NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration Final Report I. OVERVIEW Grant Number
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NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration Final Report I. OVERVIEW Grant Number: NA04OAR4600055 Amount of funding from Ocean Exploration: $50,000 Project Title: “From The Estuary To The Abyss: Exploring Along The Latitude 31-30 Transect” Area of Operation (if applicable): South Atlantic Bight, Blake Plateau Principle Investigator (name, address, contact information): George R. Sedberry South Carolina Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 12559 Charleston SC 29422-2559 Current Address and Contact Information: Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary 10 Ocean Science Circle Savannah GA 31411 912-598-2345 [email protected] Participating Institutions: College of Charleston Louisiana State University Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Savannah State University Skidaway Institute of Oceanography South Carolina Aquarium South Carolina Department of Natural Resources NOAA National Ocean Service University of Alabama University of North Carolina at Wilmington University of Southern Mississippi University of the Azores Award Period: From 1 July 2004 To 30 June 2005 (extended to 30 April 2007) Period Covered by this Report: From 1 July 2004 To 30 April 2007 II. Summary 1. Abstract This report describes submersible observations and collections made during an OE expedition along a transect centered on the Latitude 31º30’ line, in depths from 55 to 1000 m. The sampling extended from previous work along that transect (including some funded by OE and other NOAA offices) that sampled from the coast out to 55 m. This report describes observations of fishes made from submersible, description of habitats and bottom types, analysis of infaunal invertebrates collected by the submersible and a Young grab, analysis of the fauna inhabiting some sponges and tunicates, and analysis of isotope composition of coral samples to determine paleo- oceanographic conditions and coral growth rates. 2. Purpose of Project: a. Describe issue that was addressed The Blake Plateau and the Southeast Continental Slope: The Blake Plateau, a feature that dominates the continental margin off the southeastern U.S, interrupts the continental slope with a relatively gently sloping topography from 700 to 1100 m depth (Fig. 1). Much of the Blake is relatively flat hard bottom (Popenoe and Manheim 2001), but at the northern end lies an area of extremely rugged relief (the Charleston Bump) that has received attention because of its importance in Gulf Stream dynamics and fisheries (Sedberry et al. 2001; Govoni and Hare 2001; Sedberry et al. OE Bump final report). In spite of recent exploration of the Charleston Bump (Sedberry et al. 2005), relatively little is known about the deep continental slope of the southeastern U.S., relative to shelf habitats. The recent work on the Charleston Bump and adjacent Florida-Hatteras Slope has coincided with, or resulted from, development of deepwater fisheries for golden crabs (Geryonidae), groupers (Serranidae), wreckfish (Polyprionidae) ocean perches (Scorpaenidae), tilefishes (Malacanthidae), alfonsinos (Berycidae), roughies (Trachichthyidae), and other groups (Sedberry et al. 2001; Wenner and Barans 2001). Ecological studies aimed at understanding the assemblages that co-occur with fishery species, and which play roles in food chain dynamics and fish production, have been little studied. Studies of western Atlantic slope habitats north of Cape Hatteras and south of Cape Canaveral have found increased biomass and productivity between areas of topographic relief (canyons) relative to more tranquil open slope areas (Musick et al. 1975; Crabtree et al. 1991). Studies have also compared more productive soft bottom slope habitats of the Middle Atlantic Bight (Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras) with soft bottom habitats in deep waters * Blake Plateau Figure 1. Bottom topography (above) and areas of known hard bottom (right) on the Blake Plateau. The black rectangular boxes indicate the location of the 31-30 Transect, which passes over the rough bottom topography of the Charleston Bump (*). The figure at right, which covers the area of the red rectangle on the figure above, is from Manheim and Popenoe (2001). of the tropics, and have included community and trophic ecology comparisons from temperate and subtropical regions (Sedberry and Musick 1978; Anderson et al. 1986; Crabtree et al. 1991). Differences in species composition and trophic structure of fish communities, and morphology of the deep-sea fish faunas have been attributed to differing levels of nutrient and/or oxygen concentrations between demersal habitats of the two regions and other attributes associated with the presence of bottom topography such as canyons, seamounts, ridges and hard bottom (Sulak and Ross 1996). Although the Blake Plateau may serve as an important transition zone between tropical and temperate deep-sea faunas, it has been little studied because of the difficulty of sampling with traditional sampling gear. Hard Bottom Habitat and Regional Biogeography: The continental shelf off the southeastern U.S. is often referred to as the South Atlantic Bight (or SAB), which is defined herein as the continental shelf and slope between Cape Hatteras and Cape Canaveral and out to the edge of the Exclusive Economic Zone (or EEZ). Although hard bottom habitats, consisting of rock outcrops and living coral patches, occur scattered along the continental shelf of the SAB, little research effort has been directed at deep-water rocky habitats (Anonymous 1985). Hard bottom habitats on the continental shelf and upper slope of the SAB support drastically different fish faunas than do soft bottom habitats in similar depths and thermal regimes (Wenner 1983; Sedberry and Van Dolah 1984). It is likely that these differences extend to the deeper waters of the Florida-Hatteras Slope, Blake Plateau and beyond. Thus, deepwater rocky bottom habitats such as those found on the Blake Plateau (Fig. 1) may support greater biomass and diversity of fishes than that found on adjacent soft bottom areas. For this reason, demersal fisheries of the Blake concentrate on hard bottom areas. The hard bottom shelf of the SAB supports tropical and subtropical reef fishes. Many of these fishes are species that have extended their ranges northward from the Caribbean, taking advantage of rocky reef habitat and relatively stable thermal regimes of the SAB. It is unknown if the ichthyofauna associated with deep hard bottom of the Caribbean extends its range northward along the hard bottom habitat of the Blake Plateau. Similarly, the faunal affinities between the rocky bottom of the Blake Plateau and rocky North Atlantic islands such as Bermuda and the Azores is not known, although fishery landings [e.g. wreckfish (Polyprion americanus), blackbelly rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus), red porgy (Pagrus pagrus), etc.] indicate many similarities (Sedberry et al. 1999). "Islands" of suitable habitat, such as the Bahamas and Charleston Bump, may provide "stepping stones" to allow the distribution of deep, rocky-bottom fishes from the Caribbean to the eastern Atlantic. Faunal study of deep hard bottom habitats in the Caribbean, Blake Plateau and across the North Atlantic are needed to determine patterns of species distributions, dispersal and zoogeographic affinities. Recent studies have shown decreasing average size of species and individuals within species of deep-sea fishes from north to south along the middle continental slope (Sulak and Ross 1996). An obvious contradiction to this trend is found in the occurrence of concentrations of large species such as wreckfish, barrelfish (Hyperoglyphe perciformis) and red bream (Beryx decadactylus) on mid-slope depths on the Blake Plateau. Wreckfish have supported large fishery landings [in excess of 4 million lbs in 1990 until the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) established catch restrictions (Sedberry et al. 1994). This high concentration of biomass on the Blake Plateau corresponds to the location of the high-relief bottom topography. It is unknown if deeper or less rugged hard bottom of the Blake Plateau east of the Bump also supports a high biomass of fishes and other organisms. Oceanography, Life History, Recruitment: The relationship between oceanography and fisheries production on the Blake Plateau is not well understood. An additional enigma is that the very currents that cause the upwellings that increase productivity (Bane et al. 2001) should carry away the pelagic eggs, larvae and juveniles of fishery species such as wreckfish that spawn on the Bump, leaving questions regarding the recruitment of fishes, corals and other species to the Blake Plateau. There may be downstream eddies that retain early life stages in a "nursery area" associated with the Bump, or recruitment to the area may come from upstream in the Caribbean. Successful recruitment of corals and other species may occur only in areas of reduced current flow. Fine-scale mapping of species’ distributions and hydrography over a variety of bottom types and depths is needed to determine factors affecting successful recruitment in fishes, corals and other organisms under the Gulf Stream on the Blake Plateau. Downstream from the Blake Plateau are several seamounts and archipelagos, including those associated with the mid-Atlantic ridge. The Azores islands and nearby banks provide hard bottom habitat within the axis of the Gulf Stream as it drifts toward northern Europe, and these shallow parts of the mid-Atlantic ridge support fisheries for species that also occur on the Blake Plateau. Recent exploratory