TY - JOUR
T1 - Surface slicks are pelagic nurseries for diverse ocean fauna
AU - Whitney, Jonathan L.
AU - Gove, Jamison M.
AU - McManus, Margaret A.
AU - Smith, Katharine A.
AU - Lecky, Joey
AU - Neubauer, Philipp
AU - Phipps, Jana E.
AU - Contreras, Emily A.
AU - Kobayashi, Donald R.
AU - Asner, Gregory P.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to first thank Mark Merrifield, Doug Luther, Jeffrey Polovina and Jeff Hare for their support of this project. We thank Amanda K. Dillon (Aline Design) for her assistance with graphics, particularly Fig. 7. Thanks to Daniel Jennings-Kam, Andrew Osberg, Dalton Solbrig, Lauren Zodl and Ana Chew for assistance with plankton sorting and identification. We are indebted to Bruce Mundy for his assistance and mentorship with larval fish identifications and sharing invaluable resources. Thanks to Robert Humphreys; to Erik Norris and Rory Driskell for design, construction and field testing the neuston net; Justin Ossolinsk, Kyle Koyanagi, Louise Giuseffi, and Jeremy Taylor for logistics, gear, and lab support. Thanks to Adrienne Copeland, Johanna Wren, Mills Dunlap, ianna Miller, Beth Francis, Rebecca Shuford, and Gordon Walker for field assistance. Thanks to DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, Stephen Schmelz and Ed Underwood for the generous use of their vessel. Thanks to Felipe Carvalho, Megan Donahue, and Nyssa Silbiger for advice and thoughtful discussion. Thanks to Mark Manuel and the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program for their support. We would also like to thank the crew of the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette, as well as Paul Cox, Kary Cox, Robin Martin, and John & Sue Kellam for their hospitality and assistance with slick imaging. Special thanks to Bruce Mundy and Jeff Drazen for reviewing earlier drafts of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) Postdoctoral Fellowship (to J.L.W.), NOAA’s West Hawai‘i Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (contribution no. 2020_2), NOAA’s Fisheries And The Environment program, and NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Most marine animals have a pelagic larval phase that develops in the coastal or open ocean. The fate of larvae has profound effects on replenishment of marine populations that are critical for human and ecosystem health. Larval ecology is expected to be tightly coupled to oceanic features, but for most taxa we know little about the interactions between larvae and the pelagic environment. Here, we provide evidence that surface slicks, a common coastal convergence feature, provide nursery habitat for diverse marine larvae, including > 100 species of commercially and ecologically important fishes. The vast majority of invertebrate and larval fish taxa sampled had mean densities 2–110 times higher in slicks than in ambient water. Combining in-situ surveys with remote sensing, we estimate that slicks contain 39% of neustonic larval fishes, 26% of surface-dwelling zooplankton (prey), and 75% of floating organic debris (shelter) in our 1000 km2 study area in Hawai‘i. Results indicate late-larval fishes actively select slick habitats to capitalize on concentrations of diverse prey and shelter. By providing these survival advantages, surface slicks enhance larval supply and replenishment of adult populations from coral reef, epipelagic, and deep-water ecosystems. Our findings suggest that slicks play a critically important role in enhancing productivity in tropical marine ecosystems.
AB - Most marine animals have a pelagic larval phase that develops in the coastal or open ocean. The fate of larvae has profound effects on replenishment of marine populations that are critical for human and ecosystem health. Larval ecology is expected to be tightly coupled to oceanic features, but for most taxa we know little about the interactions between larvae and the pelagic environment. Here, we provide evidence that surface slicks, a common coastal convergence feature, provide nursery habitat for diverse marine larvae, including > 100 species of commercially and ecologically important fishes. The vast majority of invertebrate and larval fish taxa sampled had mean densities 2–110 times higher in slicks than in ambient water. Combining in-situ surveys with remote sensing, we estimate that slicks contain 39% of neustonic larval fishes, 26% of surface-dwelling zooplankton (prey), and 75% of floating organic debris (shelter) in our 1000 km2 study area in Hawai‘i. Results indicate late-larval fishes actively select slick habitats to capitalize on concentrations of diverse prey and shelter. By providing these survival advantages, surface slicks enhance larval supply and replenishment of adult populations from coral reef, epipelagic, and deep-water ecosystems. Our findings suggest that slicks play a critically important role in enhancing productivity in tropical marine ecosystems.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-021-81407-0
DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-81407-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 33542255
AN - SCOPUS:85100505380
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 11
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 3197
ER -