Long-term change in the megabenthos of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (NE Atlantic)

Billett, David; Bett, Brian J.; Rice, A.L.; Thurston, Michael H.; Galéron, Joëlle; Sibuet, Myriam; Wolff, George A.

doi:10.1016/s0079-6611(01)00060-x

Cited by 245 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…When the POC composition was analysed it was found that the eastern and western branch had different molecular signatures (Huvenne et al, 2011). Changes in the composition of POC input may influence the community structure of the Whittard Canyon, as seen, for instance, on the adjacent abyssal plain (Billett et al, 2001(Billett et al, , 2010. Although very little work has been undertaken on cold-water coral lipid content, Hamoutene et al (2008) found that there were differences in lipid content between species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of cold-water corals in the Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic Ocean

Morris

Tyler

Masson

et al. 2013

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

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a b s t r a c tThe deep-sea floor occupies about 60% of the surface of the planet and is covered mainly by fine sediments. Most studies of deep-sea benthic fauna therefore have concentrated on soft sediments with little sampling of hard substrata, such as rocky outcrops in submarine canyons. Here we assess the distribution and abundance of cold-water corals within the Whittard Canyon (NE Atlantic) using video footage from the ROV Isis. Abundances per 100 m of video transect were calculated and mapped using ArcGIS. The data were separated into five substratum types, 'Sediment', 'Mixed Sediment and Rock', 'Sediment Slope', 'Lophelia reef' and 'Lophelia and rock'. Abundance and community structure were compared. A maximum abundance of 855 coral colonies per 100 m of ROV transect were observed with 31 coral types identified. Highest taxon richness was observed along a 'Lophelia reef' area, although a larger richness of Octocorallia was observed away from the 'Lophelia reef' areas. 'Lophelia reef' and 'Lophelia and rock' areas were found to have a different coral community structure from the other substratum types. We suggest this is the result of Lophelia outcompeting other coral types because there is increased coral taxon richness in areas without Lophelia. We also hypothesise that the hydrodynamic regime within the Whittard Canyon results in differences in organic matter input including higher quality food, in comparison with other deep-water environments, leading to changes in the coral communities.Crown

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of cold-water corals in the Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic Ocean

Morris

Tyler

Masson

et al. 2013

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

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“…Increases in POM flux were followed 17 to 22 months later by increases in smaller size classes of O. bathybia. Unlike holothurians, which feed directly on labile phytodetritus (Wigham et al 2003) and which may change suddenly in abundance (Billett et al 2001Ruhl, 2007;Smith et al 2009), O. bathybia had a longer reaction time. This may reflect the less responsive characteristics of the reproductive biology of the ophiuroids, or may be related to time-lagged responses of their food, principally macrofauna, to POM flux.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

The reproductive ecology of deep-sea ophiuroids around the Crozet plateau, Southern Indian ocean, under contrasting productivity regimes

Billett

Bett

Evans

et al. 2013

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

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The reproductive characteristics of six ophiuroid species, Ophiura irrorata loveni, Ophiura lienosa, Amphioplus daleus, Ophiacantha cosmica, Ophiernus quadrispinus and Ophioplexa condita, were studied at two localities in the vicinity of the Crozet Islands in the Southern Indian Ocean. The two localities were notable in having almost identical environmental characteristics other than major differences in surface-water primary productivity and organic matter flux, whilst at the same time being only 460km apart. Three species were sufficiently abundant at the two sites to compare their reproductive biology under different productivity regimes. Ophiura irrorata loveni showed significant differences in oocyte size distributions and population size distributions between the two sites which appeared to be related to the characteristics of organic matter flux at those localities. Ophiacantha cosmica and Ophioplexa condita showed differences in abundance between the two sites. This appeared to be related to the availability of suitable substrata.

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“…ha -1 (Billett and Hansen 1982;Billett 1991;Billett et al 2001). Nevertheless, using the calculated sweep area and observations of feeding activity obtained here, we estimate that a single individual of E. atakama may process 1 m 2 of surficial sediment every 5.1 days, or a population of 123 individuals will turnover 1 m 2 of surficial sediment every hour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Whilst it is tempting to speculate that the behaviour we have observed here is a response to the spatio-temporal variability in the extent and intensity of food supply (Ruhl 2007;Smith et al 2009), the study region is eutrophic, and food resources are plentiful, albeit complicated by interannual phenomena of the region, including the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the development of oxygen minimum zones (Thiel et al 2007). Furthermore, interannual and seasonal variation in abundances of abyssal holothurians is known to occur (Billett et al 2001Ruhl 2007;Smith et al 2009) and will also be likely at hadal depths. Under these circumstances, it is unlikely that competition for resources will lead to behavioural differences in feeding strategy (Godbold et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional effects of the hadal sea cucumber Elpidia atakama (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) reflect small-scale patterns of resource availability

et al. 2011

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Holothuroidea represent the dominant benthic megafauna in hadal trenches (*6,000-11,000 m), but little is known about their behaviour and functional role at such depths. Using a time-lapse camera at 8,074 m in the PeruChile Trench (SE Pacific Ocean), we provide the first in situ observations of locomotory activity for the elasipodid holothurian Elpidia atakama Belyaev in Shirshov Inst Oceanol 92: 326-367, (1971). Time-lapse sequences reveal 'run and mill' behaviour whereby bouts of feeding activity are interspersed by periods of locomotion. Over the total observation period (20 h 25 min), we observed a mean (±SD) locomotion speed of 7.0 ± 5.7 BL h -1 , but this increased to 10.9 ± 7.2 BL h -1 during active relocation and reduced to 4.8 ± 2.9 BL h -1 during feeding. These observations show E. atakama translocates and processes sediment at rates comparable to shallower species despite extreme hydrostatic pressure and remoteness from surfacederived food.

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Long-term change in the megabenthos of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (NE Atlantic)

Cited by 245 publications

References 33 publications

Distribution of cold-water corals in the Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic Ocean

Distribution of cold-water corals in the Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic Ocean

The reproductive ecology of deep-sea ophiuroids around the Crozet plateau, Southern Indian ocean, under contrasting productivity regimes

Functional effects of the hadal sea cucumber Elpidia atakama (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) reflect small-scale patterns of resource availability

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