Journal article
Impacts of bottom trawling on deep-coral ecosystems of seamounts are long-lasting
Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol.397, pp.279-294
2009
Abstract
Complex biogenic habitats formed by corals are important components of the megabenthos of seamounts, but their fragility makes them susceptible to damage by bottom trawling. Here we examine changes to stony corals and associated megabenthic assemblages on seamounts off Tasmania (Australia) with different histories of bottom-contact trawling by analysing 64 504 video frames (25 seamounts) and 704 high-resolution images (7 seamounts). Trawling had a dramatic impact on the seamount benthos: (1) bottom cover of the matrix-forming stony coral Solenosmilia variabilis was reduced by 2 orders of magnitude; (2) loss of coral habitat translated into 3-fold declines in richness, diversity and density of other megabenthos; and (3) megabenthos assemblage structures diverged widely between trawled and untrawled seamounts. On seamounts where trawling had been reduced to less than 5% a decade ago and ceased completely 5 yr ago, there was no clear signal of recovery of the megabenthos; communities remained impoverished comprising fewer species at reduced densities. Differences in community structure in the trawled (as compared to the untrawled) seamounts were attributed to resistant species that survived initial impacts, others protected in natural refugia and early colonisers. Long-term persistence of trawling impacts on deep-water corals is consistent with their biological traits (e.g. slow growth rates, fragility) that make them particularly vulnerable. Because recovery on seamounts will be slow, the benefits from fishery closures may not be immediately recognisable or measureable. Spatial closures are crucial conservation instruments, but will require long-term commitments and expectations of performance whose time frames match the biological tempo in the deep sea.
Details
- Title
- Impacts of bottom trawling on deep-coral ecosystems of seamounts are long-lasting
- Authors
- F Althaus (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchA Williams (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchThomas Schlacher (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health and EducationR Kloser (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchM A Green (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchB A Barker (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchN J Bax (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchP Brodie (Author) - CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric ResearchMonica A Schlacher-Hoenlinger (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health and Education
- Publication details
- Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol.397, pp.279-294
- Publisher
- Inter-Research
- Date published
- 2009
- DOI
- 10.3354/meps08248
- ISSN
- 0171-8630
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449898602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
36 File views/ downloads
1105 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Marine & Freshwater Biology
- Oceanography
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites