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Identity Crisis Or Split Personality? Trans-Ocean Distances and Not Within Individual Regions
Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2007) 34, 2001–2008 GUEST Seamounts: identity crisis or split EDITORIAL personality? Craig R. McClain* Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, ABSTRACT 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA At present, researchers propose that over 14,000 seamounts exist and, like their 95039, USA terrestrial analogues, function like islands. In addition, seamounts are described as oases, biodiversity hotspots, and lush coral/sponge gardens. Here I discuss the extent to which these tenets regarding seamounts may be inappropriate, suffer from a lack of support, and be over-generalizations of a broad range of envi- ronmental types encountered on seamounts. Ultimately, for seamount science to progress, we need to challenge our conventional wisdom on these habitats and the extent to which all seamounts function in a similar manner. *Correspondence: Craig R. McClain, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Keywords Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA, 95039, USA. Biodiversity, conservation, coral, deep sea, ecological oasis, endemism, hotspot, E-mail: [email protected] island biogeography, isolation, seamount. biological communities that support highly unique and INTRODUCTION endemic faunas’. In ‘Toward a strategy for high seas marine There is no such things as mountains and valleys on the deep-sea protected areas’, Gjerde & Breide (2003) notes that ‘Sea- bottom. mounts are areas of high endemic biodiversity with little Mosely (1880), p. 343 overlap in community composition between seamount Less than 100 years after Mosely’s statement, Hubbs (1959) clusters’. contemplated the ‘scientific interests, particularly in respect Alternatively, others suggest that seamounts are unique to zoogeography and speciation’ of recently discovered habitats for reasons not related to their ‘islandness’. -
Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from the Vema and Valdivia Seamounts (SE Atlantic)
European Journal of Taxonomy 758: 49–96 ISSN 2118-9773 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.758.1425 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2021 · Gil M. & Ramil F. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Research article urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7CA6D8AC-2312-47F9-8C17-528B94E4C8A7 Hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from the Vema and Valdivia seamounts (SE Atlantic) Marta GIL 1,* & Fran RAMIL 2 1,2 CIM-UVigo – Centro de Investigación Mariña, Facultade de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade de Vigo, Spain. 1 Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfi co de Vigo, Spain. * Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Email: [email protected] 1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:FFF187EB-84CE-4A54-9A01-4E4326B5CD26 2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:67BAF0B6-E4D5-4A2D-8C03-D2D40D522196 Abstract. In this report, we analyse the benthic hydroids collected on the Vema and Valdivia seamounts during a survey conducted in 2015 in the SEAFO Convention Area, focused on mapping and analysing the occurrence and abundance of benthopelagic fi sh and vulnerable marine ecosystem (VMEs) indicators on selected Southeast Atlantic seamounts. A total of 27 hydroid species were identifi ed, of which 22 belong to Leptothecata and only fi ve to Anthoathecata. Monostaechoides gen. nov. was erected within the family Halopterididae to accommodate Plumularia providentiae Jarvis, 1922, and a new species, Monotheca bergstadi sp. nov., is also described. Campanularia africana is recorded for the fi rst time from the Atlantic Ocean, and the Northeast Atlantic species Amphinema biscayana, Stegopoma giganteum and Clytia gigantea are also recorded from the South Atlantic. -
Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems – Processes and Practices in the High Seas Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems Processes and Practices in the High Seas
ISSN 2070-7010 FAO 595 FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL PAPER 595 Vulnerable marine ecosystems – Processes and practices in the high seas Vulnerable marine ecosystems Processes and practices in the high seas This publication, Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems: processes and practices in the high seas, provides regional fisheries management bodies, States, and other interested parties with a summary of existing regional measures to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from significant adverse impacts caused by deep-sea fisheries using bottom contact gears in the high seas. This publication compiles and summarizes information on the processes and practices of the regional fishery management bodies, with mandates to manage deep-sea fisheries in the high seas, to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems. ISBN 978-92-5-109340-5 ISSN 2070-7010 FAO 9 789251 093405 I5952E/2/03.17 Cover photo credits: Photo descriptions clockwise from top-left: Acanthagorgia spp., Paragorgia arborea, Vase sponges (images courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada); and Callogorgia spp. (image courtesy of Kirsty Kemp, the Zoological Society of London). FAO FISHERIES AND Vulnerable marine ecosystems AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL Processes and practices in the high seas PAPER 595 Edited by Anthony Thompson FAO Consultant Rome, Italy Jessica Sanders Fisheries Officer FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Rome, Italy Merete Tandstad Fisheries Resources Officer FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Rome, Italy Fabio Carocci Fishery Information Assistant FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Rome, Italy and Jessica Fuller FAO Consultant Rome, Italy FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2016 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. -
Roadmap to Recovery: a Global Network of Marine Reserves
© Greenpeace/Åslund Roadmap to Recovery: A global network of marine reserves Callum M. Roberts, Leanne Mason and Julie P. Hawkins Contributing authors: Elizabeth Masden, Gwilym Rowlands, Jenny Storey and Anna Swift Environment Department, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK Correspondence to: [email protected] 3 4 Roadmap to Recovery: A global network of marine reserves content 1. Summary 7 2. Introduction 9 3. Aims of this report 11 4. Life on the high seas 11 4.1 The pelagic realm 11 4.2 The deep sea 13 5. History of exploitation of the high seas 16 6. Present status and threats to life on the high seas 17 6.1 Fishing 17 6.2 Global warming 18 6.3 Disposal of CO2 18 6.4 Oil and mineral exploitation 18 6.5 Bioprospecting 20 6.6 Noise 20 7. Designing a global marine reserve network for the high seas 20 7.1 Marine reserves and why they are needed 20 7.2 Will marine reserves protect species on the high seas? 21 7.3 Identifying candidate sites for protection 23 7.4 The grid 25 8. Principles of marine reserve networking 25 8.1 Site selection 25 8.2 Networking and connectivity 26 8.3 Level of replication 26 8.4 Spacing of marine reserves 26 8.5 Size of marine reserves 26 8.6 Coverage of marine reserves 27 9. Procedure used for computer-assisted design of a network 28 of marine reserves 9.1 Features and targets used for Marxan analyses 29 Oceanographic Features 29 Physical features 29 Biological data 29 Expert consultation 31 10. -
A Review of the Effects of Seamounts on Biological Processes
A REVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF SEAMOUNTS ON BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES George W. Boehlert Southwest Fisheries Center Honolulu Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA. 2570 Dole St., Honolulu, HI 96822-2396 Amatzia Genin Scripps Institution of Oceanography, A-008, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093 Abstract. Seamounts interacting with oceanic continental shelf or slope counterparts at similar currents create flow complexities which depend water depths [Hubbs, 19591. In the open ocean, upon current speed, stratification. latitude, and seamounts interact with ocean currents and create seamount morphology. Seamount effects. which variability in the physical flow field. Several include internal wave generation. eddy formation. studies have described these effects on the Gulf local upwelling. and closed circulation patterns Stream [Vastano and Warren, 19761 and the Kuroshio called Taylor columns. have important effects upon [Roden et al.. 1982; Roden. 19871. The physical pelagic and benthic ecosystems over seamounts. effects include local small- and mesosca7.e phe- The biological effects of these current-topography nomena including the shedding of mesoscale eddies interactions are poorly understood. Flow accel- which alter flow patterns for significant dis- eration on upper flanks of seamounts may lead to tances downstream of the seamounts [Royer. 19781. low sedimentation but areas of high standing Biological effects of these physical complexities stocks of benthic fauna, particularly filter feed- are not well understood [Genin and Boehlert 1985; ers. Other effects extend into the water column: Boehlert, 19861. Discovery of seamount fishery nutrient enrichment and enhanced primary produc- [Uchida and Tagami. 19841 and mineral resources tivity occur over some seamounts. Longer observa- [Manheim, 19861, however, has caused increased tional periods will be necessary to understand the interest in seamount oceanography and its effects time-varying nature of such enhanced productivity on biota [Darnitsky et al. -
Joint Geological Survey/University of Cape Town MARINE GEOSCIENCE UNIT TECHNICAL ^REPORT NO. 13 PROGRESS REPORTS for the YEARS 1
Joint Geological Survey/University of Cape Town MARINE GEOSCIENCE UNIT TECHNICAL ^REPORT NO. 13 PROGRESS REPORTS FOR THE YEARS 1981-1982 Marine Geoscience Group Department of Geology University of Cape Town December 1982 NGU-Tfc—Kh JOINT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN MARINE GEOSCIENCE UNIT TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 13 PROGRESS REPORTS FOR THE YEARS 1981-1982 Marine Geoscience Group Department of Geology University of Cape Town December 1982 The Joint Geological Survey/University of Cape Town Marine Geoscience Unit is jointly funded by the two parent organizations to promote marine geoscientific activity in South Africa. The Geological Survey Director, Mr L.N.J. Engelbrecht, and the University Research Committee are thanked for their continued generous financial and technical support for this work. The Unit was established in 1975 by the amalgamation of the Marine Geology Programme (funded by SANCOR until 1972) and the Marine Geophysical Unit. Financial ?nd technical assistance from the South African National Committee for Oceanographic Research, and the National Research Institute for Oceanology (Stellenbosch) are also gratefully acknowledged. It is the policy of the Geological Survey and the University of Cape Town that the data obtained may be presented in the form of theses for higher degrees and that completed projects shall be published without delay in appropriate media. The data and conclusions contained in this report are made available for the information of the international scientific community with tl~e request that they be not published in any manner without written permission. CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION by R.V.Dingle i PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE BATHYMETRY OF PART OF 1 THE TRANSKEI BASIN by S.H. -
High Seas Deep-Sea Fishing Grounds in the South East Atlantic Ocean 51
50 Worldwide review of bottom fisheries in the high seas MAP 1 High seas deep-sea fishing grounds in the South East Atlantic Ocean 51 South East Atlantic Ocean FAO Statistical Area 47 (and a portion of 34) GEOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION Angola, Namibia and South Africa are the three countries bordering the South East Atlantic Region (FAO Statistical Area 47) along the African coast. This region extends from the Central Atlantic in the north at 6°S to the Southern Ocean in the south at 50°S. The western limit of the South East Atlantic is the 20°W meridian, which means that the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge is within the region, at around 15°W, and extends over the entire region from north to south. Other important bottom topographic features in this region are the Walvis Ridge and the Valdivia Bank, joining the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Tristan da Cunha on the northern part of the Namibian continental shelf at around 18°S, and in the southern part, the Meteor Rise and the Agulhas Ridge. These are the areas largely targeted in the deep-sea bottom fisheries in the region, together with associated or isolated seamounts areas such as Ewing and Molloy Seamounts, Vema Seamount and those in SEAFO Subdivision A1 (SEAFO, 2007a). It is important to note that in the South East Atlantic, the continental shelf along the coasts does not extend beyond the EEZs of the coastal states. MANAGEMENT REGIME APPLICABLE TO DEEP-SEA BOTTOM FISHERIES IN THE HIGH SEAS Regional Fisheries Management Organization/Arrangement The South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was established in 2003 with the entry into force of the Convention on the conservation and management of fisheries resources in the South East Atlantic Ocean. -
Description Anthomastus Globosus N. Sp. (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) De Nouvelle-Calédonie Remarques Sur Quelques Espèces Du Genre
Bull. Mus. nail. Hist, nat., Paris, 4e sér., 14, 1992, section A, nos 3-4 : 623-638. Description Anthomastus globosus n. sp. (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) de Nouvelle-Calédonie Remarques sur quelques espèces du genre par Marie-José D'HONDT Résumé. — Description d'une nouvelle espèce du genre Anthomastus (Alcyonacea, Alcyoniidae). Les deux espèces précédemment mentionnées de Nouvelle-Calédonie sous le nom générique d'Anthomastus n'appartiennent pas en réalité à ce genre. Remarques sur la synonymie de quelques espèces du genre Anthomastus. Complément d'illustrations pour A. canariensis (holotype) et A. purpureus (paratype). Abstract. — Description of a new species of the genus Anthomastus (Alcyonacea, Alcyoniidae). The two species previously indicated from New Caledonia with the generic name Anthomastus, in fact do not belong to it. Remarks upon the synonymy of some Anthomastus species. Complement of illustration for A. canariensis (holotype) and A. purpureus (paratype). M.-J. D'HONDT, Laboratoire de Biologie des Invertébrés Marins et Malacologie, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 57, rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 05. INTRODUCTION D'importantes récoltes effectuées ces dernières années à faible et grande profondeurs en Nouvelle-Calédonie ont permis de réunir un matériel riche et diversifié concernant les Octocoralliaires et tout particulièrement les genres Bathyalcyon Versluys, 1906 et Anthomastus Verrill, 1878. Ce dernier en était connu par deux espèces : A. agilis Tixier-Durivault, 1970 et A. granulosus Kûkenthal, 1911 ; en Nouvelle-Zélande il est représenté par deux autres espèces : A. phalloides Benham, 1928 et A. zealandicus Benham, 1928. D'après UTINOMI et IMAHARA (1976 : 211), A. phalloides Benham (= probablement A. agilis Tixier-Durivault) devrait être transféré dans le genre Minabea Utinomi, 1957 1. -
CNIDARIA Corals, Medusae, Hydroids, Myxozoans
FOUR Phylum CNIDARIA corals, medusae, hydroids, myxozoans STEPHEN D. CAIRNS, LISA-ANN GERSHWIN, FRED J. BROOK, PHILIP PUGH, ELLIOT W. Dawson, OscaR OcaÑA V., WILLEM VERvooRT, GARY WILLIAMS, JEANETTE E. Watson, DENNIS M. OPREsko, PETER SCHUCHERT, P. MICHAEL HINE, DENNIS P. GORDON, HAMISH J. CAMPBELL, ANTHONY J. WRIGHT, JUAN A. SÁNCHEZ, DAPHNE G. FAUTIN his ancient phylum of mostly marine organisms is best known for its contribution to geomorphological features, forming thousands of square Tkilometres of coral reefs in warm tropical waters. Their fossil remains contribute to some limestones. Cnidarians are also significant components of the plankton, where large medusae – popularly called jellyfish – and colonial forms like Portuguese man-of-war and stringy siphonophores prey on other organisms including small fish. Some of these species are justly feared by humans for their stings, which in some cases can be fatal. Certainly, most New Zealanders will have encountered cnidarians when rambling along beaches and fossicking in rock pools where sea anemones and diminutive bushy hydroids abound. In New Zealand’s fiords and in deeper water on seamounts, black corals and branching gorgonians can form veritable trees five metres high or more. In contrast, inland inhabitants of continental landmasses who have never, or rarely, seen an ocean or visited a seashore can hardly be impressed with the Cnidaria as a phylum – freshwater cnidarians are relatively few, restricted to tiny hydras, the branching hydroid Cordylophora, and rare medusae. Worldwide, there are about 10,000 described species, with perhaps half as many again undescribed. All cnidarians have nettle cells known as nematocysts (or cnidae – from the Greek, knide, a nettle), extraordinarily complex structures that are effectively invaginated coiled tubes within a cell. -
Mount Vema-H.S.)
Friday, August 7, 2020 Not for Sale. The Sanctity of Seamount Treasures (Mount Vema-H.S.) - 12 November 2019 Greenpeace Germany oceans campaigner Thilo Maack encounters a Tristan Rock Lobster (Jasus tristani) on one of Mount Vema’s summits. Credit © Richard Barnden / Greenpeace The Mount Vema seamount is 1000km out to sea in the southeast Atlantic Ocean. It is out of reach except by industrial fishing fleets or passing ships. But finding a lobster cage there has alarmed Greenpeace which has reiterated that seamounts must be protected from being exploited. This week Greenpeace reported that its ship, Arctic Sunrise, visited the area as part of the “Protect the Oceans” tour, a year-long pole-to-pole expedition. On board are a group of activists, divers and scientists who took the opportunity to explore the secrets of the Vema seamount which rises from the seabed at 4600m to just 26m below the surface of the ocean. Indian ocean seamounts Seamounts are not exactly a secret to the commercial fishing fleets of South Africa and Namibia. Some 25 years have passed since the first seamounts were discovered in the south west Indian ocean. Then in 2010, a South African-led exploration of eight seamounts including Atlantis, “Middle of What” and Coral was successfully concluded. This was made possible by the United Nations, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Global Environmental Facility. There was also support from the Norwegians who provided the research ship. Fish finds On board the Fridtjof Nansen, amongst the group of scientists, was a phytoplankton specialist, researchers, marine biologists and seamount specialist Dr Alex Rogers from the Zoological Society of London. -
Shallow Seamounts Represent Speciation Islands for Circumglobal
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Shallow seamounts represent speciation islands for circumglobal yellowtail Seriola lalandi Sven Kerwath1,2,8*, Rouvay Roodt‑Wilding3, Toufek Samaai2,4, Henning Winker1, Wendy West1, Sheroma Surajnarayan5, Belinda Swart3, Aletta Bester‑van der Merwe3, Albrecht Götz6, Stephen Lamberth1,7 & Christopher Wilke1 Phenotypic plasticity in life‑history traits in response to heterogeneous environments has been observed in a number of fshes. Conversely, genetic structure has recently been detected in even the most wide ranging pelagic teleost fsh and shark species with massive dispersal potential, putting into question previous expectations of panmixia. Shallow oceanic seamounts are known aggregation sites for pelagic species, but their role in genetic structuring of widely distributed species remains poorly understood. The yellowtail kingfsh (Seriola lalandi), a commercially valuable, circumglobal, epipelagic fsh species occurs in two genetically distinct Southern Hemisphere populations (South Pacifc and southern Africa) with low levels of gene‑fow between the regions. Two shallow oceanic seamounts exist in the ocean basins around southern Africa; Vema and Walters Shoal in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, respectively. We analysed rare samples from these remote locations and from the South African continental shelf to assess genetic structure and population connectivity in S. lalandi and investigated life‑history traits by comparing diet, age, growth and maturation among the three sites. The results suggest that yellowtail from South Africa and the two seamounts are genetically and phenotypically distinct. Rather than mere feeding oases, we postulate that these seamounts represent islands of breeding populations with site‑specifc adaptations. Seamounts have long been known as aggregation sites for large pelagic fshes such as tuna, billfshes and sharks1. -
Deep-Sea Coral Taxa in the U.S. Northeast Region: Depth and Geographical Distribution (V
Deep-Sea Coral Taxa in the U.S. Northeast Region: Depth and Geographical Distribution (v. 2020) by David B. Packer1, Martha S. Nizinski2, Stephen D. Cairns3, 4 and Thomas F. Hourigan 1. NOAA Habitat Ecology Branch, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Sandy Hook, NJ 2. NOAA National Systematics Laboratory Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 3. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 4. NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program, Office of Habitat Conservation, Silver Spring, MD This annex to the U.S. Northeast chapter in “The State of Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems of the United States” provides a revised and updated list of deep-sea coral taxa in the Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, known to occur in U.S. waters from Maine to Cape Hatteras (Figure 1). Deep-sea corals are defined as azooxanthellate, heterotrophic coral species occurring in waters 50 meters deep or more. Details are provided on the vertical and geographic extent of each species (Table 1). This list is adapted from Packer et al. (2017) with the addition of new species and range extensions into Northeast U.S. waters reported through 2020, along with a number of species previously not included. No new species have been described from this region since 2017. Taxonomic names are generally those currently accepted in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), and are arranged by order, then alphabetically by family, genus, and species. Data sources (references) listed are those principally used to establish geographic and depth distributions. The total number of distinct deep-sea corals documented for the U.S.