Observations on the ecology of deep-sea bottom-living fishes collected off northwest Africa (08°–27°N)

Merrett, N. R.; Marshall, N. B.

doi:10.1016/0079-6611(80)90002-6

Cited by 219 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Most of the 34 species collected at and around the Shcherbachev et al (1985) JB Josephine Bank, GB Gorringe Bank, SS Seine Seamount, SSAz seamounts south of the Azores a See remark in Table 2 Helgol Mar Res (2015) 69: 13-23 19 seamount in this study are widely distributed in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean (e.g. Froese and Pauly 2013;Haedrich and Merrett 1988;Menezes et al 2006Menezes et al , 2009Menezes et al , 2012Merrett 1992;Merrett and Marshall 1981;Pakhorukov 2008). Endemic species were not found.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The fish fauna of Ampère Seamount (NE Atlantic) and the adjacent abyssal plain

et al. 2014

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An inventory of benthic and benthopelagic fishes is presented as a result of two exploratory surveys around Ampère Seamount, between Madeira and the Portuguese mainland, covering water depths from 60 to 4,400 m. A total of 239 fishes were collected using different types of sampling gear. Three chondrichthyan species and 31 teleosts in 21 families were identified. The collections showed a vertical zonation with little overlap, but indications for an affinity of species to certain water masses were only vague. Although most of the species present new records for Ampère Seamount, all of them have been known for the NE Atlantic; endemic species were not found. The comparison with fish communities at other NE Atlantic seamounts indicates that despite a high ichthyofaunal similarity, which supports the ''stepping stone'' hypothesis of species dispersal, some differences can be attributed to the local features of the seamounts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The fish fauna of Ampère Seamount (NE Atlantic) and the adjacent abyssal plain

et al. 2014

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“…The OTSB is shot on twin warps with 120 kg otter boards and transferred to a single warp once the doors have spread (Merrett & Marshall 1981). Haul duration varied with depth, but was typically 30 min (bottom contact) at the shallowest stations increasing to 3 h on the abyssal plain.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in body size across an environmental gradient: A differential response in scavenging and non-scavenging demersal deep-sea fish

et al. 2005

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Body size trends across environmental gradients are widely reported but poorly understood. Here, we investigate contrasting relationships between size (body mass) and depth in the scavenging and predatory demersal ichthyofauna (800-4800 m) of the North-east Atlantic. The mean size of scavenging fish, identified as those regularly attracted to baited cameras, increased significantly with depth, while in nonscavengers there was a significant decline in size. The increase in scavenger size is a consequence of both intra and inter-specific effects. The observation of opposing relationships, in different functional groups, across the same environmental gradient indicates ecological rather than physiological causes. Simple energetic models indicate that the dissimilarity can be explained by different patterns of food distribution. While food availability declines with depth for both groups, the food is likely to be in large, randomly distributed packages for scavengers and as smaller but more evenly distributed items for predators. Larger size in scavengers permits higher swimming speeds, greater endurance as a consequence of larger energy reserves and lower mass specific metabolic rate, factors that are critical to survival on sporadic food items.

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“…hallenger in 1994 by one of us (J.C.P.). Fish were caught by deep trawling with a semiballoon otter trawl (Merrett & Marshall 1981) from depths between 600 and 2600 m, from the Porcupine Sea Bight abyssal slope region of the north-eastern Atlantic (49 m27hN, 11 m29hW to 49 m59hN, 13 m12hW). All fish were dead when brought to the surface.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of wavelength tuning in the rod opsins of deep-sea fishes

Hope

Partridge

Dulai

et al. 1997

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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SUMMARYThe main object of this study was to investigate the molecular basis for changes in the spectral sensitivity of the visual pigments of deep-sea fishes. The four teleost species studied, Hoplostethus mediterraneus, ataet x laticeps, Gonostoma elongatum and Histiobranchus bath bius, are phylogenetically distant from each other and live at depths ranging from 500 to almost 5000 m. A single fragment of the intronless rod opsin gene was PCR-amplified from each fish and sequenced. The wavelength of peak sensitivity for the rod visual pigments of the four deep-sea species varies from 483 nm in H. mediterraneus and G. elongatum to 468 nm in . laticeps. Six amino acids at sites on the inner face of the chromophore-binding pocket formed by the seven transmembrane a-helices are identified as candidates for spectral tuning. Substitutions at these sites involve either a change of charge, or a gain or loss of a hydroxyl group. Two of these, at positions 83 and 292, are consistently substituted in the visual pigments of all four species and are likely to be responsible for the shortwave sensitivity of the pigments. Shifts to wavelengths shorter than 480 nm may involve substitution at one or more of the remaining four sites. None of the modifications found in the derived sequences of these opsins suggest functional adaptations, such as increased content of hydroxyl-bearing or proline residues, to resist denaturation by the elevated hydrostatic pressures of the deep sea. Phylogenetic evidence for the duplication of the rod opsin gene in the Anguilliform lineage is presented.

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Observations on the ecology of deep-sea bottom-living fishes collected off northwest Africa (08°–27°N)

Cited by 219 publications

References 30 publications

The fish fauna of Ampère Seamount (NE Atlantic) and the adjacent abyssal plain

The fish fauna of Ampère Seamount (NE Atlantic) and the adjacent abyssal plain

Trends in body size across an environmental gradient: A differential response in scavenging and non-scavenging demersal deep-sea fish

Mechanisms of wavelength tuning in the rod opsins of deep-sea fishes

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