Benthic Characterization of Mesophotic Communities Based on Optical Depths in the Southern Mexican Pacific Coast (Oaxaca)

Miguel Ángel Pérez-Castro; Gal Eyal; Gerardo Esteban Leyte-Morales; Gustavo Hinojosa-Arango; Susana Enríquez

doi:10.3390/d15040531

Benthic Characterization of Mesophotic Communities Based on Optical Depths in the Southern Mexican Pacific Coast (Oaxaca)

Miguel Ángel Pérez-Castro, Gal Eyal, Gerardo Esteban Leyte-Morales, Gustavo Hinojosa-Arango, Susana Enríquez

The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences - at Bar-Ilan University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The distinction between shallow coral reefs and mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) has not been fully clarified yet. The original definition of MCEs, by depths of 30–150 m, fixes their bathymetrical limits and fails to accommodate environmental and biological variation. Recent studies have indicated that water transparency and light availability may explain why MCEs do not occur at fixed depths but vary among localities. This study aimed to evaluate the presence and distribution of MCEs, along the central coast of Oaxaca, through optical depths and the associated benthic community. Using MODIS-Aqua satellite data (Kd490), we estimated the mesophotic optical depths monthly (z10%, z1%, z0.1%), over the last four years. In addition, to characterize benthic community structure, we conducted underwater photo quadrat surveys at two locations on the southern Mexican Pacific coast from 10 to 55 m depth. Significant differences between depths and locations were found in benthic communities. Furthermore, the lower distribution of photosynthetic taxa was different between the two locations but indicative to the z10% and z1% in both cases. Those differences were associated with the upwelling season, which reduces, drastically and differentially, the light availability for benthic communities between the two locations and limits the development of MCEs on the central coast of Oaxaca.

Original language	English
Article number	531
Journal	Diversity
Volume	15
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/d15040531
State	Published - Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.

Funding

We appreciate the support of Edgar Cruz-Acevedo on the statistical analyses and we thank Israel Moreno for his assistance during the fieldwork. In addition, we are grateful for the assistance of Cindy Fernández-García and Julio A. Acosta-Calderón in the identification of macroalgae. The author M.Á.P-C appreciates the advice of C. Tatiana Galindo-Martínez during the submission process. The Mexican Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) is acknowledged for providing a four-year PhD fellowship to M.Á.P.-C. We thank CIIDIR for the access provided to its facilities and the UMAR for the access to its Museum of Natural History during the research internship. This research was funded by a National Geographic Society grant (#NGS-62129C-19).

Funders	Funder number
National Geographic Society	-62129C-19
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología

Keywords

benthic community structure
coral abundance
light attenuation
macroalgae
maximum coral depth
mesophotic ecosystems
upwelling

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10.3390/d15040531

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abstract = "The distinction between shallow coral reefs and mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) has not been fully clarified yet. The original definition of MCEs, by depths of 30–150 m, fixes their bathymetrical limits and fails to accommodate environmental and biological variation. Recent studies have indicated that water transparency and light availability may explain why MCEs do not occur at fixed depths but vary among localities. This study aimed to evaluate the presence and distribution of MCEs, along the central coast of Oaxaca, through optical depths and the associated benthic community. Using MODIS-Aqua satellite data (Kd490), we estimated the mesophotic optical depths monthly (z10%, z1%, z0.1%), over the last four years. In addition, to characterize benthic community structure, we conducted underwater photo quadrat surveys at two locations on the southern Mexican Pacific coast from 10 to 55 m depth. Significant differences between depths and locations were found in benthic communities. Furthermore, the lower distribution of photosynthetic taxa was different between the two locations but indicative to the z10% and z1% in both cases. Those differences were associated with the upwelling season, which reduces, drastically and differentially, the light availability for benthic communities between the two locations and limits the development of MCEs on the central coast of Oaxaca.",

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Benthic Characterization of Mesophotic Communities Based on Optical Depths in the Southern Mexican Pacific Coast (Oaxaca)

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

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