Deep-sea coral habitats are complex ecosystems at the landscape and local level. While these systems may harbor substantial levels of biodiversity, they remain inadequately investigated.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Deep-sea coral habitats are complex ecosystems at the landscape and local level. While these systems may harbor substantial levels of biodiversity, they remain inadequately investigated. Deep coral ecosystems are of interest because the corals are long-lived and are likely vulnerable to human activities including bottom trawling, anchoring, pollution, and offshore oil and gas development. Deep corals are reliant on benthic-pelagic coupling for their food supply and contain complex food webs encompassing multiple trophic levels. However, detailed understanding of deep-sea coral food webs is in its infancy. It is critical to understand the nature and periodicity of particle flux and the degree of trophic interactions of deep-sea coral communities in order to evaluate ecosystem controls on abundance, biodiversity, and community function. The USGS has a long-term commitment to assist BOEM in their concern for preserving and protecting sensitive deep-sea ecosystems as the need for oil, gas, and alternative energy exploration increases in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This research will enhance understanding of the structure and function of significant biological communities and help BOEM define and delineate critical habitats in the OCS.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Deep coral habitats have been sampled in from 2009-2015. Sampling areas in deep-sea coral habitats ranged from the central GOM through the West Florida Slope (300-2000 m). In situ, quantitative samples of Lophelia meio- and macrobenthic (< 1 mm) communities and their environment were collected using an ROV and surface deployed push cores. Food webs were examined using stable isotopes of collected fauna and their potential food sources, including surface sediments, sediment traps, and filtered seawater.
Future Steps: Data collected on these cruises currently are being processed and analyzed to determine the importance of deep coral habitats to local and regional benthic abundance and biodiversity, and the trophodynamics of these systems. Our results will provide a useful baseline dataset for our current research. Our understanding of deep-coral communities in the Gulf of Mexico will allow us to compare them to similar hard habitats in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Related Project(s): Benthic Ecology, Trophodynamics, Ecosystem Connectivity of Mid-Atlantic Deepwater Hard Bottom Habitats with Emphasis on Canyon and Coral Communities
Additional Publications:
Cordes, E.E., Berlet, S.P., Cardman, Z., Dannenberg, R., Demopoulos, A.W.J., Georgian, S.E., King, C., McKean, D.L., and Young, D.M., 2014, Exploring deep-sea coral communities and the effects of oil and gas inputs to the Gulf of Mexico: Oceanography, v. 27(supplement), no. 1, p. 34-35, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2014.supplement.01.
Morrison, C.L., Baco, A.R., Nizinski, M.S., Coykendall, D.K., Demopoulos, A.W.J., Cho, W., and Shank, T.M., 2014, Population connectivity of deep-sea corals, in Hourigan, T.F., and Etnoyer, P., eds., The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States: Silver Spring, Md., NOAA Technical Memorandum, In Press, IP-051873
Below are publications associated with this project.
Biodiversity and community composition of sediment macrofauna associated with deep-sea Lophelia pertusa habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
Coral communities as indicators of ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill
Deep-sea coral record of human impact on watershed quality in the Mississippi River Basin
Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico
Deepwater Program: Studies of Gulf of Mexico lower continental slope communities related to chemosynthetic and hard substrate habitats
Food-web structure of seep sediment macrobenthos from the Gulf of Mexico
- Overview
Deep-sea coral habitats are complex ecosystems at the landscape and local level. While these systems may harbor substantial levels of biodiversity, they remain inadequately investigated.
Lophelia pertusa coral The Science Issue and Relevance: Deep-sea coral habitats are complex ecosystems at the landscape and local level. While these systems may harbor substantial levels of biodiversity, they remain inadequately investigated. Deep coral ecosystems are of interest because the corals are long-lived and are likely vulnerable to human activities including bottom trawling, anchoring, pollution, and offshore oil and gas development. Deep corals are reliant on benthic-pelagic coupling for their food supply and contain complex food webs encompassing multiple trophic levels. However, detailed understanding of deep-sea coral food webs is in its infancy. It is critical to understand the nature and periodicity of particle flux and the degree of trophic interactions of deep-sea coral communities in order to evaluate ecosystem controls on abundance, biodiversity, and community function. The USGS has a long-term commitment to assist BOEM in their concern for preserving and protecting sensitive deep-sea ecosystems as the need for oil, gas, and alternative energy exploration increases in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This research will enhance understanding of the structure and function of significant biological communities and help BOEM define and delineate critical habitats in the OCS.
Diverse deep-sea coral species Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Deep coral habitats have been sampled in from 2009-2015. Sampling areas in deep-sea coral habitats ranged from the central GOM through the West Florida Slope (300-2000 m). In situ, quantitative samples of Lophelia meio- and macrobenthic (< 1 mm) communities and their environment were collected using an ROV and surface deployed push cores. Food webs were examined using stable isotopes of collected fauna and their potential food sources, including surface sediments, sediment traps, and filtered seawater.
Future Steps: Data collected on these cruises currently are being processed and analyzed to determine the importance of deep coral habitats to local and regional benthic abundance and biodiversity, and the trophodynamics of these systems. Our results will provide a useful baseline dataset for our current research. Our understanding of deep-coral communities in the Gulf of Mexico will allow us to compare them to similar hard habitats in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Related Project(s): Benthic Ecology, Trophodynamics, Ecosystem Connectivity of Mid-Atlantic Deepwater Hard Bottom Habitats with Emphasis on Canyon and Coral Communities
Additional Publications:
Cordes, E.E., Berlet, S.P., Cardman, Z., Dannenberg, R., Demopoulos, A.W.J., Georgian, S.E., King, C., McKean, D.L., and Young, D.M., 2014, Exploring deep-sea coral communities and the effects of oil and gas inputs to the Gulf of Mexico: Oceanography, v. 27(supplement), no. 1, p. 34-35, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2014.supplement.01.
Morrison, C.L., Baco, A.R., Nizinski, M.S., Coykendall, D.K., Demopoulos, A.W.J., Cho, W., and Shank, T.M., 2014, Population connectivity of deep-sea corals, in Hourigan, T.F., and Etnoyer, P., eds., The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States: Silver Spring, Md., NOAA Technical Memorandum, In Press, IP-051873
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Biodiversity and community composition of sediment macrofauna associated with deep-sea Lophelia pertusa habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
Scleractinian corals create three-dimensional reefs that provide sheltered refuges, facilitate sediment accumulation, and enhance colonization of encrusting fauna. While heterogeneous coral habitats can harbor high levels of biodiversity, their effect on the community composition within nearby sediments remains unclear, particularly in the deep sea. Sediment macrofauna from deep-sea coral habitatsAuthorsAmanda W.J. Demopoulos, Jill R. Bourque, Janessy FrometaCoral communities as indicators of ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill
The Macondo oil spill released massive quantities of oil and gas from a depth of 1500 meters. Although a buoyant plume carried released hydrocarbons to the sea surface, as much as half stayed in the water column and much of that in the deep sea. After the hydrocarbons reached the surface, weathering processes, burning, and the use of a dispersant caused hydrocarbon-rich marine snow to sink into thAuthorsCharles R. Fisher, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Erik E. Cordes, Iliana B. Baums, Helen K. White, Jill R. BourqueDeep-sea coral record of human impact on watershed quality in the Mississippi River Basin
One of the greatest drivers of historical nutrient and sediment transport into the Gulf of Mexico is the unprecedented scale and intensity of land use change in the Mississippi River Basin. These landscape changes are linked to enhanced fluxes of carbon and nitrogen pollution from the Mississippi River, and persistent eutrophication and hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Increased terrestrialAuthorsNancy G. Prouty, E. Brendan Roark, Alan E. Koenig, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Fabian C. Batista, Benjamin D. Kocar, David Selby, Matthew D. McCarthy, Furu MienisImpact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico
To assess the potential impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on offshore ecosystems, 11 sites hosting deep-water coral communities were examined 3 to 4 mo after the well was capped. Healthy coral communities were observed at all sites >20 km from the Macondo well, including seven sites previously visited in September 2009, where the corals and communities appeared unchanged. However, at one sAuthorsHelen K. White, Pen-Yuan Hsing, Walter Cho, Timothy M. Shank, Erik E. Cordes, Andrea M. Quattrini, Robert K. Nelson, Richard Camilli, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Christopher R. German, James M. Brooks, Harry H. Roberts, William Shedd, Christopher M. Reddy, Charles R. FisherDeepwater Program: Studies of Gulf of Mexico lower continental slope communities related to chemosynthetic and hard substrate habitats
This report summarizes research funded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) on the ecology of deep chemosynthetic communities in the Gulf of Mexico. The research was conducted at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE; formerly Minerals Management Service) to complemenAuthorsSteve W. Ross, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Christina A. Kellogg, Cheryl L. Morrison, Martha S. Nizinski, Cheryl L. Ames, Tara L. Casazza, Daniel Gualtieri, Kaitlin Kovacs, Jennifer P. McClain, Andrea M. Quattrini, Adela Y. Roa-Varon, Andrew D. ThalerFood-web structure of seep sediment macrobenthos from the Gulf of Mexico
The slope environment of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) supports dense communities of seep megafaunal invertebrates that rely on endosymbiotic bacteria for nutrition. Seep sediments also contain smaller macrofaunal invertebrates whose nutritional pathways are not well understood. Using stable-isotope analysis, we investigate the utilization of chemosynthetically fixed and methane-derived organic matterAuthorsAmanda W.J. Demopoulos, Daniel Gualtieri, Kaitlin Kovacs