Original Article
Using fisheries by-catch data to predict octocoral habitat suitability around South Georgia
Michelle L. Taylor,
Chris Yesson,
David J. Agnew,
Rebecca E. Mitchell, Alex D. Rogers,
Corresponding Author
Michelle L. Taylor
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS UK
Correspondence: Michelle L. Taylor, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorChris Yesson
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, NW1 4RY UK
Search for more papers by this authorDavid J. Agnew
Division of Biology, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ UK
Search for more papers by this authorAlex D. Rogers
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS UK
Search for more papers by this authorMichelle L. Taylor,
Chris Yesson,
David J. Agnew,
Rebecca E. Mitchell, Alex D. Rogers,
Corresponding Author
Michelle L. Taylor
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS UK
Correspondence: Michelle L. Taylor, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorChris Yesson
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, NW1 4RY UK
Search for more papers by this authorDavid J. Agnew
Division of Biology, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ UK
Search for more papers by this authorAlex D. Rogers
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS UK
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Aim
For many deep-sea fisheries, there is an urgent management requirement for information on the presence of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). Gathering deep-sea data using conventional techniques can be expensive and time-consuming. One way to provide a relatively rapid assessment of VME presence is to use data from fisheries by-catch and historical scientific observations. Our aim was to predict suitable habitat for octocorals around South Georgia and to estimate the extent to which octocoral habitat is currently protected by fisheries management measures. In addition, we attempted to determine the types of terrain in which octocorals and fishing activities occur.
Location
South Georgia, sub-Antarctic.
Methods
A terrain map of South Georgia was created using Benthic Terrain Modeler (BTM). Georeferenced octocoral data were combined with environmental layers to create an octocoral habitat suitability map using ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA).
Results
Most octocoral by-catch samples originated from narrow crest (an area representing shelf break and moraines) and steep (continental) slope terrains. Calcite saturation state and apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) were the most influential environmental parameters in determining highly suitable octocoral habitat. The ENFA model highlighted shelf-break areas to be highly suitable habitat for octocorals and that 38% of this habitat around South Georgia lies within areas currently protected by fisheries management; a further 20% is below the 2000-m fishing depth, meaning effectively that 58% of predicted highly suitable octocoral habitat is currently protected. Although these results indicate protection levels for octocoral habitat well above international standards/targets, the fishery remains active within a relatively concentrated shelf area at 700–2000 m, potentially having a large impact on the 42% of highly suitable octocoral habitat predicted to lie at these depths.
Main conclusions
This research demonstrates the potential for using fisheries by-catch data to create habitat suitability maps that can inform fisheries management and future research.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| jbi12122-sup-0001-AppendixS1.docWord document, 46.5 KB | Appendix S1 Supplementary details of methods. |
| jbi12122-sup-0002-AppendixS2.docWord document, 359 KB | Appendix S2 Results of multivariate analyses. |
| jbi12122-sup-0003-AppendixS3.docWord document, 217 KB | Appendix S3 Scatter plots of octocoral habitat suitability values against environmental layer values. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
References
- Agnew, D.J. (2004) Fishing south: the history and management of South Georgia fisheries. Penna Press, St Albans, UK.
- Agnew, D.J., Roberts, J.M., Moir-Clark, J., Mitchell, R.E., Pearce, J., Ang, T.T. & Rogers, A.D. (2007) Options for restricted impact areas to protect areas of high coral biodiversity at South Georgia and Shag Rocks. MRAG and Institute of Zoology report to Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Stanley, Falkland Islands.
- Antonov, J.I., Locarnini, R.A., Boyer, T.P., Mishonov, A.V. & Garcia, H.E. (2006) World ocean atlas 2005, Vol. 2: Salinity. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 62. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
- Atkinson, A., Whitehouse, M.J., Priddle, J., Cripps, G.C., Ward, P. & Brandon, M.A. (2001) South Georgia, Antarctica: a productive, cold water, pelagic ecosystem. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 216, 279–308.
- Baillon, S., Hamel, J.-F., Wareham, V.E. & Mercier, A. (2012) Deep cold-water corals as nurseries for fish larvae. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10, 351–356.
- Barnes, D.K.A. (2008) A benthic richness hotspot in the Southern Ocean: slope and shelf cryptic benthos of Shag Rocks. Antarctic Science, 20, 263–270.
- Barnes, D.K.A., Fuentes, V., Clarke, A., Schloss, I.R. & Wallace, M.I. (2006) Spatial and temporal variation in shallow seawater temperatures around Antarctica. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 53, 853–865.
- Barnes, D.K.A., Griffiths, H.J. & Kaiser, S. (2009) Geographic range shift responses to climate change by Antarctic benthos: where we should look. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 393, 13–26.
- Bayer, F.M. & Macintyre, I.G. (2001) The mineral component of the axis and holdfast of some gorgonacean octocorals (Coelenterata: Anthozoa), with special reference to the family Gorgoniidae. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 114, 309–345.
- Brandt, A., Gooday, A.J., Brandão, S.N. et al. (2007) First insights into the biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea. Nature, 447, 307–311.
- Bryan, T.L. & Metaxas, A. (2007) Predicting suitable habitat for deep-water gorgonian corals on the Atlantic and Pacific Continental Margins of North America. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 330, 113–126.
- Caldeira, K. & Wickett, M.E. (2005) Ocean model predictions of chemistry changes from carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 110, C09S04.
- Chuenpagdee, R., Morgan, L.E., Maxwell, S.M., Norse, E.A. & Pauly, D. (2003) Shifting gears: assessing collateral impacts of fishing methods in US waters. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 1, 517–524.
- Clarke, A., Aronson, R.B., Crame, J.A., Gili, J.-M. & Blake, D.B. (2004) Evolution and diversity of the benthic fauna of the Southern Ocean continental shelf. Antarctic Science, 16, 559–568.
- Cryer, M., Hartill, B. & O'Shea, S. (2002) Modification of marine benthos by trawling: toward a generalization for the deep ocean? Ecological Applications, 12, 1824–1839.
- Davies, A.J. & Guinotte, J.M. (2011) Global habitat suitability for framework-forming cold-water corals. PLoS ONE, 6, e18483.
- Davies, A.J., Roberts, J.M. & Hall-Spencer, J. (2007) Preserving deep-sea natural heritage: emerging issues in offshore conservation and management. Biological Conservation, 138, 299–312.
- Davies, A.J., Wisshak, M., Orr, J.C. & Roberts, J.M. (2008) Predicting suitable habitat for the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 55, 1048–1062.
- De Leo, F.C., Smith, C.R., Rowden, A.A., Bowden, D.A. & Clark, M.R. (2010) Submarine canyons: hotspots of benthic biomass and productivity in the deep sea. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277, 2783–2792.
- Dodds, L.A., Roberts, J.M., Taylor, A.C. & Marubini, F. (2007) Metabolic tolerance of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia) to temperature and dissolved oxygen change. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 349, 205–214.
- Eno, N.C., MacDonald, D.S., Kinnear, J.A.M., Amos, S.C., Chapman, C.J., Clark, R.A., Bunker, F.S.P.D. & Munro, C. (2001) Effects of crustacean traps on benthic fauna. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58, 11–20.
- FAO (2009) Report of the technical consultation on international guidelines for the management of deep-sea fisheries in the high seas. Fisheries and Aquaculture Report no. 881. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
- Fielding, A.H. & Bell, J.F. (1997) A review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/absence models. Environmental Conservation, 24, 38–49.
- Fretwell, P.T., Tate, A.J., Deen, T.J. & Belchier, M. (2009) Compilation of a new bathymetric dataset of South Georgia. Antarctic Science, 21, 171–174.
- Garcia, H.E., Locarnini, R.A., Boyer, T.P. & Antonov, J.I. (2006a) World ocean atlas 2005, Vol. 3: Dissolved oxygen, apparent oxygen utilization, and oxygen saturation. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 63. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
- Garcia, H.E., Locarnini, R.A., Boyer, T.P. & Antonov, J.I. (2006b) World ocean atlas 2005, Vol. 4: Nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, silicate). NOAA Atlas NESDIS 64. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
- Gianni, M. (2004) High seas bottom trawl fisheries and their impact on the biodiversity of vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems: options for international action. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
- Glover, A.G. & Smith, C.R. (2003) The deep-sea floor ecosystem: current status and prospects of anthropogenic change by the year 2025. Environmental Conservation, 30, 219–241.
- Graham, A.G.C., Fretwell, P.T., Larter, R.D., Hodgson, D.A., Wilson, C.K., Tate, A.J. & Morris, P. (2008) A new bathymetric compilation highlighting extensive paleo-ice sheet drainage on the continental shelf, South Georgia, sub-Antarctica. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 9, Q07011.
- Greene, H.G., Yoklavich, M.M., Starr, R.M., O'Connell, V.M., Wakefield, W.W., Sullivan, D.E., McRea, J.E. & Cailliet, G.M. (1999) A classification scheme for deep seafloor habitats. Oceanologica Acta, 22, 663–678.
- Griffiths, H.J., Linse, K. & Barnes, D.K.A. (2008) Distribution of macrobenthic taxa across the Scotia Arc, Southern Ocean. Antarctic Science, 20, 213–226.
- Griffiths, H.J., Barnes, D.K.A. & Linse, K. (2009) Towards a generalized biogeography of the Southern Ocean benthos. Journal of Biogeography, 36, 162–177.
- Guinotte, J.M., Orr, J., Cairns, S., Freiwald, A., Morgan, L. & George, R. (2006) Will human-induced changes in seawater chemistry alter the distribution of deep-sea scleractinian corals? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 4, 141–146.
- Hallock, J.L., Tharakan, P.J., Hall, C.A.S., Jefferson, M. & Wu, W. (2004) Forecasting the limits to the availability and diversity of global conventional oil supply. Energy, 29, 1673–1696.
- Hirzel, A.H., Hausser, J., Chessel, D. & Perrin, N. (2002) Ecological-niche factor analysis: how to compute habitat-suitability maps without absence data? Ecology, 83, 2027–2036.
- Hofmann, E.E., Klinck, J.M., Locarnini, R.A., Fach, B. & Murphy, E. (1998) Krill transport in the Scotia Sea and environs. Antarctic Science, 10, 406–415.
- Hogg, O.T., Barnes, D.K.A. & Griffiths, H.J. (2011) Highly diverse, poorly studied and uniquely threatened by climate change: an assessment of marine biodiversity on South Georgia's continental shelf. PLoS ONE, 6, e19795.
- Holeton, C.L., Nédélec, F., Sanders, R., Brown, L., Moore, C.M., Stevens, D.P., Heywood, K.J., Statham, P.J. & Lucas, C.H. (2005) Physiological state of phytoplankton communities in the Southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, as measured by fast repetition rate fluorometry. Polar Biology, 29, 44–52.
- Howell, K.L. (2010) A benthic classification system to aid in the implementation of marine protected area networks in the deep/high seas of the NE Atlantic. Biological Conservation, 143, 1041–1056.
- Kaiser, M.J., Clarke, K.R., Hinz, H., Austen, M.C.V., Somerfield, P.J. & Karakassis, I. (2006) Global analysis of response and recovery of benthic biota to fishing. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 311, 1–14.
- Kampstra, P. (2008) Beanplot: a boxplot alternative for visual comparison of distributions. Journal of Statistical Software, 28, Code Snippet 1.
- Key, R.M., Kozyr, A., Sabine, C.L., Lee, K., Wanninkhof, R., Bullister, J.L., Feely, R.A., Millero, F.J., Mordy, C. & Peng, T.-H. (2004) A global ocean carbon climatology: results from Global Data Analysis Project (GLODAP). Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 18, 1–18.
- Koslow, J.A., Boehlert, G.W., Gordon, J.D.M., Haedrich, R.L., Lorance, P. & Parin, N. (2000) Continental slope and deep-sea fisheries: implications for a fragile ecosystem. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 57, 548–557.
- Koslow, J.A., Gowlett-Holmes, K., Lowry, J.K., O'Hara, T., Poore, G.C.B. & Williams, A. (2001) Seamount benthic macrofauna off southern Tasmania: community structure and impacts of trawling. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 213, 111–125.
- Krieger, K.J. & Wing, B.L. (2002) Megafauna associations with deepwater corals (Primnoa spp.) in the Gulf of Alaska. Hydrobiologia, 471, 83–90.
- Lee, S.E., Talling, P.J., Ernst, G.G.J. & Hogg, A.J. (2002) Occurrence and origin of submarine plunge pools at the base of the US continental slope. Marine Geology, 185, 363–377.
- Livermore, R., Hillenbrand, C.-D., Meredith, M. & Eagles, G. (2007) Drake Passage and Cenozoic climate: an open and shut case? Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 8, Q01005.
- Locarnini, R.A., Mishonov, A.V., Antonov, J.I., Boyer, T.P. & Garcia, H.E. (2006) World ocean atlas 2005, Vol. 1: Temperature. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 61. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
- Lundblad, E.R., Wright, D.J., Miller, J., Larkin, E.M., Rinehart, R., Naar, D.F., Donahue, B.T., Anderson, S.M. & Battista, T. (2006) A benthic terrain classification scheme for American Samoa. Marine Geodesy, 29, 89–111.
10.1080/01490410600738021 Google Scholar
- Macintyre, I.G., Bayer, F.M., Logan, M.A.V. & Skinner, H.C.W. (2000) Possible vestige of early phosphatic biomineralization in gorgonian octocorals (Coelenterata). Geology, 28, 455–458.
- Martin, S.M., Peatman, T.P., Pearce, J. & Mitchell, R.E. (2012) Approach to the establishment of RIAs at South Georgia. Unpublished report to GSGSSI, Stanley, Falkland Islands.
- McFadden, C.S., Sánchez, J.A. & France, S.C. (2010) Molecular phylogenetic insights into the evolution of Octocorallia: a review. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 50, 389–410.
- Meredith, M.P., Watkins, J.L., Murphy, E.J., Cunningham, N.J., Wood, A.G., Korb, R., Whitehouse, M.J., Thorpe, S.E. & Vivier, F. (2003) An anticyclonic circulation above the Northwest Georgia Rise, Southern Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 30, 2061.
- Metaxas, A. & Davies, J. (2005) Megafauna associated with assemblages of deep-water gorgonian corals in Northeast Channel, off Nova Scotia, Canada. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 85, 1381–1390.
- Monk, J., Ierodiaconou, D., Versace, V.L., Bellgrove, A., Harvey, E., Rattray, A., Laurenson, L. & Quinn, G.P. (2010) Habitat suitability for marine fishes using presence-only modelling and multibeam sonar. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 420, 157–174.
- Mortensen, P.B. & Buhl-Mortensen, L. (2004) Distribution of deep-water gorgonian corals in relation to benthic habitat features in the Northeast Channel (Atlantic Canada). Marine Biology, 144, 1223–1238.
- Muñoz, M.E.S., Giovanni, R., Siqueira, M.F., Sutton, T., Brewer, P., Pereira, R.S., Canhos, D.A.L. & Canhos, V.P. (2011) openModeller: a generic approach to species' potential distribution modelling. GeoInformatica, 15, 111–135.
- Murphy, E.J., Watkins, J.L., Tranthan, P.N. et al. (2007) Spatial and temporal operation of the Scotia Sea ecosystem: a review of large-scale links in a krill centred food web. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 362, 113–148.
- Orr, J.C., Fabry, V.C., Aumont, O. et al. (2005) Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms. Nature, 437, 681–686.
- Orsi, A.H., Whitworth, T. & Nowlin, W.D. (1995) On the meridional extent and fronts of the Antarctic circumpolar current. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 42, 641–673.
- Oschmann, W. (1990) Dropstones: rocky mini-islands in high-latitude pelagic soft substrate environments. Senckenbergiana Maritima, 21, 55–75.
- Pauly, D., Watson, R. & Alder, J. (2005) Global trends in world fisheries: impacts on marine ecosystems and food security. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 360, 5–12.
- Praca, E., Gannier, A., Das, K. & Laran, S. (2009) Modelling the habitat suitability of cetaceans: example of the sperm whale in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 56, 648–657.
- R Core Development Team (2010) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
- Ramos, A. (1999) The megazoobenthos of the Scotia Arc islands. Scientia Marina, 63, 171–182.
- Rinehart, R.W., Wright, D.J., Lundblad, E.R., Larkin, E.M., Murphy, J. & Cary-Kothera, L. (2004) ArcGIS 8.x Benthic Terrain Modeler: analysis in American Samoa. 24th Annual ESRI User Conference, Paper 1433. ESRI, San Diego, CA.
- Risk, M.J., Heikoop, J.M., Snow, M.G. & Beukens, R. (2002) Lifespans and growth patterns of two deep-sea corals: Primnoa resedaeformis and Desmophyllum cristagalli. Hydrobiologia, 471, 125–131.
- Roberts, C.M. (2002) Deep impact: the rising toll of fishing in the deep sea. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17, 242–245.
- Roberts, J.M., Wheeler, A.J., Freiwald, A. & Cairns, S.D. (2009) Cold-water corals: the biology and geology of deep-sea coral habitats. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Sánchez, J.A. & Rowden, A.A. (2006) Octocoral diversity on New Zealand seamounts. Proceedings of the 10th International Coral Reef Symposium, Okinawa, Japan, 28th June – 2nd July, 2004 (ed. by Y. Suzuki, T. Nakamori, M. Hidaka, H. Kayanne, B.E. Casareto, K. Nadaoka, H. Yamano and M. Tsuchiya), pp. 1812–1820. Japanese Coral Reef Society, Tokyo.
- Sangermano, F. & Eastman, R. (2007) Linking GIS and ecology – the use of Mahalanobis typicalities to model species distribution. Memorias XI Conferencia Iberoamericana de Sistemas de Información Geográfica (ed. by G.D. Buzai), pp. 1–13. Universidad Nacional de Luján, Luján, Argentina.
- Stone, R. (2006) Coral habitat in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska: depth distribution, fine-scale species associations, and fisheries interactions. Coral Reefs, 25, 229–238.
- Taylor, M.L. (2011) Distribution and diversity of octocorals from longline by-catch around South Georgia, UK. PhD Thesis, Imperial College, London.
- Tittensor, D.P., Baco, A.R., Brewin, P.E., Clark, M.R., Consalvey, M., Hall-Spencer, J., Rowden, A.A., Schlacher, T., Stocks, K.I. & Rogers, A.D. (2009) Predicting global habitat suitability for stony corals on seamounts. Journal of Biogeography, 36, 1111–1128.
- Tittensor, D.P., Baco, A.R., Hall-Spencer, J.M., Orr, J.C. & Rogers, A.D. (2010) Seamounts as refugia from ocean acidification for cold-water stony corals. Marine Ecology, 31(Suppl. 1), 212–225.
- UNGA (2007) Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 agreement for the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and related instruments. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly 61/105. United Nations, New York.
- UNGA (2009) Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 agreement for the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, and related instruments. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly 64/72. United Nations, New York.
- Wakeford, R.C., Agnew, D.J., Lippens, N., Moir-Clark, J. & Payne, A. (2006) Developing recommendations to mitigate the impact of longlining on coldwater coral around South Georgia. A report for the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, pp. 1–32. MRAG Ltd, London.
- Watling, L. & Norse, E.A. (1998) Disturbance of the seabed by mobile fishing gear: a comparison to forest clearcutting. Conservation Biology, 12, 1180–1197.
- Williams, A., Schlacher, T.A., Rowden, A.A., Althaus, F., Clark, M.R., Bowden, D.A., Stewart, R., Bax, N.J., Consalvey, M. & Kloser, R.J. (2010) Seamount megabenthic assemblages fail to recover from trawling impacts. Marine Ecology, 31(Suppl. 1), 183–199.
- Wilson, M.F.J., O'Connell, B., Brown, C., Guinan, J.C. & Grehan, A.J. (2007) Multiscale terrain analysis of multibeam bathymetry data for habitat mapping on the continental slope. Marine Geodesy, 30, 3–35.
- Woodby, D., Carlile, D. & Hulbert, L. (2009) Predictive modeling of coral distribution in the Central Aleutian Islands, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 397, 227–240.
- Wright, D.J., Lundblad, E.R., Larkin, E.M., Rinehart, R.W., Murphy, J., Cary-Kothera, L. & Draganov, K. (2005) ArcGIS Benthic Terrain Modeler [a collection of tools used with bathymetric data sets to examine the deepwater benthic environment]. Oregon State University, Cornvallis, OR & NOAA Coastal Services Center, Charleston, SC. Available at: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/btm/.
- Yesson, C., Taylor, M.L., Tittensor, D.P., Davies, A.J., Guinotte, J., Baco, A., Black, J., Hall-Spencer, J.M. & Rogers, A.D. (2012) Global habitat suitability of cold-water octocorals. Journal of Biogeography, 39, 1278–1292.
