Demersal fish assemblages on seamounts and other rugged features in the northeastern Caribbean

Dates

Publication Date: 2017-08-25
Start Date: 2013-10-04
End Date: 2015-04-30

Citation

Quattrini, A.M., Demopoulos, A.W.J., Singer, R., Roa-Varon, A., and Chaytor, J.D., 2017, Demersal fish assemblages on seamounts and other rugged features in the northeastern Caribbean: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7HQ3X4M.

Summary

Recent investigations of demersal fish communities in deep (less than 50 m) rugged habitats have considerably increased our knowledge of the factors that influence the assemblage structure of fishes across mesophotic to deep-sea depths. Although habitat types influence deepwater fish distribution, whether different rugged seafloor features provide functionally equivalent habitat for fishes is poorly understood. In the northeastern Caribbean, numerous rugged seafloor features (e.g., seamounts, banks, canyons) punctuate insular margins, and thus create a remarkable setting in which to examine demersal fish communities across various seafloor features. Also in this region, several water masses are vertically layered in the water column, [...]

Summary

Recent investigations of demersal fish communities in deep (less than 50 m) rugged habitats have considerably increased our knowledge of the factors that influence the assemblage structure of fishes across mesophotic to deep-sea depths. Although habitat types influence deepwater fish distribution, whether different rugged seafloor features provide functionally equivalent habitat for fishes is poorly understood. In the northeastern Caribbean, numerous rugged seafloor features (e.g., seamounts, banks, canyons) punctuate insular margins, and thus create a remarkable setting in which to examine demersal fish communities across various seafloor features. Also in this region, several water masses are vertically layered in the water column, creating strong stratification layers corresponding to specific abiotic conditions. In this study, we examined differences among fish assemblages across seafloor features (e.g., seamount, canyon, bank/ridge) and water masses at depths ranging from 98 to 4060 m in the northeastern Caribbean. We conducted 26 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives across 18 sites, yielding 156 species; 42% of which had not been previously recorded from particular depths or localities in the region. While fewer species were observed at seamounts than at other habitats in the NE Caribbean, assemblage structure was similar among habitat features. Thus, similar to seamount studies in other regions, seamounts in the Anegada Passage do not harbor distinct communities from other rugged, topographic features. Species assemblages, however, differed among depths, with zonation generally corresponding to water mass boundaries in the region. High species turnover occurred at depths less than 1200 m, and is driven by changes in water mass characteristics including temperature (4.8-24.4 ºC) and dissolved oxygen (2.2-9.5 mg per l). Our study demonstrates the importance of water masses in shaping community structure of benthic fauna, while considerably adding to the knowledge of mesophotic and deep-sea fish biogeography.

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Andrea M Quattrini
Originator :: Andrea M Quattrini, Amanda W Demopoulos, Randal Singer, Adela Roa-Varon, Jason Chaytor
Metadata Contact :: Jennifer P McClain Counts
publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
USGS Mission Area :: Ecosystems
SDC Data Owner :: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Attached Files

sorting

Metadata First

Recent First

Alphabetical

Click on title to download individual files attached to this item.

Quattrini_CaribFish_metadata.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	48.93 KB	application/fgdc+xml
Quattrini_CaribFishAssemb_DataRelease_NA035.csv		439.68 KB	text/csv
Quattrini_CaribFishAssemb_DataRelease_NA052.csv		4.56 MB	text/csv
Quattrini_CaribFishAssemb_DataRelease_demersalfish.csv		256.38 KB	text/csv
Quattrini_CaribFishAssemb_DataRelease_midwaterfish.csv		41.04 KB	text/csv
Quattrini_SpeciesCounts_demersalfish.csv		270.02 KB	text/csv
Quattrini_SpeciesCounts_midwaterfish.csv		46.45 KB	text/csv

Related External Resources

Type: Related Primary Publication

Quattrini, A.M., Demopoulos, A.W.J., Singer, R., Roa-Varon, A., and Chaytor, J.D., 2017, Demersal fish assemblages on seamounts and other rugged features in the northeastern Caribbean: Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, v. 123, p. 90-104, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2017.03.009.	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2017.03.009

Purpose

Data were obtained in order to assess the community structure of deep-sea fishes with relationship to water masses around seamounts. Data will help inform conservation and management decisions.

Demersal fish assemblages on seamounts and other rugged features in the northeastern Caribbean

Dates

Citation

Summary

Summary

Contacts

Attached Files

sorting

Metadata First

Recent First

Alphabetical

Purpose

Map

Communities

Tags

Provenance

Additional Information

Identifiers

Item Actions

View Item as ...

Save Item as ...

View Item...

Dates

Citation

Summary

Summary

Contacts

Attached Files sorting Metadata First Recent First Alphabetical

Related External Resources

Purpose

Map

Communities

Tags

Provenance

Additional Information

Identifiers

Item Actions

View Item as ...

Save Item as ...

View Item...

Attached Files

sorting

Metadata First

Recent First

Alphabetical