Quantifying the distinctiveness of deep-water vertical habitats

量化深水垂直栖息地的独特性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-04922
• 负责人: Robert, Katleen
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Memorial University of Newfoundland
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=753478
• 关键词: Quantifying; distinctiveness; deep; water; vertical

To support marine spatial management, we need to understand better the spatial distribution of ecologically important habitats, which can be facilitated by identifying the factors that play significant roles in shaping biological spatial patterns. The main issue in deeper waters is that most habitats are poorly studied, with rarer ones still being discovered. In shallow coastal waters, the slope of the seabed has long been identified as an important structural component for benthic communities, with differences in composition observed between vertical and flat areas. In deeper waters, however, traditional sampling equipment are ineffective in rugged environments. Deep vertical habitats have therefore not been studied in detail, even though large vertical reefs of overhanging scleractinians, and walls inhabited by alcyonacea, bivalves and sponges are increasingly being discovered, and likely represent an underestimated high biodiversity habitat. Because of their complex topography, cliff environments provide natural protection to vulnerable species against trawling activities, potentially allowing larvae to recolonize surrounding damaged habitats. However, not all walls are necessarily biodiversity hotspots, and it remains unknown whether they host assemblages different from nearby flat terrain. That said, we can hypothesize that environmental conditions likely affect vertical habitats distinctly. For example, large coral colonies may only grow on rock faces with particular strength properties and currents likely interact with the steep topography to create complex flow patterns that affect suitability of feeding conditions, potentially controlling fine-scale spatial patterns. The aim of this research program is to understand the role of deep-water vertical habitats in controlling local and regional spatial biodiversity patterns. Beta-diversity comparisons between vertical-wall and flat-terrain communities will be performed, and the geological, hydrodynamic and biological controls on habitat complexity, diversity and fine-scale niche selection of associated fauna will be investigated. This work will make use of existing video datasets, as well as collect new datasets from deep-water fjords in Newfoundland and upcoming offshore expeditions. Understanding the factors controlling the distribution of these biodiversity hotspots is crucial to the implementation of successful conservation measures given global declines in marine biodiversity. Now that Canada has met its 2020 conservation targets, monitoring of biologically and ecologically significant habitats will be key to ensure early detection of change. By investigating geological, hydrodynamic and biological controls, this project will increase our understanding of the factors that control the biodiversity and distribution of understudied deep-water vertical habitats.

为了支持海洋空间管理，我们需要更好地理解生态重要栖息地的空间分布，这可以通过确定在塑造生物空间模式中起着重要作用的因素来促进。较深水域的主要问题是，大多数栖息地的研究很少，仍然发现稀有的栖息地。在浅水沿海水域中，长期以来，海床的坡度已被确定为底栖群落的重要结构成分，在垂直区域和平坦区域之间观察到组成的差异。但是，在更深的水域中，传统的抽样设备在崎li的环境中无效。因此，即使大量垂直的巩膜垂直珊瑚礁，越来越多地发现了垂直栖息地，即使大量垂直的巩膜和alcy骨，双壳类和海绵居住的墙壁越来越多地被发现，并且可能代表了低估的高生物多样性栖息地。 由于其复杂的地形，悬崖环境为弱势物种提供了自然保护，以防止拖网活动，从而使幼虫可以重新宣传周围受损的栖息地。但是，并非所有墙壁都一定是生物多样性热点，而且尚不清楚它们是否举办与附近平坦地形不同的组合。也就是说，我们可以假设环境条件可能会明显影响垂直栖息地。例如，大型珊瑚菌落只能在具有特殊强度特性的岩石面上生长，并且电流可能与陡峭的地形相互作用，从而产生复杂的流动模式，以影响喂食条件的适用性，从而有可能控制优质的空间模式。该研究计划的目的是了解深水垂直栖息地在控制本地和区域空间生物多样性模式中的作用。将研究垂直壁和扁平深头社区之间的β多样性比较，并将研究有关栖息地复杂性，多样性以及相关动物相关动物群的精细阶段选择的地质，水动力和生物控制。这项工作将利用现有的视频数据集，并从纽芬兰的深水峡湾和即将到来的海上探险中收集新数据集。 了解控制这些生物多样性热点分布的因素对于实施鉴于海洋生物多样性全球下降的成功保护措施至关重要。现在，加拿大已经达到了2020年的保护目标，对生物学和生态意义上的栖息地进行监测将是确保早期发现变化的关键。通过研究地质，流体力学和生物控制，该项目将增加我们对控制深水垂直栖息地的生物多样性和分布的因素的理解。