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Key Questions for Research and Conservation of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems and Temperate Mesophotic Ecosystems

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Book cover Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 12))

Abstract

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) and temperate mesophotic ecosystems (TMEs) have received increasing research attention during the last decade as many new and improved methods and technologies have become more accessible to explore deeper parts of the ocean. However, large voids in knowledge remain in our scientific understanding, limiting our ability to make scientifically based decisions for conservation and management of these ecosystems. Here, we present a list of key research and conservation questions to enhance progress in the field. Questions were generated following an initial open call to MCE and TME experts, representing a range of career levels, interests, organizations (including academia, governmental, and nongovernmental), and geographic locations. Questions were refined and grouped into eight broad themes: (1) Distribution, (2) Environmental and Physical Processes, (3) Biodiversity and Community Structure, (4) Ecological Processes, (5) Connectivity, (6) Physiology, (7) Threats, and (8) Management and Policy. Questions were ranked within themes, and a workshop was used to discuss, refine, and finalize a list of 25 key questions. The 25 questions are presented as a guide for MCE and TME researchers, managers, and funders for future work and collaborations.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the organizers of ECRS 2017 for allowing us to host the workshop supporting this study at the conference. We also thank the following people for submitting/ranking questions and/or participating in the workshop: Marco Abbiati (University of Bologna); Amkieltiela (WWF-Indonesia); Russ Babcock (CSIRO); Yehuda (Hudi) Benayahu (Tel Aviv University); Or Ben-Zvi (Tel Aviv University); Marzia Bo (University of Genova); Lorenzo Bramanti (LECOB-CNRS); Patrick Cabaitan (University of the Philippines); Carlo Cerrano (Università Politecnica delle Marche); Martina Coppari (University of Genoa); Jill Darrell (Natural History Museum); Stephane De Palmas (Academia Sinica); Vianney Denis (National Taiwan University); Henry Duffy (Blue Ventures); Estradivari (WWF-Indonesia); Dan Exton (Operation Wallacea); Fikri Firmansyah (WWF-Indonesia); Sarah Groves (NOAA); Elizabeth Gugliotti (College of Charleston/NOAA); Alejandro Henao Castro (Colombia National Natural Parks System); Scott F. Heron (NOAA); Daniel Holstein (Louisiana State University); Kaleonani Hurley (University of Hawaiʻi); Nir Keren (HebrewU); Rebecca Klaus (Senckenberg Research Institute); Netanel Kramer (Tel Aviv University); Hedouin Laehtice (CRIOBE); Cristina Linares (University of Barcelona); Michelle Linklater (New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage); Guy Marley (University of the West Indies); Catherine Mitchell (IMBRSEA); Benjamin Neal (Bigelow Lab); Stephanie A. Norman (Marine-Med: Marine Research, Epidemiology & Veterinary Medicine); Pamela Ortega (Coral Reef Alliance); Gonzalo Perez-Rosales Blanch (CRIOBE); Purwanto (University of Papua); Hanna Rapuano (Tel Aviv University); Marjorie L. Reaka (University of Maryland); Rebecca Rlao (Freelance); Ed Roberts (James Cook University); Brian Roy Rosen (Natural History Museum); Joana Ruela Boavida (Center of Marine Sciences, CCMAR); John W. Runcie (University of Sydney, Aquation Pty Ltd); Giovanni Santangelo (University of Pisa); Nick Schizas (University of Puerto Rico); Edy Setyawan (Independent researcher/consultant); Tom Shlesinger (Tel Aviv University); Paris Stefanoudis (Nekton Foundation); Michael Studivan (Florida Atlantic University); Raz Tamir (Tel Aviv University); Geogios Tsounis (California State University); Nuria Viladrich Canuda (CSIC Barcelona); Ernesto Weil (University of Puerto Rico); and Mikolaj Zapalski (University of Warsaw). Additionally JT, EG, and GE would like to thank ICRS for their student travel grants to attend the ECRS conference. JT would also like to acknowledge funding from BHP and the Ningaloo Outlook Program for their support. Lastly, we are grateful for thoughtful comments on this manuscript from nine reviewers (Sam Kahng, Yehuda Benayahu, Richard Appeldoorn, Heather Spalding, Anthony Montgomery, Shirley A. Pomponi, and three anonymous reviewers) and the editor Kimberly Puglise. GE has received funding for this project from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 796025.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences and Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Joseph A. Turner

  2. CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Joseph A. Turner

  3. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, John Krebs Field Station, Oxford, UK

    Dominic A. Andradi-Brown, Jack Laverick & Lucy C. Woodall

  4. Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, Washington, DC, USA

    Dominic A. Andradi-Brown

  5. Institut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Barcelona, Spain

    Andrea Gori & Nuria Viladrich

  6. Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Pim Bongaerts

  7. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Pim Bongaerts

  8. Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology, Edinburgh, UK

    Heidi L. Burdett

  9. School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK

    Heidi L. Burdett

  10. Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Ecophysiology team, Monaco, Monaco

    Christine Ferrier-Pagès

  11. Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Christian R. Voolstra

  12. The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    David K. Weinstein

  13. The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel

    David K. Weinstein

  14. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    David K. Weinstein

  15. Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Museum Network, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Tom C. L. Bridge

  16. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Tom C. L. Bridge

  17. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali (BiGeA) & Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali (CIRSA), Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy

    Federica Costantini

  18. CoNISMa, Roma, Italy

    Federica Costantini

  19. Nekton Foundation, Begbroke Science Park, Begbroke, UK

    Erika Gress & Lucy C. Woodall

  20. George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yossi Loya

  21. Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, St. Georges, Bermuda

    Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley

  22. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy

    Sergio Rossi

  23. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Michelle L. Taylor

  24. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL, USA

    Joshua D. Voss

  25. Fisheries Research, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia

    Joel Williams

  26. School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Gal Eyal

  27. The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel

    Gal Eyal

  28. The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Gal Eyal

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  1. Joseph A. Turner
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  2. Dominic A. Andradi-Brown
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  21. Gal Eyal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph A. Turner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yossi Loya

  2. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Kimberly A. Puglise

  3. Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Museum Network, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Tom C.L. Bridge

1 Electronic Supplementary Material

Table 52.S1

List of 131 unique questions classified by theme during Stage 2. (DOCX 28 kb)

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Turner, J.A. et al. (2019). Key Questions for Research and Conservation of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems and Temperate Mesophotic Ecosystems. In: Loya, Y., Puglise, K., Bridge, T. (eds) Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0_52

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