Physical Controls on Deep Water Coral Communities on the George V Land Slope, East Antarctica  

Authors / CoAuthors

Post, A.L. | O'Brien, P.E. | Beaman, R.J. | Riddle, M.J. | De Santis, L.

Abstract

Dense coral-sponge communities on the upper continental slope at 570 - 950 m off George V Land have been identified as a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem in the Antarctic. The challenge is now to understand their likely distribution. Based on results from the Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census survey of 2007/2008, we propose some hypotheses to explain their distribution. Icebergs scour to 500 m in this region and the lack of such disturbance is probably a factor allowing growth of rich benthic ecosystems. In addition, the richest communities are found in the heads of canyons. Two possible oceanographic mechanisms may link abundant filter feeder communities and canyon heads. The canyons in which they occur receive descending plumes of Antarctic Bottom Water formed on the George V shelf and these water masses could entrain abundant food for the benthos. Another possibility is that the canyons harbouring rich benthos are those that cut the shelf break. Such canyons are known sites of high productivity in other areas because of a number of oceanographic factors, including strong current flow and increased mixing with shelf waters, and the abrupt, complex topography. These hypotheses provide a framework for the identification of areas where there is a higher likelihood of encountering these Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems.

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nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

69723

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Digital Object Identifier

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954102010000180

Keywords

• External PublicationAbstract

( Theme )

• Antarctic data

( Theme )

• abiotic surrogates

( Theme )

• habitat

( Theme )

• marine biodiversity

( Theme )

• marine

• AQ

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Earth Sciences

• Published_External

Publication Date

2010-01-01T00:00:00

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

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unknown

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geoscientificInformation

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Unknown

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Extents

[-67.5, -65.0, 139.0, 147.0]

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