Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10553/134417
Title: “Hidden” biodiversity: a new amphipod genus dominates epifauna in association with a mesophotic black coral forest
Authors: Navarro Mayoral, Sandra 
Gouillieux, Benoit
Fernandez-Gonzalez, Victoria
Tuya Cortés, Fernando José 
Lecoquierre, Ninon
Bramanti, Lorenzo
Terrana, Lucas
Espino, Fernando
Flot, Jean François
Haroun Tabraue, Ricardo Jesús 
Otero Ferrer, Francisco José 
UNESCO Clasification: 251001 Oceanografía biológica
241705 Biología marina
251006 Procesos del fondo marino
251005 Zoología marina
251004 Botánica marina
Keywords: Antipathella wollastoni
Epifauna
Key to species
Marine animal forests
Stenothoidae
Issue Date: 2024
Journal: Coral Reefs 
Abstract: Black corals are important components of mesophotic and deep-water marine habitats. Their presence at great depths (e.g., 50 to 200 m) makes accessibility difficult, limiting our understanding of the associated biodiversity. Amphipods dominate vagile epifauna in marine habitats around the world, fulfilling important ecosystem functions. However, there are no studies on amphipods exclusively associated with black corals, including relationships between their ecological patterns (e.g., abundances) and the size of coral colonies. We investigated the epifaunal composition and abundance associated with black coral colonies of Antipathella wollastoni in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. In total, 1,736 epifaunal individuals were identified, of which 1,706 (98.27%) were amphipods, belonging to 6 taxa. We identified and described a new amphipod genus and species within the Stenothoidae family, Wollastenothoe minuta gen. nov., sp. nov., which outnumbered the amphipod assemblage (86.15%) and provided a complete taxonomic key of Stenothoidae family including this new finding. For the first time, the association between an amphipod species and a black coral was described, including a strong correlation between coral colony size and amphipod abundances. This study demonstrates that epifauna associated with mesophotic black corals remains largely undescribed.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10553/134417
ISSN: 0722-4028
DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02491-y
Source: Coral Reefs [ISSN 0722-4028], v. 43, n. 3, p. 655–672, (Junio 2024)
Appears in Collections:Artículos
Adobe PDF (2,01 MB)
Show full item record

SCOPUSTM   
Citations

1
checked on Dec 8, 2024

WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations

1
checked on Dec 8, 2024

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Share



Export metadata



Items in accedaCRIS are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.