Benthic Biodiversity by Baited Camera Observations on the Cosmonaut Sea Shelf of East Antarctica

A free-fall baited camera lander was launched for the first time on the Cosmonaut Sea shelf of East Antarctica at a depth of 694 m during the 38th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) in 2022. We identified 31 unique taxa (23 were invertebrates and eight were fish) belonging to e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diversity
Main Authors: Jianfeng Mou, Xuebao He, Kun Liu, Yaqin Huang, Shuyi Zhang, Yongcan Zu, Yanan Liu, Shunan Cao, Musheng Lan, Xing Miao, Heshan Lin, Wenhua Liu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024
Subjects:
lander
Cosmonaut Sea
megafauna
Antarctica
image survey
Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
Antarc*
Antarctic
Cosmonaut sea
East Antarctica
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/d16050277
https://doaj.org/article/c5e4513daa804bb4b4c6ea0e8630729a
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Summary:A free-fall baited camera lander was launched for the first time on the Cosmonaut Sea shelf of East Antarctica at a depth of 694 m during the 38th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) in 2022. We identified 31 unique taxa (23 were invertebrates and eight were fish) belonging to eight phyla from 2403 pictures and 40 videos. The Antarctic jonasfish ( Notolepis coatsi ) was the most frequently observed fish taxa. Ten species of vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) taxa were observed, accounting for 32% of all species. The maximum number (MaxN) of Natatolana meridionalis individuals per image frame was ten, and they were attracted to the bait. The macrobenthic community type were sessile suspension feeders with associated fauna (SSFA), which was shaped by the muddy substrata with scattered rocks. Rocks served as the best habitats for sessile fauna. The study reveals the megafauna community and their habitat by image survey in the Cosmonaut Sea for the first time. It helped us obtain Antarctic biodiversity baselines and monitoring data for future ecosystem health assessment and better protection.

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