Abstract
Deep-sea corals are of conservation concern in the North Atlantic due to prolonged disturbances associated with the exploitation of natural resources and a changing environment. As a result, two research cruises in the Gulf of Maine region during 2014 and 2017 collected samples of two locally dominant coral species, Primnoa resedaeformis and Paramuricea placomus, at six locations to investigate reproductive ecology. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) were used to collect specimens that were examined via paraffin histology, and coincident video surveys were used to determine size class distributions. Both species were identified as gonochoristic, and sampled locations exhibited dissimilarities in spermatocyst development and oocyte size except for those in close geographic proximity. Fecundities exhibited substantial ranges across sample locations and average oocyte sizes ( SD) were 140 117 m for P. resedaeformis and 64 46 m for P. placomus. In addition, colony size distributions were also significantly different across sampling locations. Notably, the Outer Schoodic Ridge sample location, with larger colony and oocyte sizes, was identified as a potential key source population of reproductive material in the Gulf of Maine. These data were used to calculate differences in reproductive potential based on relationships between colony morphology and reproductive output using height as a predictive proxy. Furthermore, calculated age at first reproduction, 7.6-19.8 years for P. resedaeformis and 20.7-37 years for P. placomus, which may be dependent on sex of the colony, provides a metric for estimating the amount of time these coral habitats will take to recover. This investigation, in response to historical population impacts and environmental change, links reproductive and morphometric relationships to inform population scale reproductive models, while also establishing an understanding of regional scale gametogenic variability within the Gulf of Maine region.
Highlights
Many deep-sea coral species, functioning as foundation structures and ecosystem engineers, act as physical habitat for a myriad of taxa
This study investigates the reproductive ecology of Primnoa resedaeformis (Gunnerus, 1763) and Paramuricea placomus (Linnaeus, 1758), two deep-sea corals from the North Atlantic (Buhl-Mortensen et al, 2015)
Individuals from the Outer Schoodic Ridge, Nygren-Heezen InterCanyon, Corsair Canyon, and Georges Canyon consisted of larger proportions of stage IV spermatocysts than Western Jordan Basin and Central Jordan Basin
Summary
Many deep-sea coral species, functioning as foundation structures and ecosystem engineers, act as physical habitat for a myriad of taxa. Specimen collections from 2014 were coupled with remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video surveys Combined, these data were used to: characterize gametogenesis, evaluate spermatocyst stages and oocyte size frequencies, quantify fecundities per reproductive polyp, discern reproductive and colony size differences among sample populations, compare reproductive variability between 2 months, assess morphometric and reproductive relationships while developing individual based reproductive models, and calculate size and age ranges at maturation. These data were used to: characterize gametogenesis, evaluate spermatocyst stages and oocyte size frequencies, quantify fecundities per reproductive polyp, discern reproductive and colony size differences among sample populations, compare reproductive variability between 2 months, assess morphometric and reproductive relationships while developing individual based reproductive models, and calculate size and age ranges at maturation Investigating these biological elements provides insight into the potential reproductive output of entire coral colonies and a snapshot of gametogenic variability between 2 months. These estimations will help to further identify key source populations and inform the development of management alternatives and trade-offs for conservation of coral habitats
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