DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.03.018
Scopus记录号: 2-s2.0-85044326241
论文题名: The discovery of deep-water seagrass meadows in a pristine Indian Ocean wilderness revealed by tracking green turtles
作者: Esteban N. ; Unsworth R.K.F. ; Gourlay J.B.Q. ; Hays G.C.
刊名: Marine Pollution Bulletin
ISSN: 0025-326X
EISSN: 1879-3363
出版年: 2018
语种: 英语
英文关键词: Blue carbon
; BRUVS
; Diego Garcia
; Fastloc GPS
; MPA
; Satellite tracking
; Shifting baseline
; Trophic cascade
Scopus关键词: Carbon
; Conservation
; Ecosystems
; Fish
; Surveys
; BRUVS
; Diego Garcia
; Satellite tracking
; Shifting baseline
; Trophic cascades
; Plants (botany)
Scopus学科分类: Agricultural and Biological Sciences: Aquatic Science
; Earth and Planetary Sciences: Oceanography
; Environmental Science: Pollution
英文摘要: Our understanding of global seagrass ecosystems comes largely from regions characterized by human impacts with limited data from habitats defined as notionally pristine. Seagrass assessments also largely focus on shallow-water coastal habitats with comparatively few studies on offshore deep-water seagrasses. We satellite tracked green turtles (Chelonia mydas), which are known to forage on seagrasses, to a remote, pristine deep-water environment in the Western Indian Ocean, the Great Chagos Bank, which lies in the heart of one of the world's largest marine protected areas (MPAs). Subsequently we used in-situ SCUBA and baited video surveys to survey the day-time sites occupied by turtles and discovered extensive monospecific seagrass meadows of Thalassodendron ciliatum. At three sites that extended over 128 km, mean seagrass cover was 74% (mean range 67–88% across the 3 sites at depths to 29 m. The mean species richness of fish in seagrass meadows was 11 species per site (mean range 8–14 across the 3 sites). High fish abundance (e.g. Siganus sutor: mean MaxN.site−1 = 38.0, SD = 53.7, n = 5) and large predatory shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) (mean MaxN.site−1 = 1.5, SD = 0.4, n = 5) were recorded at all sites. Such observations of seagrass meadows with large top predators, are limited in the literature. Given that the Great Chagos Bank extends over approximately 12,500 km2 and many other large deep submerged banks exist across the world's oceans, our results suggest that deep-water seagrass may be far more abundant than previously suspected. © 2018 The Author(s) Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/88574
Appears in Collections: 过去全球变化的重建 全球变化的国际研究计划
There are no files associated with this item.
作者单位: Swansea University, Seagrass Ecosystem Research Group, Department of Biosciences, Swansea, United Kingdom; Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Warrnambool campusVictoria, Australia
Recommended Citation:
Esteban N.,Unsworth R.K.F.,Gourlay J.B.Q.,et al. The discovery of deep-water seagrass meadows in a pristine Indian Ocean wilderness revealed by tracking green turtles[J]. Marine Pollution Bulletin,2018-01-01