Characterization of deep-sea benthic invertebrate megafauna of the Galapagos Islands
Characterization of deep-sea benthic invertebrate megafauna of the Galapagos Islands
复制标题
加拉帕戈斯群岛深海底栖无脊椎动物群的特征
作者：
P. Salinas‐de‐León;P. Martí;Salome Buglass;C. Arnés;E. Rastoin;Marie Creemers;S. Cairns;C. Fisher;T. O’hara;B. Ott;N. Raineault;H. Reiswig;G. Rouse;S. Rowley;T. Shank;Jenifer Suárez;L. Watling;M. Wicksten;L. Marsh
深海代表着地球上最大却最少被探索的生物群落。尽管加拉帕戈斯群岛具有标志性的地位，被认为是地球上最原始的地方之一，但与浅水生态系统相比，该群岛的深海底栖生物生态系统实际上尚未被探索。2015年，我们开始了一项多学科的科学考察，首次系统地描述了加拉帕戈斯群岛一系列栖息地的深海底栖无脊椎动物群落。我们使用E/V Nautilus上的两部分远程操作车辆（ROV）系统探索了7个地点，深度超过3300米，并收集了90个生物标本，保存下来并送到世界各地的专家进行分析。其中，30个分类群被确定为未被描述和科学上的新分类群，包括5个新属的成员（2个海绵和3个刺胞动物）。我们还系统地分析了从超过85小时的ROV镜头中抓取的图像帧，以调查物种多样性的模式，并记录了深度为290至3,373米的一系列水下群落的存在，包括冷水珊瑚群落，广泛的玻璃海绵和八珊瑚花园，以及软沉积物动物群落。加拉帕戈斯深海底栖无脊椎巨型动物在一系列生态系统中的特征代表了研究人类对地球气候和海洋影响可能导致的未来变化的第一步，并为在加拉帕戈斯海洋保护区建立完全保护的深水区提供了信息，这可能有助于在我们不断变化的星球上保护这些独特的群落。
The deep sea represents the largest and least explored biome on the planet. Despite the iconic status of the Galapagos Islands and being considered one of the most pristine locations on earth, the deep-sea benthic ecosystems of the archipelago are virtually unexplored in comparison to their shallow-water counterparts. In 2015, we embarked on a multi-disciplinary scientific expedition to conduct the first systematic characterization of deep-sea benthic invertebrate communities of the Galapagos, across a range of habitats. We explored seven sites to depths of over 3,300 m using a two-part Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) system aboard the E/V Nautilus, and collected 90 biological specimens that were preserved and sent to experts around the world for analysis. Of those, 30 taxa were determined to be undescribed and new to science, including members of five new genera (2 sponges and 3 cnidarians). We also systematically analysed image frame grabs from over 85 h of ROV footage to investigate patterns of species diversity and document the presence of a range of underwater communities between depths of 290 and 3,373 m, including cold-water coral communities, extensive glass sponge and octocoral gardens, and soft-sediment faunal communities. This characterization of Galapagos deep-sea benthic invertebrate megafauna across a range of ecosystems represents a first step to study future changes that may result from anthropogenic impacts to the planet’s climate and oceans, and informed the creation of fully protected deep-water areas in the Galapagos Marine Reserve that may help preserve these unique communities in our changing planet.