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Characterization of the Mesophotic Benthic Habitat, Benthic Macrobiota, and Fish Assemblages from ROV Dives on Pulley Ridge During the 2015 R/V Walton Smith Cruise

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Characterization of the Mesophotic Benthic Habitat, Benthic Macrobiota, and Fish Assemblages from ROV Dives on Pulley Ridge During the 2015 R/V Walton Smith Cruise NOAA CIOERT Cruise Report Report Title: Characterization of the Mesophotic Benthic Habitat, Benthic Macrobiota, and Fish Assemblages from ROV Dives on Pulley Ridge during the 2015 R/V Walton Smith Cruise R/V Walton Smith – Cruise No. WS15234 NMSF Mohawk ROV August 22 to September 4, 2015 NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science - NA11NOS4780045 “Connectivity of the Pulley Ridge - South Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem” NOAA/OAR/OER NA14OAR432026: Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology John Reed, Stephanie Farrington Cooperative Institute of Ocean Exploration and Technology Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University (HBOI-CIOERT) Stacey Harter, Andrew David, Lt. Heather Moe NOAA/NMFS/Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) Dennis Hanisak Cooperative Institute of Ocean Exploration and Technology Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University (HBOI-CIOERT) Citation: Reed J.K., S. Farrington, S. Harter, A. David, H. Moe, D. Hanisak. 2017. Characterization of the Mesophotic Benthic Habitat, Benthic Macrobiota, and Fish Assemblages from ROV Dives on Pulley Ridge during the 2015 R/V Walton Smith Cruise. NOAA CIOERT Cruise Report. Submitted to NOAA-NOS-NCCOS, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. 221 pp. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Technical Report Number 177. January 27, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 4 PROJECT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................. 4 METHODS ..................................................................................................................................... 5 ROV Operations .......................................................................................................................... 5 ROV Survey Protocol.................................................................................................................. 6 Selection of Random Blocks for ROV Surveys .......................................................................... 7 Protocol for Benthic Habitat Characterization ............................................................................ 7 Benthic Analyses ......................................................................................................................... 9 Coral Analyses .......................................................................................................................... 10 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Study Areas ............................................................................................................................... 10 ROV Dive Summary ................................................................................................................. 12 Benthic Macrobiota and Habitat ............................................................................................... 12 Coral Analyses .......................................................................................................................... 14 Analysis of Fish Video Surveys ................................................................................................ 15 SEADESC II Report: Characterization of Benthic Habitat, Benthic Macrobiota, and Fish Populations ................................................................................................................................ 15 DELIVERABLES AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 15 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................. 16 Appendix 1- Species List and % Cover of Benthic Macrobiota by Block and Region………….17 Appendix 2- Species List and Density of Fish Populations by Block and Region.…..…….……20 Appendix 3- SEADESC Report- Metadata and Notes for Each ROV Dive..…………………....22 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This cruise was conducted at Pulley Ridge mesophotic reef in the Gulf of Mexico, from August 22 to September 4, 2015, in collaboration with the University of Miami, HBOI-CIOERT, NOAA Fisheries, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) Undersea Vehicles Program. This is the fourth and final cruise of this grant. The University of Miami ship R/V Walton Smith was used along with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Mohawk ROV. In 2015, a total of 21 ROV dives surveyed 25 random blocks (Figure 1), and covered 33.64 km at depths from 54.4 to 110.1 m. A total of 58 hours of ROV video were recorded and 4,771 in situ digital images were taken which included quantitative transect images (4,063), and video frame grabs of general habitat images and species documentation images. Sample collections with the ROV included 10 Porifera, 20 algae, 40 Cnidaria (19 Scleractinia, 15 Octocorallia, 1 Antipatharia), 3 Echinodermata, and 2 geological (rock/sediment) specimens. A total of 132 benthic macrobiota were identified from the quantitative image analysis at Pulley Ridge (Appendix 1). The most diverse taxa by far were sponges (53 taxa). The other sessile benthic taxa included 9 Chlorophyta, 6 Rhodophyta, 4 Phaeophyta, 11 Scleractinia (hard corals), 12 gorgonian octocorals, and 5 Antipatharia. All fish were identified for each ROV dive to species level, counted, and densities determined (Appendix 2). A total of 59 fish taxa were identified from Pulley Ridge dives in 2015. In addition, a SEADESC Level II Report (Appendix 3) provides quantitative analyses of each ROV dive, including: 1) complete species list of benthic macrobiota for each dive; 2) CPCe 4.1© analysis of percent cover of benthic macrobiota and substrate types, 3) complete species list of fish for each dive; and 4) densities of fish species for each dive. A total of 11 hard coral species were identified from the 2015 cruise. The dominant species at Pulley Ridge included Agaricia fragilis, A. lamarcki/grahamae, A. undata, Helioseris cucullata, Madracis brueggemanni (previously identified as M. aurentenra), M. formosa, M. decactis, and Oculina diffusa. In the previous cruises of 2012 and 2013 we found that the overall average coral cover dropped from 11.90% (USGS 2003 data) to 0.85% (2012-2013 data) which is a 92.8% loss of coral cover in 10 years within the Pulley Ridge Habitat Area of Particular Concern (PR HAPC). However, in 2014 and 2015 more blocks were added outside of the PR HAPC and to the west of the main Pulley Ridge to fill in the relatively unstudied West Ridge, and for the first time, areas of the Central Basin where we discovered some of the highest coral cover that we have seen to date in our cruises. The density in the Central Basin from blocks surveyed in 2015 was 11.38 Agariciidae colonies/m2 (18,197 corals/1,597.95 m2); Block 120 which is outside the PR HAPC had the greatest density of all the Blocks with 30.3 Agariciidae colonies/m2. A great majority of Agaricia were <5 cm in diameter, indicating they were relatively recent recruits and may be recovering from whatever die-off occurred after 2003. Fish and coral densities, diversities and population structures will be reviewed in detail in the final Pulley Ridge Report that will include all four years of ROV data. Ultimately these data from the various cruises will be used to characterize and document the habitat, benthic communities, and fish populations inside and outside the Pulley Ridge HAPC and between the North and South Tortugas Ecological Reserves. These data may then be compared to future research cruises to better understand the long-term health and status of these important 3 mesophotic ecosystems. These data will be of value to the regional Fishery Management Councils, NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Mesophotic Reef Ecosystem Program, NOAA Deep-sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP), NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), and NOAA Marine Sanctuaries for management decisions on these habitats and managed key species. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (CIOERT) at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University (HBOI-FAU), and the Robertson Coral Reef Research and Conservation Program at HBOI-FAU for continued support of the mesophotic reef research program at HBOI-FAU. The crew of University of Miami’s ship R/V Walton Smith provided excellent support. ROV pilots Lance Horn and Jason White of the Mohawk ROV (owned by National Marine Sanctuary Foundation) are especially thanked for their support and efforts which made this a cruise success. This research was funded by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science under award NA11NOS4780045 to the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami and the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research under awards NA09OAR4320073 and NA14OAR4320260 to the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIOERT) at Florida Atlantic University–Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. The cruise was conducted as a collaboration of the University of Miami (Drs. Robert Cowen, Peter Ortner), HBOI-CIOERT (Dr. Shirley Pomponi), NOAA Fisheries (Andy David, Stacey
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