Deep-sea corals and resource protection at the Davidson Seamount, California, U.S.A.

DeVogelaere, Andrew; Burton, Erica; Trejo, Tonatiuh; King, Chad; Clague, David A.; Tamburri, Mario N.; Cailliet, Gregor M.; Kochevar, Randy; Douros, William J.

doi:10.1007/3-540-27673-4_61

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The complex biological structures of erect cold-water corals and sponges has been shown to attract mobile invertebrates and fish on other shallow seamounts [44, 45]. On Cobb Seamount, corals and sponges were observed as gardens (dense aggregations) or as solitary individuals, although some reef-forming taxa were observed (e.g., Farrea occa and L .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

2016

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Partially owing to their isolation and remote distribution, research on seamounts is still in its infancy, with few comprehensive datasets and empirical evidence supporting or refuting prevailing ecological paradigms. As anthropogenic activity in the high seas increases, so does the need for better understanding of seamount ecosystems and factors that influence the distribution of sensitive benthic communities. This study used quantitative community analyses to detail the structure, diversity, and distribution of benthic mega-epifauna communities on Cobb Seamount, a shallow seamount in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Underwater vehicles were used to visually survey the benthos and seafloor in ~1600 images (~5 m2 in size) between 34 and 1154 m depth. The analyses of 74 taxa from 11 phyla resulted in the identification of nine communities. Each community was typified by taxa considered to provide biological structure and/or be a primary producer. The majority of the community-defining taxa were either cold-water corals, sponges, or algae. Communities were generally distributed as bands encircling the seamount, and depth was consistently shown to be the strongest environmental proxy of the community-structuring processes. The remaining variability in community structure was partially explained by substrate type, rugosity, and slope. The study used environmental metrics, derived from ship-based multibeam bathymetry, to model the distribution of communities on the seamount. This model was successfully applied to map the distribution of communities on a 220 km2 region of Cobb Seamount. The results of the study support the paradigms that seamounts are diversity 'hotspots', that the majority of seamount communities are at risk to disturbance from bottom fishing, and that seamounts are refugia for biota, while refuting the idea that seamounts have high endemism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

2016

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“…data). Davidson Seamount, which was recently added to The Monterey National Marine Sanctuary, appeared pristine (DeVogelaere et al 2005) and its lack of anthropogenic disturbance makes this location particularly well suited to furthering our understanding of how nearshore seamounts function, which will aid policy makers in making management decisions. In addition, many of the species and genera found here are commercialy harvested off California, including the most abundant genera observed (Sebastolobus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ichthyofauna on three seamounts off southern and central California, USA

Lundsten

McClain²,

Barry³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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In many regions of the world, commercial fisheries for seamount-aggregating species have collapsed. Most are trawl fisheries, which have been implicated in the destruction and loss of fragile coral and sponge habitat and potentially endemic seamount species. Even with the intense fishing effort over seamounts, our understanding of processes regulating the distribution and abundance of seamount fish assemblages, which is vital to conservation policy, is weak. Here, we describe the abundance and distribution of demersal fishes found on 3 seamounts off central and southern California. Video observations were taken during 27 dives of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and were annotated in detail using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI) Video Annotation Reference System (VARS). Video analysis yielded 2151 observations of 36 identified taxa. No aggregations of fishes were observed during the surveys. Video transects were analyzed to quantify organism density. Similarity among seamounts was compared using Bray-Curtis similarity estimates. Our results indicate high similarity among seamount faunas at similar depths, a shift from provincial to abyssal/cosmopolitan species with increased depth, and no evidence of seamount endemism. KEY WORDS: Seamount fishes · Seamount biology · California seamounts · Deep sea fishes · Seamount ecology · Deep sea ecology Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 389: [223][224][225][226][227][228][229][230][231][232] 2009 (Wilson & Kaufmann 1987, Tracey et al. 2004, Hoff & Stevens 2005 or cosmopolitan (Wilson & Kaufmann 1987) faunas. Koslow (1997) demonstrated that seamount-aggregating fishes differ from background deep-sea fishes in both lifestyle and metabolism, suggesting that seamount fish faunas are in fact unique. These faunas, like other deep-sea fishes, are often composed of long-lived species with slow rates of reproduction and are, therefore, vulnerable to overfishing (Koslow 1997, Koslow et al. 2001, Froese & Sampang 2004, McClatchie & Coombs 2005. Seamounts are hypothesized to be able to support unique faunas for various reasons, including concentration of food and increased productivity (Genin et al. 1988, Rogers 1994. Of seamount fishes globally, macrourids, scorpaenids, morids, squalids, alepocephalids, and serranids are reported to be the most diverse families (Wilson & Kaufmann 1987), while scorpaenids, morids, serranids, macrourids, and squalids are the most abundant. Wilson & Kaufmann (1987) estimated that 11.6% of seamount fishes are endemic to seamounts, but also stated that most reports of endemism appear to be overestimated because of poorly known species distributions. This is supported by the increase in the known range of many species, including invertebrates, subsequent to their initial description (Tracey et al. 2004, Hall-Spencer et al. 2007, McClain 2007, O'Hara 2007, McClain et al. 2009).More recent studies suggest that seamount fish faunas are not unique to seamounts bu...

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“…Probert et al (1997) detected differences in the faunal composition of bycatch collected on the pinnacles and flats on the Chatham Rise. At least 2 studies have attributed higher densities of organisms, particularly corals, to areas identified as localized 'peaks' or areas of elevated topography (Genin et al 1986, DeVogelaere et al 2005. However, none of these studies provides a comprehensive view of factors influencing the function of seamount benthic communities in general.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic invertebrate communities on three seamounts off southern and central California, USA

Lundsten

Barry²,

Cailliet³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Seamounts are unique and biologically productive deep-sea habitats that have often been described as having high levels of endemism, highly productive fisheries, and benthic communities vulnerable to trawl fishing. We describe the abundance and distribution of benthic megafaunal invertebrates found on 3 seamounts off central and southern California. Video observations were taken during 27 dives of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and were annotated in detail using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI) video annotation reference system (VARS, http://vars.sourceforge.net/). Video analysis yielded 134 477 observations of 202 identified invertebrate taxa. Video transects were analyzed to quantify organism density. Thirteen new species were observed and collected. Invertebrate communities at Davidson and Pioneer Seamounts were dominated by passive suspension-feeding cnidarians (mostly corals), but at Rodriguez Seamount, a guyot, the invertebrate community was dominated by holothurian echinoderms. We found no evidence of endemism among the megafauna at these 3 seamounts, which are all in close proximity to each other and the continental margin. KEY WORDS: Seamount biology · Deep-sea corals · Seamount invertebrate communities · Endemism Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 374: [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] 2009 of bycatch collected on the pinnacles and flats on the Chatham Rise. At least 2 studies have attributed higher densities of organisms, particularly corals, to areas identified as localized 'peaks' or areas of elevated topography (Genin et al. 1986, DeVogelaere et al. 2005. However, none of these studies provides a comprehensive view of factors influencing the function of seamount benthic communities in general.We examined 3 seamounts along the California continental margin. Davidson, Pioneer, and Rodriguez Seamounts ( Fig. 1) are each 9 to 16 million yr (myr) old, have similar volcanic origins, and are located atop older oceanic crust that formed 19 to 20 myr ago (Davis et al. 2002). Though formed under similar conditions, the topography, size, and summit depth of these seamounts vary (Table 1). Davidson and Pioneer Seamounts, located at the base of the continental slope 80 to 90 km from shore, have peaked summits with cones arranged along parallel ridges separated by sedimentfilled troughs. Rodriguez Seamount, 250 km south of Davidson Seamount, is only ~60 km from shore with its base midway up the continental slope. Approximately 10 myr old, Rodriguez Seamount was exposed subaerially and is now a flat-topped seamount or guyot. Like Davidson and Pioneer, Rodriguez has rugged flanks, but its summit consists of lithified sandy beach deposits with a thin sediment veneer.In the present study, we describe the benthic invertebrate communities observed on the 3 California seamounts described above. In addition, we compare the major invertebrate taxa among these seamounts in relation to abiotic properties, to infer the ...

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Deep-sea corals and resource protection at the Davidson Seamount, California, U.S.A.

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

The Structure and Distribution of Benthic Communities on a Shallow Seamount (Cobb Seamount, Northeast Pacific Ocean)

Ichthyofauna on three seamounts off southern and central California, USA

Benthic invertebrate communities on three seamounts off southern and central California, USA

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