Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond
Sea pens are considered to be of conservation relevance according to multiple international legislations and agreements. Consequently, any information about their ecology and distribution should be of use to management decision makers. This study aims to provide such information about six taxa of se...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-11-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.652540/full |
| _version_ | 1818840208877027328 |
|---|---|
| author | Rebecca E. Ross Genoveva Gonzalez-Mirelis Pablo Lozano Pål Buhl-Mortensen |
| author_facet | Rebecca E. Ross Genoveva Gonzalez-Mirelis Pablo Lozano Pål Buhl-Mortensen |
| author_sort | Rebecca E. Ross |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sea pens are considered to be of conservation relevance according to multiple international legislations and agreements. Consequently, any information about their ecology and distribution should be of use to management decision makers. This study aims to provide such information about six taxa of sea pen in Norwegian waters [Funiculina quadrangularis (Pallas, 1766), Halipteris spp., Kophobelemnon stelliferum (Müller, 1776), Pennatulidae spp., Umbellula spp., and Virgulariidae spp.]. Data exploration techniques and ensembled species distribution modelling (SDM) are applied to video observations obtained by the MAREANO project between 2006 and 2020. Norway-based ecological profiles and predicted distributions are provided and discussed. External validations and uncertainty metrics highlight model weaknesses (overfitting, limited training/external observations) and consistencies relevant to marine management. Comparison to international literature further identifies globally relevant findings: (a) disparities in the environmental profile of F. quadrangularis suggest differing “realised niches” in different locations, potentially highlighting this taxon as particularly vulnerable to impact, (b) none of the six sea pen taxa were found to consistently co-occur, instead partially overlapping environmental profiles suggests that grouping taxa as “sea pens and burrowing megafauna” should be done with caution post-analyses only, (c) higher taxonomic level groupings, while sometimes necessary due to identification issues, result in poorer quality predictive models and may mask the occurrence of rarer species. Community-based groupings are therefore preferable due to confirmed shared ecological niches while greater value should be placed on accurate species ID to support management efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:06:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ac32bc6f26e40ec9ab63290ade970e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:06:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ac32bc6f26e40ec9ab63290ade970e82022-12-21T20:36:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-11-01810.3389/fmars.2021.652540652540Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and BeyondRebecca E. Ross0Genoveva Gonzalez-Mirelis1Pablo Lozano2Pål Buhl-Mortensen3Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, NorwayInstitute of Marine Research, Bergen, NorwaySpanish Institute of Oceanography, Málaga, SpainInstitute of Marine Research, Bergen, NorwaySea pens are considered to be of conservation relevance according to multiple international legislations and agreements. Consequently, any information about their ecology and distribution should be of use to management decision makers. This study aims to provide such information about six taxa of sea pen in Norwegian waters [Funiculina quadrangularis (Pallas, 1766), Halipteris spp., Kophobelemnon stelliferum (Müller, 1776), Pennatulidae spp., Umbellula spp., and Virgulariidae spp.]. Data exploration techniques and ensembled species distribution modelling (SDM) are applied to video observations obtained by the MAREANO project between 2006 and 2020. Norway-based ecological profiles and predicted distributions are provided and discussed. External validations and uncertainty metrics highlight model weaknesses (overfitting, limited training/external observations) and consistencies relevant to marine management. Comparison to international literature further identifies globally relevant findings: (a) disparities in the environmental profile of F. quadrangularis suggest differing “realised niches” in different locations, potentially highlighting this taxon as particularly vulnerable to impact, (b) none of the six sea pen taxa were found to consistently co-occur, instead partially overlapping environmental profiles suggests that grouping taxa as “sea pens and burrowing megafauna” should be done with caution post-analyses only, (c) higher taxonomic level groupings, while sometimes necessary due to identification issues, result in poorer quality predictive models and may mask the occurrence of rarer species. Community-based groupings are therefore preferable due to confirmed shared ecological niches while greater value should be placed on accurate species ID to support management efforts.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.652540/fullsea penPennatulaceavulnerable marine ecosystemmarine managementspecies distribution modelexternal validation |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca E. Ross Genoveva Gonzalez-Mirelis Pablo Lozano Pål Buhl-Mortensen Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond Frontiers in Marine Science sea pen Pennatulacea vulnerable marine ecosystem marine management species distribution model external validation |
| title | Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond |
| title_full | Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond |
| title_fullStr | Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond |
| title_short | Discerning the Management-Relevant Ecology and Distribution of Sea Pens (Cnidaria: Pennatulacea) in Norway and Beyond |
| title_sort | discerning the management relevant ecology and distribution of sea pens cnidaria pennatulacea in norway and beyond |
| topic | sea pen Pennatulacea vulnerable marine ecosystem marine management species distribution model external validation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.652540/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rebeccaeross discerningthemanagementrelevantecologyanddistributionofseapenscnidariapennatulaceainnorwayandbeyond AT genovevagonzalezmirelis discerningthemanagementrelevantecologyanddistributionofseapenscnidariapennatulaceainnorwayandbeyond AT pablolozano discerningthemanagementrelevantecologyanddistributionofseapenscnidariapennatulaceainnorwayandbeyond AT palbuhlmortensen discerningthemanagementrelevantecologyanddistributionofseapenscnidariapennatulaceainnorwayandbeyond |