Benthic O2 uptake of two cold-water coral communities estimated with the non-invasive eddy correlation technique

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Abstract

© The authors 2015. The community respiration of 2 tidally dominated cold-water coral (CWC) sites was estimated using the non-invasive eddy correlation (EC) technique. The first site, Mingulay Reef Complex, was a rock ridge located in the Sea of Hebrides off Scotland at a depth of 128 m and the second site, Stjernsund, was a channel-like sound in Northern Norway at a depth of 220 m. Both sites were characterized by the presence of live mounds of the reef framework-forming scleractinian Lophelia pertusa and reef-associated fauna such as sponges, crustaceans and other corals. The measured O2 uptake at the 2 sites varied between 5 and 46 mmol m-2 d-1, mainly depending on the ambient flow characteristics. The average uptake rate estimated from the ∼24 h long deployments amounted to 27.8 ± 2.3 mmol m-2 d-1 at Mingulay and 24.8 ± 2.6 mmol m-2 d-1 at Stjernsund (mean ± SE). These rates are 4 to 5 times higher than the global mean for soft sediment communities at comparable depths. The measurements document the importance of CWC communities for local and regional carbon cycling and demonstrate that the EC technique is a valuable tool for assessing rates of benthic O2 uptake in such complex and dynamic settings.

ISSN

0171-8630

Publisher

Inter-Research

Volume

525

First Page

97

Last Page

104

Disciplines

Life Sciences

Keywords

Cold-water coral, Community oxygen exchange, Eddy correlation, Mingulay Reef Complex, Stjernsund

Scopus ID

84927154956

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Bronze: This publication is openly available on the publisher’s website but without an open license

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS