TY - JOUR
T1 - Megafauna community composition associated with Lophelia pertusa colonies in the Gulf of Mexico
AU - Lessard-Pilon, Stephanie A.
AU - Podowski, Elizabeth L.
AU - Cordes, Erik E.
AU - Fisher, Charles R.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank S. Viada, S. Brooke, C. Young, and W. Schroeder for their assistance and contributions at sea. This study would not have been possible without the expertise and efforts of the pilots of the Johnson Sea-Link I submersible and the crew of the R/V Seward Johnson I and II. We also acknowledge M. Daly (Ohio State University) for assistance with identifying anemones, J. Goy (Harding University) for identification of shrimp, and S. Ross (University of North Carolina—Wilmington) for identification of fishes. The US Department of the Interior BOEMRE (Contract I 1435-01-03-CT-72323 ), the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE 0117050 ), and a grant from the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration (NOAA-OE) funded this study.
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - The deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa provides habitat for diverse communities in the Gulf of Mexico. Photomosaics and analyses within a Geographic Information System (GIS) were used as non-destructive sampling tools to examine megafauna community composition associated with L. pertusa colonies on authigenic carbonate outcrops in two regions of the Gulf of Mexico. Megafauna communities associated with L. pertusa were more similar within a region than between regions. Within regions, the amount of dead coral, number of abiotic and biotic substrata, and percentage of live L. pertusa influenced the diversity, composition, and structure of the coral-associated communities. Elevated diversity levels in the communities associated with L. pertusa structure indicate that L. pertusa provides a distinct, localized habitat source. Outcrops with high proportions of dead L. pertusa harbored more higher order consumers than outcrops with primarily live coral framework.
AB - The deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa provides habitat for diverse communities in the Gulf of Mexico. Photomosaics and analyses within a Geographic Information System (GIS) were used as non-destructive sampling tools to examine megafauna community composition associated with L. pertusa colonies on authigenic carbonate outcrops in two regions of the Gulf of Mexico. Megafauna communities associated with L. pertusa were more similar within a region than between regions. Within regions, the amount of dead coral, number of abiotic and biotic substrata, and percentage of live L. pertusa influenced the diversity, composition, and structure of the coral-associated communities. Elevated diversity levels in the communities associated with L. pertusa structure indicate that L. pertusa provides a distinct, localized habitat source. Outcrops with high proportions of dead L. pertusa harbored more higher order consumers than outcrops with primarily live coral framework.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.013
DO - 10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.013
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78349308792
SN - 0967-0645
VL - 57
SP - 1882
EP - 1890
JO - Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
JF - Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
IS - 21-23
ER -