Dataset Information

Expanding our view of the cold-water coral niche and accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat.

ABSTRACT: Coral reefs are iconic ecosystems that support diverse, productive communities in both shallow and deep waters. However, our incomplete knowledge of cold-water coral (CWC) niche space limits our understanding of their distribution and precludes a complete accounting of the ecosystem services they provide. Here, we present the results of recent surveys of the CWC mound province on the Blake Plateau off the U.S. east coast, an area of intense human activity including fisheries and naval operations, and potentially energy and mineral extraction. At one site, CWC mounds are arranged in lines that total over 150 km in length, making this one of the largest reef complexes discovered in the deep ocean. This site experiences rapid and extreme shifts in temperature between 4.3 and 10.7 °C, and currents approaching 1 m s^-1. Carbon is transported to depth by mesopelagic micronekton and nutrient cycling on the reef results in some of the highest nitrate concentrations recorded in the region. Predictive models reveal expanded areas of highly suitable habitat that currently remain unexplored. Multidisciplinary exploration of this new site has expanded understanding of the cold-water coral niche, improved our accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat, and emphasizes the importance of properly managing these systems.

SUBMITTER: Cordes EE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10636194 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Expanding our view of the cold-water coral niche and accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat.

Cordes Erik E EE Demopoulos Amanda W J AWJ Davies Andrew J AJ Gasbarro Ryan R Rhoads Alexandria C AC Lobecker Elizabeth E Sowers Derek D Chaytor Jason D JD Morrison Cheryl L CL Weinnig Alexis M AM Brooke Sandra S Lunden Jay J JJ Mienis Furu F Joye Samantha B SB Quattrini Andrea M AM Sutton Tracey T TT McFadden Catherine S CS Bourque Jill R JR McClain-Counts Jennifer P JP Andrews Brian D BD Betters Melissa J MJ Etnoyer Peter J PJ Wolff Gary A GA Bernard Bernie B BB Brooks James M JM Rasser Michael K MK Adams Caitlin C

Scientific reports 20231109 1

Coral reefs are iconic ecosystems that support diverse, productive communities in both shallow and deep waters. However, our incomplete knowledge of cold-water coral (CWC) niche space limits our understanding of their distribution and precludes a complete accounting of the ecosystem services they provide. Here, we present the results of recent surveys of the CWC mound province on the Blake Plateau off the U.S. east coast, an area of intense human activity including fisheries and naval operations ...[more]

PMID: 37945613

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Project description:Coral reefs provide numerous ecosystem goods and services, but are threatened by multiple environmental and anthropogenic stressors. To identify management scenarios that will reverse or mitigate ecosystem degradation, managers can benefit from tools that can quantify projected changes in ecosystem services due to alternative management options. We used a spatially-explicit biophysical ecosystem model to evaluate socio-ecological trade-offs of land-based vs. marine-based management scenarios, and local-scale vs. global-scale stressors and their cumulative impacts. To increase the relevance of understanding ecological change for the public and decision-makers, we used four ecological production functions to translate the model outputs into the ecosystem services: "State of the Reef," "Trophic Integrity," "Fisheries Production," and "Fisheries Landings." For a case study of Maui Nui, Hawai'i, land-based management attenuated coral cover decline whereas fisheries management promoted higher total fish biomass. Placement of no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) across 30% of coral reef areas led to a reversal of the historical decline in predatory fish biomass, although this outcome depended on the spatial arrangement of MPAs. Coral cover declined less severely under strict sediment mitigation scenarios. However, the benefits of these local management scenarios were largely lost when accounting for climate-related impacts. Climate-related stressors indirectly increased herbivore biomass due to the shift from corals to algae and, hence, greater food availability. The two ecosystem services related to fish biomass increased under climate-related stressors but "Trophic Integrity" of the reef declined, indicating a less resilient reef. "State of the Reef" improved most and "Trophic Integrity" declined least under an optimistic global warming scenario and strict local management. This work provides insight into the relative influence of land-based vs. marine-based management and local vs. global stressors as drivers of changes in ecosystem dynamics while quantifying the tradeoffs between conservation- and extraction-oriented ecosystem services.

Dataset Information

Expanding our view of the cold-water coral niche and accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat.

Publications

Expanding our view of the cold-water coral niche and accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat.

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