The Asphalt Ecosystem of the Southern Gulf of Mexico: Abyssal Habitats Across Space and Time

MacDonald, Ian R.; Gaytán-Caballero, Adriana; Escobar-Briones, Elva

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_8

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…comm. 2019;Gerdes et al 2019;MacDonald et al 2020;Sun et al 2020;Wegener et al 2020). In situ imagery from ROV and human occupied vehicles (HOV) is central to capturing these additional distribution records, highlighting the importance of these technologies for deep-sea biodiversity research (Sigwart et al 2019).…”

Section: Identification By Imagery and Observational Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chiridota heheva—the cosmopolitan holothurian

et al. 2020

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Chemosynthetic ecosystems have long been acknowledged as key areas of enrichment for deep-sea life, supporting hundreds of endemic species. Echinoderms are among the most common taxa inhabiting the periphery of chemosynthetic environments, and of these, chiridotid holothurians are often the most frequently observed. Yet, published records of chiridotids in these habitats are often noted only as supplemental information to larger ecological studies and several remain taxonomically unverified. This study therefore aimed to collate and review all known records attributed to Chiridota Eschscholtz, 1829, and to conduct the first phylogenetic analysis into the relationship of these chiridotid holothurians across global chemosynthetic habitats. We show that Chiridota heheva Pawson & Vance, 2004 is a globally widespread, cosmopolitan holothurian that occupies all three types of deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystem—hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and organic falls—as an organic-enrichment opportunist. Furthermore, we hypothesise that C. heheva may be synonymous with another vent-endemic chiridotid, Chiridota hydrothermica Smirnov et al., 2000, owing to the strong morphological, ecological and biogeographical parallels between the two species, and predict that any chiridotid holothurians subsequently discovered at global reducing environments will belong to this novel species complex. This study highlights the importance of understudied, peripheral taxa, such as holothurians, to provide insights to biogeography, connectivity and speciation at insular deep-sea habitats.

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Section: Identification By Imagery and Observational Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chiridota heheva—the cosmopolitan holothurian

et al. 2020

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“…Seeps would be a source of 13 C and 14 C depleted organic material [29]. Several seep zones and oil slicks have been identified in the sGoM [28,30,31]. Many of these seeps and oil slicks were located in the Bay of Campeche and further offshore in the Campeche Knolls [28,30,31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several seep zones and oil slicks have been identified in the sGoM [28,30,31]. Many of these seeps and oil slicks were located in the Bay of Campeche and further offshore in the Campeche Knolls [28,30,31]. Holguin-Quiñones et al [30] also identified seep locations along the coast between the Papaloapan River and the city of Tampico, as well as an area off the coast near the Mexico and United States border.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The southern Gulf of Mexico: A baseline radiocarbon isoscape of surface sediments and isotopic excursions at depth

et al. 2020

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The southern Gulf of Mexico (sGoM) is home to an extensive oil recovery and development infrastructure. In addition, the basin harbors sites of submarine hydrocarbon seepage and receives terrestrial inputs from bordering rivers. We used stable carbon, nitrogen, and radiocarbon analyses of bulk sediment organic matter to define the current baseline isoscapes of surface sediments in the sGoM and determined which factors might influence them. These baseline surface isoscapes will be useful for accessing future environmental impacts. We also examined the region for influence of hydrocarbon deposition in the sedimentary record that might be associated with hydrocarbon recovery, spillage and seepage, as was found in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010. In 1979, the sGoM experienced a major oil spill, Ixtoc 1. Surface sediment δ 13 C values ranged from-22.4‰ to-19.9‰, while Δ 14 C values ranged from-337.1‰ to-69.2‰. Sediment δ 15 N values ranged from 2.8‰ to 7.2‰, while the %C on a carbonate-free basis ranged in value of 0.65% to 3.89% and %N ranged in value of 0.09% to 0.49%. Spatial trends for δ 13 C and Δ 14 C were driven by water depth and distance from the coastline, while spatial trends for δ 15 N were driven by location (latitude and longitude). Location and distance from the coastline were significantly correlated with %C and %N. At depth in two of twenty (10%) core profiles, we found negative δ 13 C and Δ 14 C excursions from baseline values in bulk sedimentary organic material, consistent with either oil-residue deposition or terrestrial inputs, but likely the latter. We then used 210 Pb dating on those two profiles to determine the time in which the excursion-containing horizons were deposited. Despite the large spill in 1979, no evidence of hydrocarbon residue remained in the sediments from this specific time period.

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The Asphalt Ecosystem of the Southern Gulf of Mexico: Abyssal Habitats Across Space and Time

Cited by 2 publications

References 29 publications

Chiridota heheva—the cosmopolitan holothurian

Chiridota heheva—the cosmopolitan holothurian

The southern Gulf of Mexico: A baseline radiocarbon isoscape of surface sediments and isotopic excursions at depth

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