Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages
ABSTRACT The deep reef refugia hypothesis suggests that the effects of disturbance decrease as depth increases; thus, reefs in the mesophotic zone potentially serve as refuges for communities in shallower zones. This study challenged this hypothesis by evaluating fish diversity in shallow and mesoph...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70619 |
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| author | Manuel Francisco Velasco‐Lozano Georgina Ramírez‐Ortiz Luis Eduardo Calderon‐Aguilera Benjamín Alonso Martínez‐Garza Omar Valencia‐Méndez |
| author_facet | Manuel Francisco Velasco‐Lozano Georgina Ramírez‐Ortiz Luis Eduardo Calderon‐Aguilera Benjamín Alonso Martínez‐Garza Omar Valencia‐Méndez |
| author_sort | Manuel Francisco Velasco‐Lozano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The deep reef refugia hypothesis suggests that the effects of disturbance decrease as depth increases; thus, reefs in the mesophotic zone potentially serve as refuges for communities in shallower zones. This study challenged this hypothesis by evaluating fish diversity in shallow and mesophotic reefs in a marine protected area in the Gulf of California. During 2021–2022, we conducted 189 5‐min video transects using remotely operated vehicles to document species richness and abundance. We evaluated six biological traits for each species (length, mobility, position, gregariousness, diet, and activity period) to estimate four functional indices (number of entities, richness, originality, and divergence), one phylogenetic index (Δ*), and Hill's numbers for taxonomic and functional indices. Benthic organisms were analyzed to explore relationships with ichthyofauna, while monthly water turbidity satellite data products were transformed into a light attenuation coefficient to identify the mesophotic zone (area between 10% and 0.1% of the incident light at the surface). At the study site, the mesophotic zone was identified to extend to 21 m under optimal conditions, which is shallower than what is typically observed in oligotrophic regions. Generalized linear models revealed significant variations in reef fish composition across spatial (site and zone) and temporal (season and year) dimensions. Additionally, generalized linear mixed models of functional richness and taxonomic Hill's numbers exhibited significantly higher values in the shallow zone. However, functional and phylogenetic indices showed similarities in fish assemblages. Despite differences in fish taxonomic diversity among zones that could be related to less environmental variation and resource availability in deep strata, mesophotic reef fish assemblages presented similar functions. Functions were maintained in mesophotic reefs, which suggests that the two zones are connected and that mesophotic reefs have the potential to act as partial refugia in the face of current and near‐future climate change‐related disturbances that could affect shallow zones. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-85f0695fb2bc4352a72afa56963a068b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-85f0695fb2bc4352a72afa56963a068b2025-08-20T02:53:37ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-12-011412n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70619Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish AssemblagesManuel Francisco Velasco‐Lozano0Georgina Ramírez‐Ortiz1Luis Eduardo Calderon‐Aguilera2Benjamín Alonso Martínez‐Garza3Omar Valencia‐Méndez4Departamento de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Laboratorio de Esclerocronología Ecología y Pesquerías de la Zona Costera Ensenada MexicoUnidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología Laboratorio de Ecología funcional & conservación marina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico Mazatlán MexicoDepartamento de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Laboratorio de Esclerocronología Ecología y Pesquerías de la Zona Costera Ensenada MexicoDivisión de Ciencias de la Salud, Biológicas y Ambientales Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de Mexico Mexico City MexicoDepartamento de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Laboratorio de Esclerocronología Ecología y Pesquerías de la Zona Costera Ensenada MexicoABSTRACT The deep reef refugia hypothesis suggests that the effects of disturbance decrease as depth increases; thus, reefs in the mesophotic zone potentially serve as refuges for communities in shallower zones. This study challenged this hypothesis by evaluating fish diversity in shallow and mesophotic reefs in a marine protected area in the Gulf of California. During 2021–2022, we conducted 189 5‐min video transects using remotely operated vehicles to document species richness and abundance. We evaluated six biological traits for each species (length, mobility, position, gregariousness, diet, and activity period) to estimate four functional indices (number of entities, richness, originality, and divergence), one phylogenetic index (Δ*), and Hill's numbers for taxonomic and functional indices. Benthic organisms were analyzed to explore relationships with ichthyofauna, while monthly water turbidity satellite data products were transformed into a light attenuation coefficient to identify the mesophotic zone (area between 10% and 0.1% of the incident light at the surface). At the study site, the mesophotic zone was identified to extend to 21 m under optimal conditions, which is shallower than what is typically observed in oligotrophic regions. Generalized linear models revealed significant variations in reef fish composition across spatial (site and zone) and temporal (season and year) dimensions. Additionally, generalized linear mixed models of functional richness and taxonomic Hill's numbers exhibited significantly higher values in the shallow zone. However, functional and phylogenetic indices showed similarities in fish assemblages. Despite differences in fish taxonomic diversity among zones that could be related to less environmental variation and resource availability in deep strata, mesophotic reef fish assemblages presented similar functions. Functions were maintained in mesophotic reefs, which suggests that the two zones are connected and that mesophotic reefs have the potential to act as partial refugia in the face of current and near‐future climate change‐related disturbances that could affect shallow zones.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70619deep reef refugia hypothesisfish assemblagesmarine protected areasmesophotic zonepartial refugiataxonomic and functional diversity |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Francisco Velasco‐Lozano Georgina Ramírez‐Ortiz Luis Eduardo Calderon‐Aguilera Benjamín Alonso Martínez‐Garza Omar Valencia‐Méndez Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages Ecology and Evolution deep reef refugia hypothesis fish assemblages marine protected areas mesophotic zone partial refugia taxonomic and functional diversity |
| title | Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages |
| title_full | Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages |
| title_fullStr | Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages |
| title_short | Beyond the Surface: Mesophotic Reefs as Potential Refuges for Shallow Fish Assemblages |
| title_sort | beyond the surface mesophotic reefs as potential refuges for shallow fish assemblages |
| topic | deep reef refugia hypothesis fish assemblages marine protected areas mesophotic zone partial refugia taxonomic and functional diversity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70619 |
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