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: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=740294
• 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生态重要栖息地的空间分布，这可以通过确定在形成生物空间格局中发挥重要作用的因素来促进。深层水域的主要问题是，大多数栖息地都没有得到充分研究，更罕见的栖息地仍在被发现。在沿海浅水中，海底斜坡长期以来一直被认为是底栖生物群落的重要结构组成部分，在垂直和平坦地区之间观察到成分的差异。然而，在较深的水域，传统的采样设备在恶劣的环境中是无效的。因此，尽管越来越多地发现了由悬垂的硬核动物组成的大型垂直珊瑚礁，以及由藻科动物、双壳类动物和海绵动物居住的岩壁，但深海垂直栖息地尚未得到详细研究，这可能代表了一种被低估的高生物多样性栖息地。由于其复杂的地形，悬崖环境为脆弱的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，并非所有的岩壁都必然是生物多样性的热点，而且它们是否拥有与附近平坦地形不同的生物组合仍不得而知。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定强度特性的岩石表面上，洋流可能与陡峭的地形相互作用，形成复杂的流动模式，影响喂养条件的适宜性，可能控制精细尺度的空间格局。本研究的目的是了解深水垂直生境在控制本地和区域空间生物多样性格局中的作用。将进行垂直墙与平坦地群落之间的beta多样性比较，并研究地质、水动力和生物控制对相关动物栖息地复杂性、多样性和精细尺度生态位选择的影响。这项工作将利用现有的视频数据集，并从纽芬兰的深水峡湾和即将到来的海上探险中收集新的数据集。在全球海洋生物多样性下降的情况下，了解控制这些生物多样性热点分布的因素对于实施成功的保护措施至关重要。现在加拿大已经实现了2020年的保护目标，监测生物和生态上重要的栖息地将是确保早期发现变化的关键。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生物多样性和深水垂直栖息地分布的因素的理解。