Characterization of the mesophotic reef fish community in south Florida, USA

Abstract

Summary The southeastern coast of Florida, USA supports a substantial recreational fishery, yet little is known of the coral reef ecosystem or fisheries resources past 50 m depth. Fish assemblages associated with low‐relief substrate and three vessel reefs between 50 and 120 m depth off southeast Florida were surveyed by remotely operated vehicles providing the first characterization of the mesophotic fish assemblages in the region. Two distinct assemblages were observed on low‐relief substrate and high‐relief vessel reefs. A total of 560 fishes of 42 species was recorded on 27 dives on low‐relief substrate, and 50 152 fishes of 65 species were recorded on 24 dives on three vessel reefs. Small planktivorous Anthiinae fishes and several economically valuable species were common on vessel reefs but rare on low‐relief substrate. Fish assemblages on vessel reefs more closely resembled those found at similar depths in high‐relief natural areas off east‐central Florida and the Gulf of Mexico than those associated with adjacent low‐relief habitat or nearby coral reef tracts. From a fisheries perspective, these results provide limited support to the hypothesis that in deep‐water regions with limited relief, vessel reefs may provide an opportunity to increase fish diversity and abundance by creating high‐relief habitat without compromising adjacent fish assemblages.

Upper and lower mesophotic coral reef fish communities evaluated by underwater visual censuses in two Caribbean locations

“…The high abundances of small planktivorous fishes (19-50 %) and high relative biomass of macro-carnivores (36-47 %) reported in this study seem a common feature shared with other MCEs, such as of Puerto Rico (Bejarano et al 2014), Florida (Bryan et al 2013) and Brazil (Feitoza et al 2005) in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific (Thresher and Colin 1986). Interestingly, this community structure is similar to that observed in shallow reefs of some oceanic islands of the South Atlantic (Pinheiro et al 2011;Longo et al 2015), but different from most Caribbean shallow reefs (Newman et al 2006).…”

“…Although recent evaluations show a threefold increase in the biomass of herbivorous fishes (Scarinae and Acanthuridae) 6 yr after the fish pot ban introduced in 1990 (Luckhurst 1996;Luckhurst and Farrell 2013), the high biomass of roving herbivores found at mesophotic depths was not expected, since that has not been found in other Caribbean MCEs (Garcia-Sais 2010; Bryan et al 2013;Bejarano et al 2014). The clear oceanic water surrounding Bermuda allows deep light penetration and the occurrence of macro-algae below 100 m (S.R.…”

“…Most characterizations of MCE fish assemblages use submersibles or remotely operated vehicles (Colin 1974(Colin , 1976Bryan et al 2013), while reef fish community structure analyses using conventional scuba are sparse and operationally (depth and time) limited (Lukens 1981;Feitoza et al 2005). Recent advances in mixed-gas closed-circuit rebreather technology (which has much higher autonomy underwater and is bubble-free), however, now allow more comprehensive characterizations of MCEs (Garcia-Sais 2010; Lesser and Slattery 2011;Bejarano et al 2014).…”

Trophic designation and live coral cover predict changes in reef-fish community structure along a shallow to mesophotic gradient in Hawaii

“…Few studies have focused on the ecology of fishes of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE; [30 m). These studies predominantly describe species composition and species-habitat relationships using observational techniques, and relate changes in community structure largely to depth and changes in coral abundance or morphology (Colin 1974;Thresher and Colin 1986;Pyle 2000;Feitoza et al 2005;Brokovich et al 2007Brokovich et al , 2008Brokovich et al , 2010aGarcia-Sais 2010;Bryan et al 2013;Bejarano et al 2014;Schultz et al 2014;Lindfield et al 2016). To date, five studies have investigated reef fishes at mesophotic depths in Hawaii: three in the remote northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Parrish and Boland 2004;Kane et al 2014;Fukunaga et al 2016); one from Maui in the main Hawaiian Islands (Boland and Parrish 2005); and one encompassing both the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Au'au Channel in Maui (Pyle et al 2016).…”

A Comparison of Fish Community Structure at Mesophotic Artificial Reefs and Natural Banks in the Western Gulf of Mexico

“…Environmental factors, including bottom depth and vertical relief, have often been identified as important drivers of fish community structure at natural and artificial reef habitats (Gallaway et al 1981;Stanley and Wilson 2000;Wilson et al 2003;Zintzen et al 2012;Bryan et al 2013;Patterson et al 2014). Seminal work by Gallaway et al (1981) classified standing platform communities across the Texas-Louisiana shelf into three groups: a coastal group (<30 m), an offshore group (30-60 m), and a blue water group (>60 m).…”