TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of foundation species, depth, and location on diversity and community composition at Gulf of Mexico lower-slope cold seeps
AU - Cordes, Erik E.
AU - Becker, Erin L.
AU - Hourdez, Stephane
AU - Fisher, Charles R.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the officers and crew of the RV Atlantis and NOAA Ship Ronald Brown , as well as the pilots of the DSV ALVIN and ROV JASON II for all of their assistance, patience, and technical expertise in completing the complex cruise objectives. We also thank all of the scientists aboard the two vessels for their hard work in the lab and with the submersibles, in particular Jeremy Potter, Liz Goehring, and Cindy Petersen for their tubeworm and mussel measurements. Special acknowledgement is given to the following for species identification: Anders Waren identified all gastropods, Sabine Stohr identified all ophiuroids, S. Hourdez identified all polychaetes, and Martha Nizinski identified galatheid crustaceans. Thanks also to Harry Roberts for handling this manuscript, Bob Carney, the members of the Cordes lab, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on drafts of this manuscript. This research was one part of a larger study led by Dr. Jim Brooks of TDI-Brooks that was jointly funded under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), contract #0105CT39187, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration (NOAA OE).
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Efforts to understand and preserve the seep communities of the deep Gulf of Mexico (GOM) begin with a comprehensive survey of the biodiversity of these communities. Previous studies have provided a conceptual model of the physiology, population, and community ecology of upper continental slope seeps. However, seeps at water depths below 1000. m in the Gulf of Mexico remain relatively unknown. In this study, data from 47 samples of tubeworm- and mussel-associated communities at depths of 1005-2750. m are examined. Other than tubeworms and mussels, 66 taxa of macro- and megafauna were collected, 43 of which appear to be restricted to water depths of over 1000. m, and 39 that have not been reported previously from the Gulf of Mexico. Diversity in mussel beds was highest at mid-slope depths, but tubeworm-associated communities did not show clear bathymetric trends in diversity. Diversity was higher in tubeworm aggregations at the alpha level (per sample), but higher in mussel beds at the beta level (species turnover among collections). Although both community types were often numerically dominated by the endemic shrimp Alvinocaris muricola, broad differences in the communities hosted by tubeworm aggregations and mussel beds were apparent. The most important factors explaining community similarity within community type were the depth, relative abundance of different mussel species in a bed, and the average size of tubeworms in an aggregation. The high proportion of deep-seep species that were found for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the importance of conservation efforts for these patchy communities.
AB - Efforts to understand and preserve the seep communities of the deep Gulf of Mexico (GOM) begin with a comprehensive survey of the biodiversity of these communities. Previous studies have provided a conceptual model of the physiology, population, and community ecology of upper continental slope seeps. However, seeps at water depths below 1000. m in the Gulf of Mexico remain relatively unknown. In this study, data from 47 samples of tubeworm- and mussel-associated communities at depths of 1005-2750. m are examined. Other than tubeworms and mussels, 66 taxa of macro- and megafauna were collected, 43 of which appear to be restricted to water depths of over 1000. m, and 39 that have not been reported previously from the Gulf of Mexico. Diversity in mussel beds was highest at mid-slope depths, but tubeworm-associated communities did not show clear bathymetric trends in diversity. Diversity was higher in tubeworm aggregations at the alpha level (per sample), but higher in mussel beds at the beta level (species turnover among collections). Although both community types were often numerically dominated by the endemic shrimp Alvinocaris muricola, broad differences in the communities hosted by tubeworm aggregations and mussel beds were apparent. The most important factors explaining community similarity within community type were the depth, relative abundance of different mussel species in a bed, and the average size of tubeworms in an aggregation. The high proportion of deep-seep species that were found for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the importance of conservation efforts for these patchy communities.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.010
DO - 10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78349304771
SN - 0967-0645
VL - 57
SP - 1870
EP - 1881
JO - Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
JF - Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
IS - 21-23
ER -