Functional approach reveals low niche overlap among common deep-sea fishes from the south-eastern Arabian Sea

Kumar, K. V. Aneesh; Tuset, Víctor M.; Manjebrayakath, Hashim; Sumod, K. S.; Sudhakar, M.; Otero-Ferrer, José Luís; Lombarte, Antoni

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2016.11.011

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Low percentages of functional entities results in high species overlap within trait space, indicating high niche overlap and potential functional redundancy (Muntadas et al., 2016). Our results suggest that the deep‐sea system had higher niche overlap compared to the shallow‐water, disagreeing with studies that identified low niche overlap among deep‐sea fishes (Aneesh Kumar et al., 2017). Thus, the observed higher overlap in the deep‐sea may be caused by a lack of information.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Deep‐sea species are understudied, and much remains unknown about their ecology (Aneesh Kumar et al., 2017; Danovaro et al., 2008). In this study, species with unknown values were estimated using the closest relatives, but incomplete data have been shown to impact all functional diversity metrics (Pakeman, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To effectively manage deep‐sea fish communities, we must understand how their functional diversity and composition compared to shallow‐water ecosystems, and how these differences impact ecosystem functioning or responses to exploitation. Deep‐sea fish communities have been assessed using a range of continuous morphometric traits (Aneesh Kumar et al., 2017; Mindel et al., 2016) and categorical traits (Farré et al., 2016; Muntadas et al., 2016) using a subset of species within these communities. However, to date, no direct comparison of the functional diversity of entire fish communities in separate shallow‐ and deep‐sea ecosystems has been conducted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How functionally diverse are fish in the deep? A comparison of fish communities in deep and shallow‐water systems

Carrington

Papa

Beese

et al. 2021

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim Functional diversity metrics inform how species’ traits relate to ecosystem functions, useful for quantifying how exploitation and disturbance impact ecosystems. We compare the functional diversity of entire fish communities in a shallow‐water region with a deep‐sea region for further insight into the differences between these ecosystem types. Location The regions compared in this study were selected to represent a shallow‐water coastal region, Tasman and Golden Bays (TBGB), and a deep‐sea region, Chatham Rise (CR), in New Zealand. Methods Functional diversity was assessed using four metrics: functional richness, evenness, divergence and dispersion. We compared these metrics across four key functions: habitat use, feeding, locomotion and life history. Results Our results showed that overall, the shallow‐water and deep‐sea ecosystems had equal diversity. When focusing on the four ecological functions, the two ecosystems exhibited equal diversity metrics across most analyses. Of the significantly different results, the deep‐sea had higher functional richness for habitat use and locomotion traits, lower functional dispersion for feeding and lower functional evenness for life history. Main conclusions Differences across the functions highlight higher diversity of habitat utilization by deep‐sea fish, while lower diversity in feeding suggests deep‐sea fish tend towards generalist diets, likely driven by low food availability. Deep‐sea fish displayed an increased range of locomotive traits in our analyses, but this conflicts with existing evidence and warrants further study. Life‐history results suggest deep‐sea fish exhibit higher clustering of traits, indicating potential under‐utilization of life‐history strategies in the deep‐sea. Our results demonstrate that although deep‐sea fish communities have similar levels of diversity to shallow‐water communities, the traits that structure this diversity differ, and therefore, the systems may respond to exploitation differently.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How functionally diverse are fish in the deep? A comparison of fish communities in deep and shallow‐water systems

Carrington

Papa

Beese

et al. 2021

Diversity and Distributions

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“…gulper eels; Priede, 2017). However, deep-sea demersal fishes are comprised of several different trophic guilds that include scavenging and non-scavenging species, and there is likely to be greater specialization, partitioning of resources and a wider variety of niches than previously thought (Drazen & Sutton, 2017;Kumar et al, 2017). We consider that an increased jaw-length, as tends to occur in fishes inhabiting deeper environments, will allow consumption of a broader range of potential food items, regardless of their type.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Marine organisms have developed a suite of behavioural, physiological and morphological traits specifically adapted to these biophysical constraints (Brown & Thatje, 2014;Maurer, 2009). Studies using multiple morphological traits to calculate multivariate measures of functional diversity in fishes (Farré, Tuset, Cartes, Massutí, & Lombarte, 2016;Kumar et al, 2017; suggest that both size and swimming capacity may influence species' coexistence and resource partitioning along the depth gradient.…”

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confidence: 99%

Changes in key traits versus depth and latitude suggest energy‐efficient locomotion, opportunistic feeding and light lead to adaptive morphologies of marine fishes

Myers

Anderson

Eme

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Understanding patterns and processes governing biodiversity along broad‐scale environmental gradients, such as depth or latitude, requires an assessment of not just taxonomic richness, but also morphological and functional traits of organisms. Studies of traits can help to identify major selective forces acting on morphology. Currently, little is known regarding patterns of variation in the traits of fishes at broad spatial scales. The aims of this study were (a) to identify a suite of key traits in marine fishes that would allow assessment of morphological variability across broad‐scale depth (50–1200 m) and latitudinal (29.15–50.91°S) gradients, and (b) to characterize patterns in these traits across depth and latitude for 144 species of ray‐finned fishes in New Zealand waters. Here, we describe three new morphological traits, namely fin‐base‐to‐perimeter ratio, jaw‐length‐to‐mouth‐width ratio, and pectoral‐fin‐base‐to‐body‐depth ratio. Four other morphological traits essential for locomotion and food acquisition that are commonly measured in fishes were also included in the study. Spatial ecological distributions of individual fish species were characterized in response to a standardized replicated sampling design, and morphological measurements were obtained for each species from preserved museum specimens. With increasing depth, fishes, on average, became larger and more elongate, with higher fin‐base‐to‐perimeter ratio and larger jaw‐length‐to‐mouth‐width ratio, all of which translates into a more eel‐like anguilliform morphology. Variation in mean trait values along the depth gradient was stronger at lower latitudes for fin‐base‐to‐perimeter ratio, elongation and total body length. Average eye size peaked at intermediate depths (500–700 m) and increased with increasing latitude at 700 m. These findings suggest that, in increasingly extreme environments, fish morphology shifts towards a body shape that favours an energy‐efficient undulatory swimming style and an increase in jaw‐length vs. mouth width for opportunistic feeding. Furthermore, increases in eye size with both depth and latitude indicate that changes in both the average ambient light conditions as well as seasonal variations in day‐length can act to select ecomorphological adaptations in fishes.

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High functional diversity in deep‐sea fish communities and increasing intraspecific trait variation with increasing latitude

Myers

Anderson

Liggins

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Functional approach reveals low niche overlap among common deep-sea fishes from the south-eastern Arabian Sea

Cited by 11 publications

References 68 publications

How functionally diverse are fish in the deep? A comparison of fish communities in deep and shallow‐water systems

How functionally diverse are fish in the deep? A comparison of fish communities in deep and shallow‐water systems

Changes in key traits versus depth and latitude suggest energy‐efficient locomotion, opportunistic feeding and light lead to adaptive morphologies of marine fishes

High functional diversity in deep‐sea fish communities and increasing intraspecific trait variation with increasing latitude

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