The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea
Large cetacean carcasses at the deep-sea floor, known as ‘whale falls’, provide a resource for generalist-scavenging species, chemosynthetic fauna related to those from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, and remarkable bone-specialist species such as Osedax worms. Here we report the serendipitous di...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:350099 2023-07-30T03:57:21+02:00 The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea Amon, Diva J. Glover, Adrian G. Wiklund, Helena Marsh, Leigh Linse, Katrin Rogers, Alex D. Copley, Jonathan T. 2013-08 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350099/ unknown Amon, Diva J., Glover, Adrian G., Wiklund, Helena, Marsh, Leigh, Linse, Katrin, Rogers, Alex D. and Copley, Jonathan T. (2013) The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 92, 87-96. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.01.028 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.01.028>). Article PeerReviewed 2013 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.01.028 2023-07-09T21:45:19Z Large cetacean carcasses at the deep-sea floor, known as ‘whale falls’, provide a resource for generalist-scavenging species, chemosynthetic fauna related to those from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, and remarkable bone-specialist species such as Osedax worms. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of a late-stage natural whale fall at a depth of 1444 m in the South Sandwich Arc. This discovery represents the first natural whale fall to be encountered in the Southern Ocean, where cetaceans are abundant. The skeleton was situated within a seafloor caldera, in close proximity (<250 m) to active hydrothermal vents. We used a DNA barcoding approach to identify the skeleton as that of an Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). The carcass was in an advanced state of decomposition, and its exposed bones were occupied by a diverse assemblage of fauna including nine undescribed species. These bone fauna included an undescribed species of Lepetodrilus limpet that was also present at the nearby hydrothermal vents, suggesting the use of whale-fall habitats as stepping stones between chemosynthetic ecosystems. Using Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) videography, we have quantified the composition and abundance of fauna on the whale bones, and tested a hypothesis that varying concentrations of lipids in the bones of whales may influence the microdistribution of sulfophilic whale-fall fauna. Our data supported the hypothesis that more lipid-rich bones support a greater abundance of sulfophilic bacterial mats, which are also correlated with the abundance of grazing limpets (Pyropelta sp.). The abundance of Osedax sp. on bones however, showed a negative correlation with the bacterial-mat percentage cover, and hence greatest abundance on bones predicted to have lowest lipid content. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis minke whale Southern Ocean Stepping Stones University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Stepping Stones ENVELOPE(-63.992,-63.992,-64.786,-64.786) Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 92 87 96 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthampton |
language |
unknown |
description |
Large cetacean carcasses at the deep-sea floor, known as ‘whale falls’, provide a resource for generalist-scavenging species, chemosynthetic fauna related to those from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, and remarkable bone-specialist species such as Osedax worms. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of a late-stage natural whale fall at a depth of 1444 m in the South Sandwich Arc. This discovery represents the first natural whale fall to be encountered in the Southern Ocean, where cetaceans are abundant. The skeleton was situated within a seafloor caldera, in close proximity (<250 m) to active hydrothermal vents. We used a DNA barcoding approach to identify the skeleton as that of an Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). The carcass was in an advanced state of decomposition, and its exposed bones were occupied by a diverse assemblage of fauna including nine undescribed species. These bone fauna included an undescribed species of Lepetodrilus limpet that was also present at the nearby hydrothermal vents, suggesting the use of whale-fall habitats as stepping stones between chemosynthetic ecosystems. Using Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) videography, we have quantified the composition and abundance of fauna on the whale bones, and tested a hypothesis that varying concentrations of lipids in the bones of whales may influence the microdistribution of sulfophilic whale-fall fauna. Our data supported the hypothesis that more lipid-rich bones support a greater abundance of sulfophilic bacterial mats, which are also correlated with the abundance of grazing limpets (Pyropelta sp.). The abundance of Osedax sp. on bones however, showed a negative correlation with the bacterial-mat percentage cover, and hence greatest abundance on bones predicted to have lowest lipid content. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amon, Diva J. Glover, Adrian G. Wiklund, Helena Marsh, Leigh Linse, Katrin Rogers, Alex D. Copley, Jonathan T. |
spellingShingle |
Amon, Diva J. Glover, Adrian G. Wiklund, Helena Marsh, Leigh Linse, Katrin Rogers, Alex D. Copley, Jonathan T. The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea |
author_facet |
Amon, Diva J. Glover, Adrian G. Wiklund, Helena Marsh, Leigh Linse, Katrin Rogers, Alex D. Copley, Jonathan T. |
author_sort |
Amon, Diva J. |
title |
The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea |
title_short |
The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea |
title_full |
The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea |
title_fullStr |
The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea |
title_sort |
discovery of a natural whale fall in the antarctic deep sea |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/350099/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.992,-63.992,-64.786,-64.786) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Stepping Stones |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Stepping Stones |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis minke whale Southern Ocean Stepping Stones |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis minke whale Southern Ocean Stepping Stones |
op_relation |
Amon, Diva J., Glover, Adrian G., Wiklund, Helena, Marsh, Leigh, Linse, Katrin, Rogers, Alex D. and Copley, Jonathan T. (2013) The discovery of a natural whale fall in the Antarctic deep sea. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 92, 87-96. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.01.028 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.01.028>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.01.028 |
container_title |
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
container_volume |
92 |
container_start_page |
87 |
op_container_end_page |
96 |
_version_ |
1772817044125777920 |