Cold-water corals in a changing ocean

Roberts, J. Murray; Cairns, Stephen D.

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2014.01.004

Cited by 99 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…This ecologically important species is found throughout the world's oceans and forms structural habitat for a variety of fishes and other invertebrates. Thus, L. pertusa bioherms are important biodiversity hotspots, which host more than 2,700 species worldwide that live in association with these reef structures (Roberts and Cairns, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Growth, Fitness and Survival of the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa under Different Food Availabilities

2017

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Cold-water corals are important bioengineers that provide structural habitat for a diverse species community. About 70% of the presently known scleractinian cold-water corals are expected to be exposed to corrosive waters by the end of this century due to ocean acidification. At the same time, the corals will experience a steady warming of their environment. Studies on the sensitivity of cold-water corals to climate change mainly concentrated on single stressors in short-term incubation approaches, thus not accounting for possible long-term acclimatisation and the interactive effects of multiple stressors. Besides, preceding studies did not test for possible compensatory effects of a change in food availability. In this study a multifactorial long-term experiment (6 months) was conducted with end-of-the-century scenarios of elevated pCO 2 and temperature levels in order to examine the acclimatisation potential of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa to future climate change related threats. For the first time multiple ocean change impacts including the role of the nutritional status were tested on L. pertusa with regard to growth, "fitness," and survival. Our results show that while L. pertusa is capable of calcifying under elevated CO 2 and temperature, its condition (fitness) is more strongly influenced by food availability rather than changes in seawater chemistry. Whereas growth rates increased at elevated temperature (+4 • C), they decreased under elevated CO 2 concentrations (∼800 µatm). No difference in net growth was detected when corals were exposed to the combination of increased CO 2 and temperature compared to ambient conditions. A 10-fold higher food supply stimulated growth under elevated temperature, which was not observed in the combined treatment. This indicates that increased food supply does not compensate for adverse effects of ocean acidification and underlines the importance of considering the nutritional status in studies investigating organism responses under environmental changes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Growth, Fitness and Survival of the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa under Different Food Availabilities

2017

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“…Ecohydrodynamics have for example been applied to a cold-water coral reef ecosystem to predict the effects of bottom fishing and renewable energy installations on reef connectivity and ecosystem function (Watson and Morato, 2004;Henry et al, 2013;Moreno Navas et al, 2014;Roberts and Cairns, 2014). In relation to manganese nodule mining from the deep sea, several studies have modeled sediment transport (Jankowski and Zielke, 2001;GESAMP, 2016), but a broader ecohydrodynamic approach could greatly assist in predicting the nature and scale of the ecological changes likely to be triggered by nodule mining in different sea-floor areas.…”

Section: Ecohydrodynamics and Predictive Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Benthic Megafaunal Assemblages of the CCZ (Eastern Pacific) and an Approach to their Management in the Face of Threatened Anthropogenic Impacts

et al. 2018

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We present here the results of a UNESCO/IOC baseline study of the megafaunal assemblages of the polymetallic nodule ecosystem of 5 areas within the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The work was undertaken with a view to investigating the structure of the epifaunal populations associated with the benthic biotopes being targeted for nodule mining and developing an appropriate set of management tools and options. The general characteristics of nodule ecosystem and assemblages and their sensitivity to deep-sea mining are discussed in relation to water masses, surface to seabed water circulation, the nepheloid layer and processes taking place at the sediment interface. Management tools considered include species diversity and vulnerability indexes, GIS systems, zoning, and 3D rapid environmental assessment (REA). These strategies are proposed for trial during pilot mining operations within the CCZ.

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“…They provide structural niches and nurseries for many organisms, thereby hosting rich ecosystems and biodiversity in all the seas of the globe (Freiwald et al, 2004;Roberts et al, 2006;Roberts and Cairns, 2014), including in the Mediterranean Sea (D'Onghia et al, 2010b;Linley et al, in press). These Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) are especially fragile and vulnerable as they are characterized by low productivity, low fecundity, older age at first maturity, and high longevity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) are especially fragile and vulnerable as they are characterized by low productivity, low fecundity, older age at first maturity, and high longevity. In addition, they are subject to numerous threats, largely reported in the literature, such as bottom trawling, seafloor exploitation, pollution, and ocean acidification (Freiwald et al, 2004;Guinotte et al, 2006;McCulloch et al, 2012;Fabri et al, 2014;Roberts and Cairns, 2014). The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has formulated management guidelines and criteria for defining VME among which uniqueness and rarity of species or habitat, functional significance, fragility and structural complexity, and life history limit the probability of recovery (FAO, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Santa Maria di Leuca Province (Mediterranean Sea): Identification of Suitable Mounds for Cold-Water Coral Settlement Using Geomorphometric Proxies and Maxent Methods

et al. 2017

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The Santa Maria di Leuca (SML) cold-water coral province (northern Ionian Sea) has the largest occurrence of a living white coral community currently known in the Mediterranean Sea. Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa, identified as marking sensitive habitats of relevance by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, have been observed heterogeneously distributed on the summits of several mounds. This particularly patchy and uneven distribution in addition to their importance for regional biodiversity highlights the need to better understand their environmental preferences and predict their distribution. Bathymetric data (40 m resolution) was used to derive seafloor characteristics. A fine scale index quantifying the landscape elevation (Bathymetric Position Index at 120 m resolution) was used to select all the elevated features considered as candidate morphologies for potential coral mounds. Statistics on 22 known coral topped mounds were computed. Two statistical methods were then used to identify other potential coral mounds based on predictive variables. The first method, the Geomorphometric proxies method, consists in computing basic statistics of terrain variables, using them for a step-by-step classification in a quantitative approach to select a subset of candidate morphologies. The second method consists in using a predictive Habitat Suitability Model (Maxent model). The Geomorphometric proxies method identified 736 potential coral mounds while the Maxent method predicted 1,252 potential coral mounds. A subset of 517 potential coral mounds was common to both methods. The analysis of the contribution of each variable with the Maxent method showed that the variable "Vector Ruggedness Measure" at a resolution of 5 pixels (200 m) contributed to 53% of the final Maxent model, followed by the "Terrain Texture" index (31%) at a resolution of 11 pixels (440 m). The common potential coral mounds are mainly located in an area characterized by a mass transport deposit, also called the mounds Bargain et al. SML: Suitable Mounds for CWC area because of the roughness of the seafloor, in accordance with the high proportional contribution of the noticeable first roughness index to the Maxent model. The results highlight the importance of the global conservation of the entire Province, with white coral probably widespread over the entire 600 km 2 SML area.

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Cold-water corals in a changing ocean

Cited by 99 publications

References 56 publications

Interactive Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Growth, Fitness and Survival of the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa under Different Food Availabilities

Interactive Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Growth, Fitness and Survival of the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa under Different Food Availabilities

The Benthic Megafaunal Assemblages of the CCZ (Eastern Pacific) and an Approach to their Management in the Face of Threatened Anthropogenic Impacts

Santa Maria di Leuca Province (Mediterranean Sea): Identification of Suitable Mounds for Cold-Water Coral Settlement Using Geomorphometric Proxies and Maxent Methods

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