Abundance and Diversity of Benthic Megafauna at Abyssal Station ALOHA
Date
2021
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Abstract
Abyssal seafloor ecosystems, such as at Station Aloha, are poorly understood,
although particulate organic carbon (POC) flux is thought to be an important driver
of benthic faunal abundance and biodiversity. To better understand these
ecosystems, this study aims to address how abyssal benthic megafaunal
communities vary with POC flux. Abundance and diversity of megafauna were
evaluated at Station Aloha and compared to other stations in the abyssal Pacific
with different POC fluxes, to address these variations. Megafaunal abundance and
diversity were evaluated at Station Aloha using photographic data collected by the
ROV Lu’ukai, which consists of high-resolution photos along a transect across the
Seafloor at ~4700 m depth. Megafauna in images were identified to the lowest
possible taxon assigned to trophic groups and counted using scaled images. Patterns
were then compared to other benthic locations at similar depths in the Clarion-
Clipperton Zone (CCZ) and off the eutrophic California coast, where megafaunal
abundances and seafloor POC flux have also been evaluated. Megafaunal
abundance at Station Aloha was low compared to other abyssal benthic sites located
under more eutrophic surface waters. Despite low abundance, a diversity of feeding
types including suspension feeders, surface deposit feeders, predators, and
scavengers occurred at Station Aloha. Ecological patterns at Station Aloha were
found to be similar, in terms of metazoan megafauna, to ecosystems with low POC
flux in the nearby CCZ. These findings suggest that low food supply at Station
Aloha limits megafaunal abundance yet supports a diversity of approaches to
utilizing the food reaching the seafloor.
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abyssal seafloor ecosystems, benthic, deep sea biology
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47 pages
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All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
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Weiberg, Henrik
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