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Studies on Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in Japan

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Coral Reef Studies of Japan

Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 13))

Abstract

In the last years, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) received increased attention from the research community. MCEs exist at depths between 30–40 m and until 100 m or deeper. While MCEs were already reported from Japan nearly 50 years ago, mesophotic research in Japan did not progress as in other countries like the USA or Australia. Nonetheless, over the years, several interesting studies were conducted on the MCEs found in southern Japan on various fields from geology to biology, and the momentum of Japanese mesophotic research increased in the recent years. In this chapter, we will summarize the knowledge on MCEs in Japan in different domains such as their distribution, their biodiversity, their occurrence in the fossil record, recent findings on the reproduction of mesophotic corals, their potential ecological role in a global change context, threats menacing these ecosystems, and future directions of MCE research in Japan.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Data measured in March 2016.

  2. 2.

    Monthly average temperatures over multiple years west of Okinawa Island between 26–27 °N and 127–128 °E (source: Japan Oceanographic Data Center, http://www.jodc.go.jp/service.htm).

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. M. Humblet (Nagoya University) for his precious contribution to this chapter and Mr. Rian Prasetia (University of the Ryukyus) for the information and photographs on mesophotic coral reproduction . This chapter was written within the frame of the KAKENHI project No. 16H02490.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

    Frederic Sinniger & Saki Harii

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  1. Frederic Sinniger
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  2. Saki Harii
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Correspondence to Frederic Sinniger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioresources Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Okinawa College, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

    Akira Iguchi

  2. Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Marine Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan

    Chuki Hongo

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Sinniger, F., Harii, S. (2018). Studies on Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in Japan. In: Iguchi, A., Hongo, C. (eds) Coral Reef Studies of Japan. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 13. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6473-9_10

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