A pioneering longterm experiment on mesophotic macrofouling communities in the North Atlantic

The mesophotic zone represents one of our planet's largest and least explored biomes. An increasing number of studies evidence the importance of macrofouling species in marine ecosystems, but information on these communities and the factors influencing their structures at mesophotic depths remain poor. This lack of understanding limits our ability to predict anthropogenic impacts or conduct restoration operations in the mesophotic and the lower boundary of the euphotic zones. In this study, we performed a 24-month experiment in a natural environment to investigate three factors influencing the macrobenthic community structure of the mesophotic and the euphotic lower boundary: depth, substrate orientation and substrate material. Using a manned submersible, several recruitment panels of two different materials were deployed at 100, 200 and 400 meters in vertical and horizontal positions. All three factors contributed to structuring the macrofouling communities, but depth and substrate orientation displayed the strongest effects. This study not only advances our understanding of lower boundary euphotic and mesophotic macrofouling communities but also establishes a foundation for future research and restoration efforts of mesophotic environments in the Madeira archipelago, where mesophotic habitats are amongst the least studied marine habitats in the Northeast Atlantic.

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Journal
Communications Biology
Published
2024-12-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07249-4
Primary Topic
Marine Biology and Ecology Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A pioneering longterm experiment on mesophotic macrofouling communities in the North Atlantic

Rosana Moreira da Rocha, J. Rolando Bastida-Zavala, Marko Radeta, Pedro Sepúlveda et al.
Communications Biology
Marine Biology and Ecology Research
article

A pioneering longterm experiment on mesophotic macrofouling communities in the North Atlantic

Rosana Moreira da Rocha, J. Rolando Bastida-Zavala, Marko Radeta, Pedro Sepúlveda, Andreia Braga‐Henriques, Joachim Jakobsen, Patrício Ramalhosa, Rodrigo Rocha Silva, Joana R. Xavier, Nikoleta Bellou, Carlos J. Moura, F. Kerckhof, Sonia K. M. Gueroun, Carsten Lüter, Soledad Álvarez, João Gama Monteiro, Raül Triay‐Portella, Manuel Biscoito, Javier Souto, Francesca Gizzi, Pål Buhl‐Mortensen, Romana Santos, João Canning‐Clode, Filipe Henriques, Teresa Silva, João Delgado, Mafalda Freitas, Pedro Farto e Abreu, Peter Wirtz, Kirsten Jakobsen, M. H. de Freitas, Diane Esson
article en

Abstract

The mesophotic zone represents one of our planet's largest and least explored biomes. An increasing number of studies evidence the importance of macrofouling species in marine ecosystems, but information on these communities and the factors influencing their structures at mesophotic depths remain poor. This lack of understanding limits our ability to predict anthropogenic impacts or conduct restoration operations in the mesophotic and the lower boundary of the euphotic zones. In this study, we performed a 24-month experiment in a natural environment to investigate three factors influencing the macrobenthic community structure of the mesophotic and the euphotic lower boundary: depth, substrate orientation and substrate material. Using a manned submersible, several recruitment panels of two different materials were deployed at 100, 200 and 400 meters in vertical and horizontal positions. All three factors contributed to structuring the macrofouling communities, but depth and substrate orientation displayed the strongest effects. This study not only advances our understanding of lower boundary euphotic and mesophotic macrofouling communities but also establishes a foundation for future research and restoration efforts of mesophotic environments in the Madeira archipelago, where mesophotic habitats are amongst the least studied marine habitats in the Northeast Atlantic.

Communications BiologyVol. 7(1)
Universidade dos Açores (PT), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ES), University of Vienna (AT), Museum für Naturkunde (DE), University of Lisbon (PT), Universidade do Porto (PT), Madeira Tecnopolo (PT), Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (NO), Directorate of Fisheries (NO), Ghent University (BE), University of Belgrade (RS), Universidad del Mar (MX), Agencia Regional da Energia e Ambiente da Regiao Autonoma da Madeira (PT), Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Recursos Naturais (PT), Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (DE), Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça (PT), Agencia Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigacao Tecnologia e Inovacao, University of Bergen (NO), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (US), Universidade Federal do Paraná (BR), Universidade da Madeira (PT), University of Algarve (PT)
Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação, Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Interreg
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 77%
Marine Biology and Ecology Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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