Fish community characterization of mid-shelf and shelf-edge mesophotic coral ecosystems in the expanded Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Bulletin of Marine Science
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Abstract
The mid to outer continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico is composed of a patchy distribution of coral and rock reefs designated high priority for marine protection. To better understand the influence of deepwater habitat on fish community dynamics and conservation needs, we compared altiphotic-mesophotic transition (20– 40 m), upper mesophotic (40–60 m), and middle mesophotic (60–80 m) fish communities between mid-shelf (Sonnier Bank) and outer-shelf (McGrail Bank) banks from before their inclusion into the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Surveys performed over two years with a remotely operated vehicle indicated that each bank and depth zone had distinct fish communities. Both banks were dominated by planktivores and piscivores, with an increase in depth specialists (e.g., deepwater anthiids and serranids) at the deeper zones surveyed, particularly in middle mesophotic depths at McGrail. An increased frequency of snappers, groupers, and amberjack was observed at Sonnier Bank, predominately in mesophotic depths, indicating the Sonnier Mesophotic Coral Ecosystem as either a hotspot or potential refuge for meso- and apex predators. This study fills a temporal gap in fish community dynamics of these two banks, serving to create a more continuous dataset available to assist in conservation assessments of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Suggested Citation
Sanchez, P., Dance, M.A., Kraus, R., Hill, R., and Rooker, J.R., 2023, Fish community characterization of mid-shelf and shelf-edge mesophotic coral ecosystems in the expanded Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary: Bulletin of Marine Science, v. 99, no. 1, p. 41-50, https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2022.0014.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Fish community characterization of mid-shelf and shelf-edge mesophotic coral ecosystems in the expanded Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary |
| Series title | Bulletin of Marine Science |
| DOI | 10.5343/bms.2022.0014 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year Published | 2023 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | ingenta |
| Contributing office(s) | Great Lakes Science Center |
| Description | 10 p. |
| First page | 41 |
| Last page | 50 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Other Geospatial | Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary |