Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean
Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs, reefs 30–150 m) are understudied, yet the limited research conducted has been biased towards large sessile taxa, such as scleractinian corals and sponges, or mobile taxa such as fishes. Here we investigate zooplankton communities on shallow reefs and MCEs around Ut...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2017-01-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/2853.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827606875787493376 |
|---|---|
| author | Dominic A. Andradi-Brown Catherine E. I. Head Dan A. Exton Christina L. Hunt Alicia Hendrix Erika Gress Alex D. Rogers |
| author_facet | Dominic A. Andradi-Brown Catherine E. I. Head Dan A. Exton Christina L. Hunt Alicia Hendrix Erika Gress Alex D. Rogers |
| author_sort | Dominic A. Andradi-Brown |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs, reefs 30–150 m) are understudied, yet the limited research conducted has been biased towards large sessile taxa, such as scleractinian corals and sponges, or mobile taxa such as fishes. Here we investigate zooplankton communities on shallow reefs and MCEs around Utila on the southern Mesoamerican Barrier Reef using planktonic light traps. Zooplankton samples were sorted into broad taxonomic groups. Our results indicate similar taxonomic zooplankton richness and overall biomass between shallow reefs and MCEs. However, the abundance of larger bodied (>2 mm) zooplanktonic groups, including decapod crab zoea, mysid shrimps and peracarid crustaceans, was higher on MCEs than shallow reefs. Our findings highlight the importance of considering zooplankton when identifying broader reef community shifts across the shallow reef to MCE depth gradient. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6aa312241d04ce08020f41d1d353192 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:36Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6aa312241d04ce08020f41d1d3531922023-12-03T10:37:28ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-01-015e285310.7717/peerj.2853Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, CaribbeanDominic A. Andradi-Brown0Catherine E. I. Head1Dan A. Exton2Christina L. Hunt3Alicia Hendrix4Erika Gress5Alex D. Rogers6Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United KingdomDepartment of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United KingdomOperation Wallacea, Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire, United KingdomDepartment of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United KingdomOperation Wallacea, Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire, United KingdomOperation Wallacea, Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire, United KingdomDepartment of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United KingdomMesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs, reefs 30–150 m) are understudied, yet the limited research conducted has been biased towards large sessile taxa, such as scleractinian corals and sponges, or mobile taxa such as fishes. Here we investigate zooplankton communities on shallow reefs and MCEs around Utila on the southern Mesoamerican Barrier Reef using planktonic light traps. Zooplankton samples were sorted into broad taxonomic groups. Our results indicate similar taxonomic zooplankton richness and overall biomass between shallow reefs and MCEs. However, the abundance of larger bodied (>2 mm) zooplanktonic groups, including decapod crab zoea, mysid shrimps and peracarid crustaceans, was higher on MCEs than shallow reefs. Our findings highlight the importance of considering zooplankton when identifying broader reef community shifts across the shallow reef to MCE depth gradient.https://peerj.com/articles/2853.pdfMesophoticMCEUtilaHondurasZooplanktonTwilight zone |
| spellingShingle | Dominic A. Andradi-Brown Catherine E. I. Head Dan A. Exton Christina L. Hunt Alicia Hendrix Erika Gress Alex D. Rogers Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean PeerJ Mesophotic MCE Utila Honduras Zooplankton Twilight zone |
| title | Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean |
| title_full | Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean |
| title_fullStr | Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean |
| title_short | Identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper-mesophotic reefs on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean |
| title_sort | identifying zooplankton community changes between shallow and upper mesophotic reefs on the mesoamerican barrier reef caribbean |
| topic | Mesophotic MCE Utila Honduras Zooplankton Twilight zone |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/2853.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dominicaandradibrown identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean AT catherineeihead identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean AT danaexton identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean AT christinalhunt identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean AT aliciahendrix identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean AT erikagress identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean AT alexdrogers identifyingzooplanktoncommunitychangesbetweenshallowanduppermesophoticreefsonthemesoamericanbarrierreefcaribbean |