Oceanographic Structure and Light Levels Drive Patterns of Sound Scattering Layers in a Low-Latitude Oceanic System

Boswell, Kevin M.; D’Elia, Marta; Johnston, Matthew W.; Mohan, John A.; Warren, Joseph D.; Wells, R. J. David; Sutton, Tracey

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00051

Cited by 35 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…Interestingly, at all these locations, viperfish has been recorded in epipelagic waters, which was not the case in our data. Oxygen levels and temperature are two oceanic features known to constrict the vertical distribution of mesopelagic fish species 5,49,50 . The viperfish is known to occupy suboxic waters (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic ecology, habitat, and migratory behaviour of the viperfish Chauliodus sloani reveal a key mesopelagic player

Eduardo

Lucena‐Frédou

Mincarone

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Mesopelagic fishes are numerically the most important vertebrate group of all world’s oceans. While these species are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities, basic biological knowledge is still lacking. For instance, major uncertainties remain on the behaviour, ecology, and thus functional roles of mesopelagic micronektivores, particularly regarding their interactions with physicochemical features. Here, we examine the trophic ecology, habitat, and migratory behaviour of the viperfish (Chauliodus sloani)—a poorly known and abundant deep-sea species—to further understand the ecology and thus functional role of mesopelagic micronektivores. Moreover, we explore how physical drivers may affect these features and how these relationships are likely to change over large oceanic areas. The viperfish heavily preys on epipelagic migrant species, especially myctophids, and presents spatial and trophic ontogenetic shifts. Temperature restricts its vertical distribution. Therefore, its trophodynamics, migratory behaviour, and functional roles are expected to be modulated by the latitudinal change in temperature. For instance, in most tropical regions the viperfish stay full-time feeding, excreting, and serving as prey (e.g. for bathypelagic predators) at deep layers. On the contrary, in temperate regions, the viperfish ascend to superficial waters where they trophically interact with epipelagic predators and may release carbon where its remineralization is the greatest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic ecology, habitat, and migratory behaviour of the viperfish Chauliodus sloani reveal a key mesopelagic player

Eduardo

Lucena‐Frédou

Mincarone

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Sound speed profiles and absorption coefficient were computed from bin-averaged CTD data using the Ocean Toolbox (McDougall and Barker, 2011). Raw acoustic backscatter data collected from the shipboard echosounder were imported and scrutinized in Echoview (v9) and processed following methods described by D'Elia et al (2016) and Boswell et al (2020). Briefly, data from the transducer face to 15 m depth were excluded from the analysis to account for nearfield effects and to eliminate surfaceassociated interference (e.g., bubble sweep down).…”

Section: Acoustic Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined eDNA and Acoustic Analysis Reflects Diel Vertical Migration of Mixed Consortia in the Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2020

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Oceanic diel vertical migration (DVM) constitutes the daily movement of various mesopelagic organisms migrating vertically from depth to feed in shallower waters and return to deeper water during the day. Accurate classification of taxa that participate in DVM remains non-trivial, and there can be discrepancies between methods. DEEPEND consortium (www.deependconsortium.org) scientists have been characterizing the diversity and trophic structure of pelagic communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). Profiling has included scientific echosounders to provide accurate and quantitative estimates of organismal density and timing as well as quantitative net sampling of micronekton. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) can detect uncultured microbial taxa and the remnants that larger organisms leave behind in the environment. eDNA offers the potential to increase understanding of the DVM and the organisms that participate. Here we used real-time shipboard echosounder data to direct the sampling of eDNA in seawater at various time-points during the ascending and descending DVM. This approach allowed the observation of shifts in eDNA profiles concurrent with the movement of organisms in the DVM as measured by acoustic sensors. Seawater eDNA was sequenced using a high-throughput metabarcoding approach. Additionally, fine-scale acoustic data using an autonomous multifrequency echosounder was collected simultaneously with the eDNA samples and changes in organism density in the water column were compared with changes in eDNA profiles. Our results show distinct shifts in eukaryotic taxa such as copepods, cnidarians, and tunicates, over short timeframes during the DVM. These shifts in eDNA track changes in the depth of sound scattering layers (SSLs) of organisms and the density of organisms around the CTD during eDNA sampling. Dominant taxa in eDNA samples were mostly smaller organisms that may be below the size limit for acoustic detection, while taxa such as teleost fish were much less abundant in eDNA data compared to acoustic data. Overall, these data suggest that eDNA, may be a powerful new tool for understanding the dynamics and composition of the DVM, yet challenges remain to reconcile differences among sampling methodologies.

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“…The Gulf of Mexico open-ocean community of nekton (pelagic shrimps, squids, fishes, and marine mammals) constitutes one of the most biodiverse mesopelagic (200-1,000 m deep) and bathypelagic (>1,000 m) ocean ecosystems in the world (Sutton et al, 2017(Sutton et al, , 2020. Typically, many of the constituents of the mesopelagic nekton undergo diel (daily) vertical migrations from very deep waters during the day to surface waters at night, and the reverse, constituting the largest animal migration on Earth (Boswell et al, 2020). Due to the presence of extensive subsurface oil "plumes" and the steady stream of oil rising from the DWH wellhead to the sea surface, the openocean nekton communities occurring in those areas were continuously exposed to oil (Romero et al, 2018).…”

Section: Multicellular Biota and Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gulf of Mexico: An Overview

McKinney¹,

Shepherd²,

Wilson³

et al. 2021

Oceanog

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The Gulf of Mexico is a place where the environment and the economy both coexist and contend. It is a resilient large marine ecosystem that has changed in response to many drivers and pressures that we are only now beginning to fully understand. Coastlines of the states that border the Gulf comprise about half of the US southern seaboard, and those states are capped by the vast Midwest. The Gulf drains most of North America and is both an economic keystone and an unintended waste receptacle. It is a renowned resource for seafood markets, recreational fishing, and beach destinations and an international maritime highway fueled by vast, but limited, hydrocarbon reserves. Today, more is known about the Gulf than was imagined possible only a few years ago. That gain in knowledge was driven by one of the greatest environmental disasters of this country’s history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The multitude of response actions and subsequent funded research significantly contributed to expanding our knowledge and, perhaps most importantly, to guiding the work needed to restore the damage from that oil spill. Funding for further work should not wait for the next major disaster, which will be too late; progress must be maintained to ensure that the Gulf continues to be resilient.

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Oceanographic Structure and Light Levels Drive Patterns of Sound Scattering Layers in a Low-Latitude Oceanic System

Cited by 35 publications

References 98 publications

Trophic ecology, habitat, and migratory behaviour of the viperfish Chauliodus sloani reveal a key mesopelagic player

Trophic ecology, habitat, and migratory behaviour of the viperfish Chauliodus sloani reveal a key mesopelagic player

Combined eDNA and Acoustic Analysis Reflects Diel Vertical Migration of Mixed Consortia in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico: An Overview

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