). However, little is known about the life history traits of these dominant, deep-water corals. While slow metabolism and growth is a common strategy for survival in an energy-limited environment, whether deep-water zooxanthellate corals adopt this strategy has not been previously studied.

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“…The longevity of these fragile colonies confirms the lack of natural disturbance associated with mesophotic coral ecosystems (Bongaerts et al 2010).…”

supporting

confidence: 55%

Growth rate for a zooxanthellate coral (<i>Leptoseris hawaiiensis</i>) at 90m

Kahng

2013

Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies

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“…These pathways could potentially allow these deposits to serve as conduits to deeper reef banks, or to serve as refugia themselves for any shallow water corals transported with the slump block that are capable of still thriving at the new depths (Bongaerts et al, 2010). Harriott and Banks (2002) and Harris et al (2013) found that the presence of hard substrate was essential for coral development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MCEs are known to: (1) exist at multiple locations around the world (e.g., Fricke and Meischner, 1985;Bridge et al, 2011a); (2) extend deeper than the shallow reefs (beginning at 30 m deep) to the bottom of the photic zone (>75 m) depending on the light penetration through the water column (Bridge et al, 2011b); (3) provide potentially important refugia for deep-and shallowwater fishes and coral species (Brockovich et al, 2008;Lesser et al, 2009;Bridge et al, 2013;Harris et al, 2013); and, (4) act as important sources and sinks of shallow coral larvae and thus can affect the recovery time of damaged coral reefs (Bongaerts et al, 2010). The systems are comprised mainly of zooxanthellate scleractinian and octocorallian taxa, sponges, and rhodolith assemblages and very greatly from region to region as noted in the exhaustive review by Kahng et al (2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems: A Geoacoustically Derived Proxy for Habitat and Relative Diversity for the Leeward Shelf of Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

et al. 2017

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Current trends demonstrate coral reef health in serious decline worldwide. Some of the most well-preserved coral reefs in the Caribbean basin are located in the waters surrounding Bonaire, in the Dutch Caribbean. In many places on the leeward side on islands dominated by trade winds, the shallow reef systems extend into deeper water where they are known as Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCE). Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) were used to collect geoacoustic data of these leeward reefs at multiple sites as part of an ocean exploration project. AUV swath bathymetry and side-scan sonar data were analyzed for depth, acoustic backscatter intensity, seafloor slope, and rugosity. These geomorphic metrics were then used as inputs to generate a composite synthetic index of bottom-type to delineate MCE features. A confusion matrix statistical analysis of the acoustic class map showed an overall accuracy of the acoustic classes at 66%, with accuracy of the hard coral class the highest at 83%, and the sandy-bottom class the lowest at 55. The hard coral class was also the statistically most reliable, at over 80%, with the noise class coming in as the least reliable. This morphologic habitat index is a potentially useful new tool in quantifying the extent of MCE located in proximity to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

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“…Typically, the depth at which PAR is reduced to 1 % of surface irradiance (the photic depth ;Ryther 1956) defines the bottom of the euphotic zone (Clarke 1936), but corals and other photoautotrophs still occur below this point (see Lesser et al 2009 for discussion). There is now broad agreement that the mesophotic zone is subdivided into the 'upper mesophotic' and 'lower mesophotic,' with a transition at approximately 60 m, depending on water clarity and depth of the thermocline (Bongaerts et al 2010(Bongaerts et al , 2015aSlattery et al 2011).…”

Section: Mesophotic Coral Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theme section on mesophotic coral ecosystems: advances in knowledge and future perspectives

et al. 2016

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The Second International Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs) workshop was held in Eilat, Israel, October 26-31, 2014. Here we provide an account of: (1) advances in our knowledge of MCE ecology, including the central question of the potential vertical connectivity between MCEs and shallow-water reefs (SWRs), and that of the validity of the deep-reef refugia hypothesis (DRRH); (2) the contribution of the 2014 MCE workshop to the central question presented in (1), as well as its contribution to novel MCE studies on corals, sponges, fish, and crabs; and (3) gaps, priorities, and recommendations for future research stemming from the workshop. Despite their close proximity to well-studied SWRs, and the growing evidence of their importance, our scientific knowledge of MCEs is still in its infancy. During the last five years, we have witnessed an ever-increasing scientific interest in MCEs, expressed in the exponential increase in the number of publications studying this unique environment. The emerging consensus is that lower MCE benthic assemblages represent unique communities, either of separate species or genetically distinct individuals within species, and any significant support for the DRRH will be limited to upper MCEs. Determining the health and stability of MCEs, their biodiversity, and the degree of genetic connectivity among SWRs and MCEs, will ultimately indicate the ability of MCEs to contribute to the resilience of SWRs and help to guide future management and conservation strategies. MCEs deserve therefore management consideration in their own right. With the technological advancements taking place in recent years that facilitate access to MCEs, the prospects for exciting and innovative discoveries resulting from MCE research, spanning a wide variety of fields, are immense.

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Assessing the ‘deep reef refugia’ hypothesis: focus on Caribbean reefs

Cited by 476 publications

References 122 publications

Growth rate for a zooxanthellate coral (<i>Leptoseris hawaiiensis</i>) at 90m

Growth rate for a zooxanthellate coral (<i>Leptoseris hawaiiensis</i>) at 90m

Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems: A Geoacoustically Derived Proxy for Habitat and Relative Diversity for the Leeward Shelf of Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

Theme section on mesophotic coral ecosystems: advances in knowledge and future perspectives

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