First record of a mesophotic Pachyseris foliosa reef from Japan

Typhoon damage on a shallow mesophotic reef in Okinawa, Japan

“…Recently, Ohara et al (2013) reported on a previously undiscovered shallow mesophotic coral reef in Okinawa, Japan. The Japanese name for this reef is “Ryugu,” based on its resemblance to the undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea.…”

“…The Japanese name for this reef is “Ryugu,” based on its resemblance to the undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea. The deeper sections of Ryugu (32–42 m) were reported to be primarily composed of Pachyseris foliosa (Veron, 1990), with shallower sections (25–32 m) showing much higher diversity (Ohara et al, 2013). Little is known about Pachyseris foliosa , although the depth range of this species appears to be deeper than previously reported by Hoeksema, Rogers & Quibilan in 2008 (25–30 m).…”

Shifting communities after­­ typhoon damage on an upper mesophotic reef in Okinawa, Japan

“…Species with wide depth ranges are more likely to benefit from vertical connectivity, while horizontal connectivity would most likely affect only the acquisition of symbiotic zooxanthellae for species that acquire Symbiodinium from the water column ( Bongaerts et al, 2010 ; Kahng, Copus & Wagner, 2014 ). Over a short time, it is likely that a storm disturbance would open up space in the area previously documented with nearly 100% Pachyseris coverage ( Ohara et al, 2013 ), allowing more opportunistic species a chance to prosper. Station 2 showed a diversification of coral species in the three years after Typhoon 17 (Jelawat) created vacant ecological niches ( Table 1 ).…”

“…One of the few ecological studies monitoring the direct impact of storm damage on a mesophotic reef system is from Okinawa, Japan. Ohara et al (2013) described Ryugu Reef as an upper mesophotic reef with a large, nearly monospecific stand of Pachyseris foliosa from 32 to 45 m. Heading deeper, away from shore, Ryugu Reef transitions on a low-angle slope from rubble with some corals (Fungiidae) at 21 m; to a high diversity of corals at 26 m; a Pachyseris- dominated area at 31 m; and finally to sand at 42 m. The center of Typhoon 17 (Jelawat), the strongest typhoon ever recorded to hit Okinawa-jima Island, with wave heights up to 12 m, passed within 30 km of Ryugu Reef on 29 September 2012 ( Ohara et al, 2013 ; White et al, 2013 ). Analyses of coral species composition and morpho-functional groups on Ryugu Reef before and after Typhoon 17 suggested that the highly diverse areas were less susceptible to typhoon damage ( White et al, 2013 ).…”

Peer Review #2 of "Typhoon damage on a shallow mesophotic reef in Okinawa, Japan (v0.1)"

“…Large communities of of broadcast spawning species are important to the recovery of reefs and are more likely to survive in deeper waters than in shallower waters during a typhoon (Madin & Connolly, 2006;Bridge et al, 2012), and recruitment of coral larvae is likely the most effective method of recovery for disturbed reefs (Harmelin-Vivien, 1994). Recently, Ohara et al (2013) reported on a previously undiscovered shallow mesophotic coral reef in Okinawa, Japan. The Japanese name for this reef is "Ryugu," based on its resemblance to the undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea.…”