Quantifying the distinctiveness of deep-water vertical habitats

量化深水垂直栖息地的独特性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-04922
• 负责人: Robert, Katleen
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Memorial University of Newfoundland
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=717465
• 关键词: Quantifying; distinctiveness; deep; water; vertical

To support marine spatial management, we need to understand better the spatial distribution of ecologically important habitats, which can be facilitated by identifying the factors that play significant roles in shaping biological spatial patterns. The main issue in deeper waters is that most habitats are poorly studied, with rarer ones still being discovered. In shallow coastal waters, the slope of the seabed has long been identified as an important structural component for benthic communities, with differences in composition observed between vertical and flat areas. In deeper waters, however, traditional sampling equipment are ineffective in rugged environments. Deep vertical habitats have therefore not been studied in detail, even though large vertical reefs of overhanging scleractinians, and walls inhabited by alcyonacea, bivalves and sponges are increasingly being discovered, and likely represent an underestimated high biodiversity habitat. Because of their complex topography, cliff environments provide natural protection to vulnerable species against trawling activities, potentially allowing larvae to recolonize surrounding damaged habitats. However, not all walls are necessarily biodiversity hotspots, and it remains unknown whether they host assemblages different from nearby flat terrain. That said, we can hypothesize that environmental conditions likely affect vertical habitats distinctly. For example, large coral colonies may only grow on rock faces with particular strength properties and currents likely interact with the steep topography to create complex flow patterns that affect suitability of feeding conditions, potentially controlling fine-scale spatial patterns. The aim of this research program is to understand the role of deep-water vertical habitats in controlling local and regional spatial biodiversity patterns. Beta-diversity comparisons between vertical-wall and flat-terrain communities will be performed, and the geological, hydrodynamic and biological controls on habitat complexity, diversity and fine-scale niche selection of associated fauna will be investigated. This work will make use of existing video datasets, as well as collect new datasets from deep-water fjords in Newfoundland and upcoming offshore expeditions. Understanding the factors controlling the distribution of these biodiversity hotspots is crucial to the implementation of successful conservation measures given global declines in marine biodiversity. Now that Canada has met its 2020 conservation targets, monitoring of biologically and ecologically significant habitats will be key to ensure early detection of change. By investigating geological, hydrodynamic and biological controls, this project will increase our understanding of the factors that control the biodiversity and distribution of understudied deep-water vertical habitats.

为了支持海洋空间管理，我们需要更好地了解具有重要生态意义的生境的空间分布情况，这可以通过查明在形成生物空间格局方面发挥重要作用的因素来促进。在更深的水域，主要问题是对大多数栖息地的研究很少，还在发现更稀有的栖息地。在浅海沿海水域，海床坡度长期以来一直被认为是底栖生物群落的一个重要结构组成部分，观察到垂直和平坦区域的组成有所不同。然而，在更深的水域，传统的采样设备在恶劣的环境中是无效的。因此，深层垂直生境尚未得到详细研究，尽管越来越多地发现悬垂的大型垂直珊瑚礁，以及栖息着青蟹、双壳类和海绵的墙壁，这些生境很可能是被低估的高度生物多样性生境。 由于其复杂的地形，悬崖环境为脆弱物种提供了自然保护，使其免受拖网捕捞活动的影响，有可能使幼虫重新定居周围受损的栖息地。然而，并不是所有的墙都是生物多样性的热点，目前还不清楚它们是否拥有与附近平坦的地形不同的集合体。也就是说，我们可以假设，环境条件可能会明显影响垂直栖息地。例如，大型珊瑚群落可能只生长在具有特殊强度特性的岩面上，而水流可能与陡峭的地形相互作用，形成复杂的流动模式，影响摄食条件的适宜性，潜在地控制精细的空间模式。这项研究计划的目的是了解深水垂直生境在控制当地和区域空间生物多样性格局方面的作用。将进行垂直围墙群落和平坦地形群落之间的β-多样性比较，并将调查对生境复杂性、多样性和相关动物的精细生态位选择的地质、水动力和生物控制。这项工作将利用现有的视频数据集，以及从纽芬兰深水峡湾和即将到来的近海探险收集新的数据集。 鉴于全球海洋生物多样性的下降，了解控制这些生物多样性热点分布的因素对于执行成功的养护措施至关重要。既然加拿大已经实现了2020年的保护目标，监测具有生物和生态意义的栖息地将是确保及早发现变化的关键。通过调查地质、水动力和生物控制，该项目将增加我们对控制未被研究的深水垂直栖息地的生物多样性和分布的因素的了解。