Dataset Information

Sea whip coral Leptogorgia virgulata in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Colony complexity, age, and growth.

ABSTRACT: Sea whip coral Leptogorgia virgulata are a common structural component of both natural and artificial hard-bottom reef habitats in the mid-Atlantic region and may serve as essential habitat for commercially valuable species. However, they are slow-growing, easily damaged, and especially vulnerable to damage by passive fishing gear such as pots and traps. Despite their potential importance, until recently, sea whips have been generally understudied in this region. We examined the colony complexity, length, age, and growth of sea whips from four artificial reef sites in the mid-Atlantic region to gain a better understanding of their biology in the area. There were no significant differences in the bifurcation (Rb) and tributary to source (T/S) ratios between sites, with the Rb ?3 for all sites, indicating similar complexity between sites. The total length distribution was 8.3 cm to 85.3 cm, and 50% of corals in the range of 34.2-56.4 cm. Age, estimated from annual growth ring counts, ranged from 2 to 15 y, with 50% of corals in the range of 6 to 8 y. The large proportion of middle-sized and middle-aged corals suggests episodic recruitment. Age-length keys showed the trend of age increasing with total coral length, and a von Bertalanffy growth model demonstrated size-dependent growth following the equation: E[L-t] (cm) = 86.1(1-e-0.14(t-1.44)). This is the first study providing such data for sea whips in the coastal mid-Atlantic region, and the baseline created will be a useful reference to study changes over time.

SUBMITTER: Wenker RP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7006520 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sea whip coral <i>Leptogorgia virgulata</i> in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Colony complexity, age, and growth.

Wenker Rebecca P RP Stevens Bradley G BG

PeerJ 20200204

Sea whip coral <i>Leptogorgia virgulata</i> are a common structural component of both natural and artificial hard-bottom reef habitats in the mid-Atlantic region and may serve as essential habitat for commercially valuable species. However, they are slow-growing, easily damaged, and especially vulnerable to damage by passive fishing gear such as pots and traps. Despite their potential importance, until recently, sea whips have been generally understudied in this region. We examined the colony co ...[more]

PMID: 32117606

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Project description:Oceanic environmental conditions influence, shape, and control the geographical range, spatial distribution, abundance, and size composition of marine fauna. Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, depth, and sediment type influence select fish life-history characteristics and community structure. Marine communities are vulnerable to major changes in environmental conditions, but the response and severity depends on various biological or ecological factors, such as resilience to stress or adaptation. Researchers around the world have predicted and documented numerous alterations in fish communities caused by ongoing significant physicochemical shifts associated with natural and potentially unnatural sources, but published studies describing the historical conditions are lacking for most regions around the world, including the coastal waters off New Jersey. Given the need to understand these processes, a multifaceted investigation was undertaken to describe, evaluate, and compare the oceanic conditions and nearshore marine fauna community off New Jersey during 1988 through 2015. Findings showed the oceanic conditions varied over time and space. Mean surface water temperature increased significantly about 0.6 °C per decade, mean salinity decreased about 1.3 psu per decade, and dissolved oxygen increased 0.09 mg/l per decade. Over 20.4 million fish and invertebrates (1,338.3 mt) representing 214 (water temperature preference classified) species (not including unidentified species) were collected within 15 strata (areas: 12-26) off the coast of New Jersey from 1988 to 2015. Three marine fauna water temperature preference groups (coldwater-adapted, warmwater-adapted, and subtropic-adapted) were identified in the study area. The main coldwater-adapted species collected were longfin squid (Loligo pealei) (n = 2, 225, 975), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) (n = 544, 032), and little skate (Leucoraja erinacea) (n = 316, 356), while Atlantic butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus) (n = 2, 873, 138), scup (Stenotomus chrysops) (n = 1, 318, 569), and northern searobin (Prionotus carolinus) (n = 503, 230) represented the warmwater-adapted group. Bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) (n = 9, 227, 960), striped anchovy (Anchoa hepsetus) (n = 245, 214), and Atlantic moonfish (Vomer setapinnis) (n = 38, 691) denoted the subtropic-adapted group. Subtropic-adapted species were the most abundant and coldwater-adapted were the least abundant water temperature preference group. The estimated abundance of coldwater-adapted species declined, warmwater-adapted species slightly increased, and subtropic-adapted species decreased with time, which suggest the environmental conditions are influencing and thereby shifting the marine community.

Dataset Information

Sea whip coral Leptogorgia virgulata in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Colony complexity, age, and growth.

Publications

Sea whip coral <i>Leptogorgia virgulata</i> in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Colony complexity, age, and growth.

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