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Beyond the “Deep Reef Refuge” Hypothesis: A Conceptual Framework to Characterize Persistence at Depth

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Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems

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

Abstract

The rapid deterioration of coral reefs worldwide has led to a growing interest in identifying areas that can offer protection against adverse conditions including coral reef communities at intermediate (~15 to 30 m) and mesophotic (≥30 m) depths. However, various concepts regarding the protective potential of deeper coral reef communities, and subsequent roles in overall reef resilience and persistence, remain poorly defined. Herein, we organize these ideas into an initial conceptual framework and review for scleractinian corals how these ideas may be supported by the limited empirical data that is currently available. We distinguish between the concepts of “depth refuges,” “depth refugia,” and “depth resilience areas,” based on the nature (i.e., avoidance versus resilience) and temporal scope of protection. Although past examples have confirmed the role of mesophotic coral ecosystems as short-term, ecological “refuges,” there is thus far little support that they comprise long-term “refugia.” In contrast, the concept of “deep resilience areas,” reef communities that persist long-term through disturbance by resistance and recovery, remains largely unexplored. In terms of the functional roles of such protected areas in the overall coral reef ecosystem, we distinguish between the concepts of “reseeding” and “local persistence.” The potential to actively reseed shallow reefs may be ecologically important, but only for a small proportion of shared biodiversity, whereas the potential to promote persistence of local biodiversity may apply across a broad range of coral reef species. Although empirical evidence remains very limited, we hope that the incipient conceptual delineations presented here provide a constructive reference for further discussion and research into the ecological importance of deep reef communities.

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Acknowledgments

Pim Bongaerts acknowledges funding from the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Research Award scheme (Project DE160101433). Tyler Smith acknowledges funding from the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF#0814417), the US National Science Foundation (Award OCE-1447341), and the US Virgin Islands Territorial Coral Reef Monitoring Program. We thank Paul Muir, Javid Kavousi, Madeleine van Oppen, Andrea Gori, Bernhard Riegl, and Greg Torda for providing helpful suggestions and constructive criticism on this manuscript. This is contribution #182 from the Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands.

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  1. Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Pim Bongaerts

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

    Pim Bongaerts

  3. Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas, USVI, USA

    Tyler B. Smith

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  1. Pim Bongaerts
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Correspondence to Pim Bongaerts .

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  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

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Bongaerts, P., Smith, T.B. (2019). Beyond the “Deep Reef Refuge” Hypothesis: A Conceptual Framework to Characterize Persistence at Depth. 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_45

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