1 California Academy of Sciences – San Francisco, CA, United States
2 California Academy of Sciences – 55 Music Concourse Dr, United States
3 Florida International University – Florida, United States
4Bishop Museum – Hawaii, United States
5University of Queensland – Queensland, Australia
6 California Academy of Sciences – San Francisco, United States
The deeper portions of coral reefs, collectively known as mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs;
30 - 150 m), have been widely hypothesized to provide refuge against natural and anthropogenic impacts that are destroying shallow reefs. The potential role as universal refuge is cited in the introduction of almost every paper about MCEs. This hypothesis rests on two assumptions:
1) that there is considerable overlap in species composition and subsequent connectivity be- tween shallow and deep populations; and 2) that deep reefs are generally less susceptible to anthropogenic and natural impacts. Both of these assumptions have recently been called into question, however due to the logistical complexity of surveying MCEs, only limited data have been available to test the generality this hypothesis at a community level. Here we show ev- idence contradicting the two main assumptions of the refuge hypothesis, based on data from 317 fish transects and 2,100 coral photographs obtained at two locations in the Pacific and two in the Atlantic. We conclude that MCEs are in as much need of protection as their shallow counterparts, and that shallow reef organisms won’t find a refuge in MCEs.
Reef fish communities from shallow to lower mesophotic coral ecosystems in the heart of
the Coral Triangle
Hudson Pinheiro ∗ 1, Bart Shepherd 1, Luiz Rocha 1
1 California Academy of Sciences (CAS) – GOLDEN GATE PARK 55 MUSIC CONCOURSE DRIVE SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94118, United States
Philippines coral reefs are known for their extreme biodiversity, however, most information available comes from shallow reefs. To understand how the reef fish community changes from shallow to lower mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE), we performed 115 underwater visual cen- suses between 3 and 150 m depth. A total of 41 families and 322 taxa were counted, with an average (SE) of 21.6 (0.9) species, 90.5 (6.1) fishes, and 6.2 (0.5) kg per 40 m2. Bray-Curtis sim- ilarity analysis showed assemblages structured by depth: shallow (3 to 30 m), upper MCE (30 to 60 m), mid MCE (60 to 90 m), and lower MCE (> 90 m). All characteristics of the commu- nity (richness, abundance, and biomass) decrease significantly with depth. However, despite the decrease in richness, beta diversity analyses indicate that the turnover of species among depth strata is more important than the nestedness component. The health of the studied communi- ties, based on trophic guild biomass and trash abundance, varied among sites. Broken fishing gear, such as fishing lines and longlines, were very abundant in some locations, while plastic bags and tires were common in others. Although some commercial species and sharks were spotted, evidence of illegal fishing activities, overfishing and habitat degradation are clear. To maintain the high biodiversity and sustainable fisheries in the center of the center of marine biodiversity, research and awareness are necessary to better understand and protected these unknown and diverse systems.
∗Speaker
Taking a deeper look: Quantifying the differences in fish assemblages between shallow and mesophotic temperate rocky
reefs.
Joel Williams ∗† 1, Alan Jordan 1, David Harasti 1, Peter Davies 2, Neville Barrett 3
1 New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) – Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, Taylors Beach, New South Wales, 2316, Australia
2 New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (NSW OEH) – PO Box A290, Sydney South, NSW, 1232, Australia
3 Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania (IMAS) – 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Tasmania, 7004, Australia
The spatial distribution of a species assemblage is often determined by habitat and climate.
In the marine environment, depth can become an important factor as degrading light leads to changes in the biological habitat structure. To date, much of the focus of ecological fish re- search has been based on reefs in less than 40 m. Therefore, it is important that we attempt to understand the ecological role of mesophotic reefs. In this study we deployed baited remote underwater stereo video systems (stereo-BRUVS) on temperate reefs in two depth categories:
shallow (20-40m) and mesophotic (80-120m), off Port Stephens, Australia. Sites were selected using data collected by multi-beam echo sounder (MBES) to ensure stereo-BRUVS were deployed on reef. MBES also provided rugosity, slope and relief data for each stereo-BRUVS deployment.
The aims of this study are to 1) quantify the similarities/dissimilarities in the fish assemblages between shallow and mesophotic reefs, and 2) model the effects of environmental conditions and habitat structure on the spatial distribution of fishery targeted species. Multivariate anal- ysis indicates that there are significant differences in the fish assemblages between shallow and mesophotic reefs, primary driven byOphthalmolepis lineolatus andNotolabrus gymnogenis only occurring on shallow reefs and schooling species of fish that were unique to each depth category;
Atypichthys strigatus on shallow reefs and Centroberyx affinis on mesophotic reefs. While shal- low reefs had a greater species richness and abundance of fish when compared to mesophotic reefs, mesophotic reefs hosted the same species richness of fishery targeted species. Chrysophrys auratus and Nemodactylus douglassii are two highly targeted species in this region. While C.
auratus was numerically more abundant on shallow reefs, mesophotic reefs provided habitat for larger fish. In comparison, N. douglassii were evenly distributed across all sites sampled.
fishery resources on shelf rocky reefs.
E4/ Biology and Evolution of deep-sea fishes
A different way of seeing colour using multiple rod visual pigments in deep-sea
fishes
Fabio Cortesi ∗† 1,2, Zuzana Musilov´ a‡ 2,3, Michael Matschiner 2,4, Wayne Davies 5, Sara Stieb 1,2, Fanny De Busserolles 1,6, Martin Malmstrứm 4, Ole Tứrresen 4, Jessica Mountford 5, Reinhold Hanel 7, Karen Carleton 8,
Kjetill Jakobsen 4, Sissel Jentoft 4, Justin Marshall 1, Walter Salzburger§
2
1Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland – The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
2Zoological Institute, University of Basel – University of Basel, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
3Department of Zoology, Charles University – Charles University, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
4 Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo – University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
5 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia – The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, Australia
6 Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology – King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
7 Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries – Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, 22767 Hamburg, Germany
8 Department of Biology, University of Maryland – University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States
Vertebrates see colour during the day using cone visual pigments (opsins) that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light. During dim-light conditions, such as at night or in the deep-sea, however, vertebrates are thought to be colour blind relying on a single rod opsin (rhodopsin) for vision. Using a large comparative approach comprising 100 teleost genomes and transcriptomes from 35 species, we show that the evolutionary history of opsin genes strongly correlates with the light environment fishes inhabit. In particular, while cone opsins thrived and their number expanded in shallow water fishes, many deep-sea fishes have lost (parts of) their cone opsin repertoires and thus, the ability to see colour as we know it. Surprisingly though, we found that four deep-sea fish lineages contain more than three rod opsins within their genomes. Rod opsin expansion occurred via independent gene duplication events and the repeated modification of all but one key spectral tuning site known across vertebrates. At the extreme end of the spectrum, within the Beryciformes, we found a species with a remarkable 38 rod opsins with peak spectral sensitivities (448 nm – 512 nm lmax) that cover the range of bioluminescent light emissions at depth (440 – 520 nm). Moreover, retinal transcriptomes including from two species belonging to a second multi-rod lineage, revealed the use of three or more differently tuned rod opsins in
∗Speaker
†Corresponding author: fabio.cortesi@uqconnect.edu.au
‡Corresponding author: zuzana.musilova@natur.cuni.cz
§Corresponding author: walter.salzburger@unibas.ch
these fishes. Hence, a similar solution seems to have evolved multiple times to enable colour vision in the extremely light deprived environment of the deep-sea. Our results challenge the status quo of vertebrate colour vision both in the deep-sea and in general, and highlight the benefit of large comparative studies when investigating trait evolution.
A global biogeographic classification of the mesopelagic zone
Tracey Sutton ∗ 1, Malcolm Clark 2, Daniel Dunn 3, Patrick Halpin 3, Alex Rogers 4
1 Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University – Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center 8000 N. Ocean Dr. Dania Beach, FL 33004, United States
2 National Institute of Water Atmospheric Research (NIWA) – 301 Evans Bay Parade, Greta Point, Wellington, New Zealand
3 Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University – 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516, United States
4 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford – Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
We have developed a global biogeographic classification of the mesopelagic zone to reflect the regional scales over which the ocean interior varies in terms of biodiversity and function. An integrated approach was necessary, as global gaps in information and variable sampling methods preclude strictly statistical approaches. A panel combining expertise in oceanography, geospatial mapping, and deep-sea biology convened to collate expert opinion on the distributional patterns of pelagic fauna relative to environmental proxies (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen at mesopelagic depths). An iterative Delphi Method integrating additional biological and physical data was used to classify biogeographic ecoregions and to identify the location of ecoregion boundaries or inter-regions gradients. We define 33 global mesopelagic ecoregions. Of these, 20 are oceanic while 13 are ‘distant neritic.’ While each is driven by a complex of controlling factors, the putative primary driver of each ecoregion was identified. While work remains to be done to produce a comprehensive and robust mesopelagic biogeography (i.e., reflecting temporal variation), we believe that the classification set forth in this study will prove to be a useful and timely input to policy planning and management for conservation of deep-pelagic marine resources. In particular, it gives an indication of the spatial scale at which faunal communities are expected to be broadly similar in composition, and hence can inform application of ecosystem- based management approaches, marine spatial planning and the distribution and spacing of networks of representative protected areas.
∗Speaker
Distribution, population relationships and genetic diversity of Antimora spp.
(Moridae, Gadiformes) in the world’s oceans
Alexei Orlov ∗ 1,2,3,4, Svetlana Orlova 1, Pavel Afanasiev 1, Ilya Gordeev
1,5
1Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) – Moscow, Russia
2 National Research Tomsk State University (TSU) – Tomsk, Russia
3 A.N.Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IPEE RAS) – Moscow, Russia
4 Dagestan State University (DSU) – Makhachkala, Russia
5Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) – Moscow, Russia
The genus Antimora (Moridae, Gadiformes) is represented by two species, Pacific flatnose A. microlepis and blue antimora A. rostrata. Both species are widely distributed mainly in deep temperate and cold waters: Pacific flatnose in the North Pacific and blue antimora in the rest part of the world’s oceans. Published data on their distributions are fragmented and scarce.
Here we present a new data on distribution of Pacific flatnose within the entire range and that of blue antimora within southern part of species’ range.
Previous genetic studies of Antimora spp. are scarce. We analyzed haplotypic composition of 12 samples using mtDNA gene CO1 as a genetic marker: A. rostrata (149 ind.) – Ross, Wedell, Amundsen, Scotia seas, Eastern Australia, Indian Ocean, Southwest Greenland, Flemish Cap;
A. microlepis (95 ind.) – Emperor Seamounts, Alaska, British Columbia, Southeast Sakhalin.
93 haplotypes were found in all samples. Maximum diversity was characteristic for A. rostrata in Scotia Sea and Flemish Cap area and for A. microlepis off US and Canada West coast. In blue antimora samples, haplotypes H3 and H4 were most frequent. In Pacific flatnose samples, haplotypes H1, H2 and H13 were most frequently observed. Haplotypes H4 and H13 were com- mon for both species.
Attempt was made to evaluate population relationships based on results of comparative otolith shape analysis using samples of A. rostrata from the Northwestern Atlantic and Antarctic and A. microlepis from the Northwestern Pacific. Statistically significant differences were found in otolith shape between both species as well as between the Northwestern Atlantic and Antarctic A. rostrata samples.
Our results showed significant genetic differences (probably of subspecies level) not revealed previously. The center of A. rostrata origin is the North Atlantic, from where it widely settled
This research was supported by the Russian Fund of Basic Research (grant 16-04-00516).
Estimates of divergence times in the two monotypic genera of the family
Anoplomatidae based on mitochondrial DNA sequences
Svetlana Orlova ∗ 1, Dmitry Shcepetov 1, Nikolai Mugue 1, Anastasia Teterina 2, Hiroshi Senou 3, Aleksei Baitaliuk 4, Alexei Orlov† 1
1 Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) – 17, V. Krasnoselskaya, Moscow, 107140, Russia
2 A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences (IPEE RAS) – http://www.sevin.ru/menues1/indexeng.html, Russia
3Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History – 499 Iryuda, Odawara, Kanagawa 250-0031, Japan
4Pacific Fisheries Research Center (TINRO-Center) – 4, Shevchenko Alley, Vladivostok, 690091, Russia
Here we propose two calibration scenarios of to date contemporary divergence of Anoplopo- matidae (skilfishErilepis zonifer and sablefishAnoplopoma fimbria) for a dataset of two mtDNA loci (OI and D-loop). The first calibration scenario is based upon the only known fossil Anoplopo- matidae Eoscorpius primaevus dated to be 5-6 Mya old. The second calibration scenario was based on two mayor paleogeological events, Panama Strait closure and Bering Strait opening, with estimated Anoplopomatidae species divergence 3.5 Mya. Estimated evolution speeds in- dicate that COI evolves faster in the skilfish mitochondrial genome. There is also evidence of skilfish going through a bottleneck event limiting its genetic diversity in the relatively recent past, presumably in its sole refugium near Japan. Sablefish had two refugia on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The contemporary haplotype divergence was formed approximately 200-140 thousand years ago during an ice age in the Pliocene. This work was supported by the Russian Fund of Basic Research (grant No. 16-34-01038).
Functional biodiversity of New Zealand’s marine fishes across depth
Elisabeth Myers ∗ 1, Marti Anderson 1, David Eme 1, Libby Liggins 2, Clive Roberts 3, Euan Harvey 4
1New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Massey University (NZIAS) – Massey University Auckland (East Precinct) Albany Expressway (SH17) Albany 0632 New Zealand, New Zealand
2Institute of Natural and Mathematical Science, Massey University (INMS) – Massey University Auckland (East Precinct) Albany Expressway (SH17) Albany 0632 New Zealand, New Zealand
3 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa – 169 Tory Street, Wellington, New Zealand, New Zealand
4Curtin University – Kent Street, Bentley, Perth Western Australia. 6102, Australia
Changes in the composition of species assemblages have long been studied using taxonomic diversity alone. To better understand and predict ecological processes, ecosystem services and resilience, it is important to also study functional biodiversity. The deep sea is the largest habitat on earth and sustains many important fisheries around the globe. Decreases in light, temper- ature, and trophic resources, along with increases in pressure that occur with greater depth, renders the deep sea one of the most constraining environments for supporting life. However, little is known about how biodiversity, and especially functional biodiversity, changes along the depth gradient. This work aims to fill this gap by assessing how fish traits associated with the structure, locomotion, and feeding, reflect functional adaptations to the extreme environment of the deep sea. Fish community composition and functional trait measurements were obtained from unique stereo-baited remote underwater video (stereo-BRUV) footage of fishes in 7 loca- tions from subtropical to subantarctic New Zealand waters, spanning 21 degrees of latitude.
The video footage is drawn from a structured replicated ecological sampling design including 7 depth strata (50m, 100m, 300m, 500m, 700m, 900m, and 1200m), with 149 fish accurately identified to species level. Trait measurements were taken from this stereo-video footage and direct measurements of preserved specimens held in museum collections. These trait measure- ments included several which capture the functional changes predicted to be important across the depth gradient for fishes (i.e. oral gape shape and position, eye size and position, body transversal shape, pectoral fin position, and caudal peduncle throttling). Univariate statisti- cal models suggest that there is a shift in most of the measured functional traits across depth and that the covariance among measured traits changes across depth strata. For example, eye size peaks at intermediate depths of 500-700m, potentially indicating a strategy maximising the paucity of light still present, whereas oral gape shape consistently increases and is largest in the deepest stratum (1200m), suggesting increased specialisation of feeding behaviour. I will present these results and our ongoing analyses exploring trait relationships of New Zealand fishes across the depth gradient using multivariate functional diversity measures.
∗Speaker
Intensive sampling of the Gulf of Mexico reveals a global hotspot of meso- and
bathypelagic fish biodiversity
April Cook ∗† 1, Tracey Sutton 1, Jon Moore 2
1 Nova Southeastern University (NSU) – 8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004, United States
2Florida Atlantic University (FAU) – 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458, United States
The paucity of, and subsequent need for, biological data from the meso- and bathypelagic zones was highlighted after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill originated at 1500 m depth and prior to 2011 there was no inventory of the Gulf of Mexico bathypelagial (>1000 m depth ) and that of the mesopelagial (200-1000 m) was largely limited to the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Intensive sampling and analysis since that time has revealed an exceptionally speciose oceanic fish assemblage with endemic species. Here, we present results from two large-scale research programs investigating the ichthyofaunal structure and dynamics of the deep-pelagic Gulf of Mexico, from the surface to 1500 m depth. Both a 10-m2 multiple opening/closing net and a large high-speed rope trawl were used to cover the size spectrum of fishes from larvae to adults, with a total of 522 deployments (1,851 trawl samples). The two gear types collected different subsets of the faunal inventory most notably separated by life history stage, behavior, and/or overall rarity. These differences will be explored by comparing species abundance and length frequencies collected by each gear type. To date 794 fish species have been identified, of which180 are new records for the Gulf of Mexico, including one newly described and 20 putative undescribed species. This increases the total fish species number for the Gulf of Mexico large marine ecosystem by over 10%. Biodiversity measures, rarely quantified in the deep-pelagial, will be discussed. Despite intensive sampling, the species accumulation curve has not reached asymptote; additional species will likely be recorded with additional sampling.
Monophyly and Phylogenetic Relationships of the Family Chiasmodontidae (Teleostei:
Scombriformes)
Marcelo Melo ∗ 1
1 Instituto Oceanogr´afico, Universidade de S˜ao Paulo (IO-USP) – Departamento de Oceanografia Biol´ogica, Instituto Oceanogr´afico, Universidade de S˜ao Paulo, Praáca do Oceanogr´afico 191, S˜ao
Paulo-SP, Brazil 05508-120. melomar@usp.br, Brazil
Chiasmodontidae is a family of deep-sea fishes widely distributed in the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern oceans, and commonly referred as the swallowers because of its enlarged mouth and the gargantuous voracity. It is composed by four genera and 34 valid species: Chi- asmodon Johnson, with seven species; Dysalotus MacGilchrist, with three species; Kali Lloyd, with seven species; and Pseudoscopelus L´’utken, with 17 species. Despite the recent taxonomic reviews and species descriptions, very little attention has been given to test the monophyly of the family, to establish a hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships within the genera and diagnosis based on derived characters, even though four genera are extremely distinctive. For this work, representatives of 28 species of the four genera were used to obtain a phylogenetic hypothesis based on 161 characters of both internal and external morphology such as dentition, distribution of photophores and neuromasts, myology, osteology, and innervation. The analysis resulted in 12 equally parsimonious trees with 338 steps (CI = 0.704; RI = 0.911). The monophyly of the family was recovered and is supported by 24 synapomorphies. The family Chiasmodontidae is divided into two major clades, including two genera each. Clade 1 includes the mesopelagic species of the genera Chiasmodon and Pseudoscopelus, and agrees with the placement of My- ersiscus as a synonym of Pseudoscopelus. Clade 2 is composed by the bathypelagic species of Dysalotus and Kali and agrees with the placement of Dolichodon, Odontonema, Hemicy- clodon and Gargaropteron as synonyms of Kali. The monophyly of the four genera were well corroborated, with 15 synapomorphies supportingChiasmodon; 12 synapomorphies supporting Pseudoscopelus; 16 synapomorphies supporting Dysalotus; and 15 synapomorphies supporting Kali.
∗Speaker