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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
Levels Of Autotrophy And Heterotrophy In Mesophotic Corals Near The End Photic Zone, Amy Carmignani, Veronica Z. Radice, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Alex I. Holman, Karen Miller, Kliti Grice, Zoe Richards
Levels Of Autotrophy And Heterotrophy In Mesophotic Corals Near The End Photic Zone, Amy Carmignani, Veronica Z. Radice, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Alex I. Holman, Karen Miller, Kliti Grice, Zoe Richards
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Mesophotic corals live at ~30-150 m depth and can sustain metabolic processes under light-limited conditions by enhancing autotrophy through specialized photoadaptations or increasing heterotrophic nutrient acquisition. These acclimatory processes are often species-specific, however mesophotic ecosystems are largely unexplored and acclimation limits for most species are unknown. This study examined mesophotic coral ecosystems using a remotely operated vehicle (Ashmore Reef, Western Australia at 40–75m depth) to investigate the trophic ecology of five species of scleractinian coral (from genera Leptoseris, Pachyseris, and Craterastrea) using stable isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N) of host and symbiont tissues …
Editorial: Advances In The Biology And Conservation Of Marine Turtles, Sara M. Maxwell, Annette C. Broderick, Peter H. Dutton, Sabrina Fossette-Halot, Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes, Richard D. Reina
Editorial: Advances In The Biology And Conservation Of Marine Turtles, Sara M. Maxwell, Annette C. Broderick, Peter H. Dutton, Sabrina Fossette-Halot, Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes, Richard D. Reina
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
(First Paragraph) Marine turtles have been the subject of research over many decades, inspired by their unique life history and necessitated by their declining populations from a suite of human impacts including direct harvest, bycatch in marine fisheries, pollution, and climate change. Despite this, much about marine turtle biology has remained a mystery (Godley et al., 2008; Rees et al., 2016; Wildermann et al., 2018), but the rate of scientific discovery is increasing rapidly. As research techniques and conservation practices expand, the marine turtle research community has kept abreast of these developments and their application to marine turtles. In this …
Energy-Rich Mesopelagic Fishes Revealed As A Critical Prey Resource For A Deep-Diving Predator Using Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis, Chandra Goetsch, Melinda G. Conners, Suzanne M. Budge, Yoko Mitani, William A. Walker, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Samantha E. Simmons, Colleen Reichmuth, Daniel P. Costa
Energy-Rich Mesopelagic Fishes Revealed As A Critical Prey Resource For A Deep-Diving Predator Using Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis, Chandra Goetsch, Melinda G. Conners, Suzanne M. Budge, Yoko Mitani, William A. Walker, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Samantha E. Simmons, Colleen Reichmuth, Daniel P. Costa
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Understanding the diet of deep-diving predators can provide essential insight to the trophic structure of the mesopelagic ecosystem. Comprehensive population-level diet estimates are exceptionally difficult to obtain for elusive marine predators due to the logistical challenges involved in observing their feeding behavior and collecting samples for traditional stomach content or fecal analyses. We used quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) to estimate the diet composition of a wide-ranging mesopelagic predator, the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), across five years. To implement QFASA, we first compiled a library of prey fatty acid (FA) profiles from the mesopelagic eastern North Pacific. Given …