SELECTED OBSERVATIONS OF CORALS AND SPONGES

Transcription

1 APPENDIX D SELECTED OBSERVATIONS OF CORALS AND SPONGES Appendix D maps depict the spatial distribution of selected observations of corals and sponges from visual surveys conducted by a number of agencies and institutions. Many of the locations of observations are included in a national database prepared under the auspices of NOAA s Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (NOAA 2011). Although there are a number of records of additional observations recorded at various research institutes, this database is currently the most comprehensive source of electronically available records of coral and, to a lesser extent, sponge observations in the region. Development of this database is ongoing and additional records of observations will be added as they become available. Appendix D plates also depict records from two other database query results: 1) selected observations of corals and sponges from submersible and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys off southern California (NMFS SWFSC [M. Yoklavich]), and 2) a database maintained by Brian Tissot (Washington State University Vancouver) containing records of coral observations from submersibles and ROV surveys off Oregon and central and southern California (Bianchi, 2011; Bright, 2007; Pirtle, 2005). These additional records were added to the map figures because they were not yet included in the version of the national database. Compared to the 2006 groundfish EFH review, this database represents a major advancement in access and dissemination of records of coral and sponge presence in the region. Furthermore, this database was not available during the Amendment 19 process. The Appendix D maps depict point locations of observations of corals and sponges recorded via a variety of collection methods. Records with the label in situ observation were made using direct count methods utilizing submersible, ROV, or camera sled platforms. The precision of these point locations varies between data sets, ranging from very precise estimates of vehicle position at the location of the individual coral or sponge specimen observed in situ, to more general representations of a vehicle dive transect. Almost all records of corals and sponges collected via trawls or dredges originate from surveys conducted by NMFS during the past three decades; however, numerous records from museum collections within the various category also originate from very early NMFS trawl surveys conducted over the last century. Trawl and dredge records exhibit less locational precision, because trawls often operate over 100 s of meters to 10 s of kilometers. It is very difficult to estimate over the course of a trawl or dredge track when and where a particular specimen was collected. As mentioned above, records termed various most often are part of museum collections, for which the original collection method varies between the other four general categories or is not specified. The final category, ROV collection refers to specimens that were physically extracted from their benthic habitat by an ROV. Often times, these specimens are accessed in a museum collection. Consequently, this database of observations may contain duplicate records. Due to the varying and often unrecorded precision of the location information, particularly from trawl samples, users of these data should exercise caution when conducting any fine scale spatial analysis. These records of selected coral and sponge observations are presented in map view to highlight the geographic scope of the observations (see Appendix D figures). The spatial distribution of these locations of coral and sponge presence is largely driven by survey effort. The largest number of records originates from in situ observations (red) at discrete survey sites. Major areas of direct count in situ studies include sites in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, numerous rocky banks off Oregon, central California (e.g., Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary) and in the southern California Bight, and submarine canyons off Oregon and central California, including a very large number of records from sites in and around Monterey Bay. The second most numerous category of records comes from trawl surveys (blue), which were conducted mostly by the NMFS starting in the mid 1970 s and continuing through 2010, at least for the current version of the database. These observations are limited to trawlable areas of the continental shelf and Pacific Coast Groundfish EFH 5-Year Review 182 August 2012

2 slope, while survey focus was often to make fishery-independent estimates of groundfish biomass. It is important to note that most trawl gear is not designed to sample sessile benthic invertebrates, nor is it designed to access the types of habitats in which these organisms typically reside. The exception is sea pens and sea whips, since they don t require hard substrate for attachment. For this reason, sea pens and sea whips are encountered much more frequently in the catch of trawl surveys than any other coral taxa (see Whitmire and Clarke, 2007). Lastly, records in the various category (yellow) are less numerous and occur in areas off Washington and central and southern California. When they appear in dense clusters around a feature such as seamounts (e.g., Figure 8), they almost certainly originate from ROV or submersible surveys. Such records would have been members of the in situ observation had the data attributes indicated this. Often times, these records were provided as queries of museum specimen collections or online databases for which observations are compiled from a variety of sources. In contrast to the existing databases of observations described above, the last review of groundfish EFH that concluded in 2006 utilized significantly fewer records of observations. A summary of data sources, total records reviews, and numbers of observations used during the last review is detailed in Appendix B of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (NMFS, 2005). To access full resolution images, follow this link: To request a copy of the most current version of the national database, please contact Dan Dorman (NOAA), Dan.Dorfman@noaa.gov, (301) x112. Literature Cited: Bianchi, C Abundance and distribution of megafaunal invertebrates in NE Pacific submarine canyons and their ecological associations with dermersal fishes. M.S. Thesis. Washington State Univ. Vancouver. Bright, J.L Abundance and distribution of structure-forming invertebrates and their associations with fishes at the Channel Islands Footprint off the southern coast of California. M.S. Thesis. Washington State Univ. Vancouver. NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program Deep-Sea Coral National Geographic Database, version 2.0. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD. Data Manager: Dan Dorfman (NOAA), Dan.Dorfman@noaa.gov, (301) x112. Pirtle, J.L Habitat-based assessment of structure-forming megafaunal invertebrates and fishes on Cordell Bank, California. M.S. Thesis. Washington State Univ. Vancouver. Stocks, K SeamountsOnline: an online information system for seamount biology. Version World Wide Web electronic publication. Whitmire, C.E. and Clarke, M.E State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the U.S. Pacific Coast: California to Washington. pp In: S.E. Lumsden, Hourigan T.F., Bruckner A.W. and Dorr G. (eds.) The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP- 3. Silver Spring MD. 365 pp. Pacific Coast Groundfish EFH 5-Year Review 183 August 2012

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