Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations.
Seamounts are unique deep-sea features that create habitats thought to have high levels of endemic fauna, productive fisheries and benthic communities vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts. Many seamounts are isolated features, occurring in the high seas, where access is limited and thus biological da...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5bb5bb4db1bc483faaf12400d7e703d0 2023-05-15T13:30:39+02:00 Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. Rhian G Waller Kathryn M Scanlon Laura F Robinson 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016153 https://doaj.org/article/5bb5bb4db1bc483faaf12400d7e703d0 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3026806?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016153 https://doaj.org/article/5bb5bb4db1bc483faaf12400d7e703d0 PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 1, p e16153 (2011) Medicine R Science Q article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016153 2022-12-31T11:49:01Z Seamounts are unique deep-sea features that create habitats thought to have high levels of endemic fauna, productive fisheries and benthic communities vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts. Many seamounts are isolated features, occurring in the high seas, where access is limited and thus biological data scarce. There are numerous seamounts within the Drake Passage (Southern Ocean), yet high winds, frequent storms and strong currents make seafloor sampling particularly difficult. As a result, few attempts to collect biological data have been made, leading to a paucity of information on benthic habitats or fauna in this area, particularly those on primarily hard-bottom seamounts and ridges. During a research cruise in 2008 six locations were examined (two on the Antarctic margin, one on the Shackleton Fracture Zone, and three on seamounts within the Drake Passage), using a towed camera with onboard instruments to measure conductivity, temperature, depth and turbidity. Dominant fauna and bottom type were categorized from 200 randomized photos from each location. Cold-water corals were present in high numbers in habitats both on the Antarctic margin and on the current swept seamounts of the Drake Passage, though the diversity of orders varied. Though the Scleractinia (hard corals) were abundant on the sedimented margin, they were poorly represented in the primarily hard-bottom areas of the central Drake Passage. The two seamount sites and the Shackleton Fracture Zone showed high numbers of stylasterid (lace) and alcyonacean (soft) corals, as well as large numbers of sponges. Though data are preliminary, the geological and environmental variability (particularly in temperature) between sample sites may be influencing cold-water coral biogeography in this region. Each area observed also showed little similarity in faunal diversity with other sites examined for this study within all phyla counted. This manuscript highlights how little is understood of these isolated features, particularly in Polar regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Drake Passage Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Drake Passage Shackleton Shackleton Fracture Zone ENVELOPE(-60.000,-60.000,-60.000,-60.000) PLoS ONE 6 1 e16153 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Rhian G Waller Kathryn M Scanlon Laura F Robinson Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Seamounts are unique deep-sea features that create habitats thought to have high levels of endemic fauna, productive fisheries and benthic communities vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts. Many seamounts are isolated features, occurring in the high seas, where access is limited and thus biological data scarce. There are numerous seamounts within the Drake Passage (Southern Ocean), yet high winds, frequent storms and strong currents make seafloor sampling particularly difficult. As a result, few attempts to collect biological data have been made, leading to a paucity of information on benthic habitats or fauna in this area, particularly those on primarily hard-bottom seamounts and ridges. During a research cruise in 2008 six locations were examined (two on the Antarctic margin, one on the Shackleton Fracture Zone, and three on seamounts within the Drake Passage), using a towed camera with onboard instruments to measure conductivity, temperature, depth and turbidity. Dominant fauna and bottom type were categorized from 200 randomized photos from each location. Cold-water corals were present in high numbers in habitats both on the Antarctic margin and on the current swept seamounts of the Drake Passage, though the diversity of orders varied. Though the Scleractinia (hard corals) were abundant on the sedimented margin, they were poorly represented in the primarily hard-bottom areas of the central Drake Passage. The two seamount sites and the Shackleton Fracture Zone showed high numbers of stylasterid (lace) and alcyonacean (soft) corals, as well as large numbers of sponges. Though data are preliminary, the geological and environmental variability (particularly in temperature) between sample sites may be influencing cold-water coral biogeography in this region. Each area observed also showed little similarity in faunal diversity with other sites examined for this study within all phyla counted. This manuscript highlights how little is understood of these isolated features, particularly in Polar regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rhian G Waller Kathryn M Scanlon Laura F Robinson |
author_facet |
Rhian G Waller Kathryn M Scanlon Laura F Robinson |
author_sort |
Rhian G Waller |
title |
Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
title_short |
Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
title_full |
Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
title_fullStr |
Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
title_sort |
cold-water coral distributions in the drake passage area from towed camera observations--initial interpretations. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016153 https://doaj.org/article/5bb5bb4db1bc483faaf12400d7e703d0 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.000,-60.000,-60.000,-60.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Drake Passage Shackleton Shackleton Fracture Zone |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Drake Passage Shackleton Shackleton Fracture Zone |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Drake Passage Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Drake Passage Southern Ocean |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 1, p e16153 (2011) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3026806?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016153 https://doaj.org/article/5bb5bb4db1bc483faaf12400d7e703d0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016153 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
e16153 |
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1766011250290982912 |