ME34A:
Illuminating the Twilight Zone: Understanding Mesopelagic Communities, Processes, and Ecosystem Services Before Potential Large-Scale Resource Extraction II Posters


Session ID#: 28610

Session Description:
Mesopelagic fish biomass has recently been estimated at 7-10 billion metric tons, an order of magnitude higher than previous estimates, spawning new interest in commercial harvesting of pelagic ecosystems. Within the last year countries such as Norway and Pakistan have issued licenses for fishing the mesopelagic zone. However, we are still in the process of determining mesopelagic diversity, biogeography, food web structure, ecological process rates and production drivers and dynamics. What do we know that informs sustainable fisheries management and what are the major gaps? What ecosystem services are provided by the mesopelagic community and what are the tradeoffs that direct exploitation then presents for management? In this session we invite presentations on mesopelagic communities and processes, particularly presentations that inform our understanding of ecosystem services (e.g. vertical carbon flux, food supply for top predators) that might be impacted by potential fishing efforts.
Primary Chair:  Jeffrey Drazen, University of Hawaii, Oceanography, Honolulu, HI, United States
Co-chairs:  Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Dania Beach, FL, United States and Kevin M Boswell, Florida International University, Department of Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States
Moderators:  Kevin M Boswell, Florida International University, Department of Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States, Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Dania Beach, FL, United States and Jeffrey Drazen, University of Hawaii, Oceanography, Honolulu, HI, United States
Student Paper Review Liaison:  Kevin M Boswell, Florida International University, Department of Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States
Index Terms:

4805 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
4815 Ecosystems, structure, dynamics, and modeling [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
4817 Food webs, structure, and dynamics [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
4858 Population dynamics and ecology [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
Cross-Topics:
  • BN - Biogeochemistry and Nutrients
  • ES - Ecology and Social Interactions
  • F - Fisheries

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Deep Scattering Layers at the Svalbard Gateway to the Arctic Ocean. (302506)
Peter H Wiebe, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Department of Biology, Woods Hole, MA, United States, Harald Gjøsæter, Research Group Demersal Fish, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway, Tor Knutsen, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway and Randi Ingvaldsen, Institute of Marine Research, Oceanography and Climate, Bergen, Norway
Analysis of Microbial Communities Reflects Diel Vertical Migration in the Gulf of Mexico (319994)
Cole G Easson1, Claudia Gorbea2, Amanda Lobato3, Kevin M Boswell4, Pilar Maul5, Reinaldo Sanchez-Arias5 and Jose Lopez1, (1)Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, United States, (2)St. Thomas University, School of Science, Technology and Engineering Management, Miami Gardens, FL, United States, (3)St. Thomas University, School of Science, Technology, and Engineering Management, Miami Gardense, FL, United States, (4)Florida International University, Department of Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States, (5)St. Thomas University, School of Science, Technology, and Engineering Management, Miami Gardens, FL, United States
An Examination of Diet and Microbiomes of Mesopelagic Fish Through the Use of Molecular Methods (323930)
Caroline Iacuaniello1, Jessica M Blanton2 and Eric Allen1, (1)University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States, (2)University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Evaluating variations in the importance of small particles as a food resource to mesopelagic micronekton from the central gyre to the equator in the North Pacific (325064)
Jeffrey Drazen1, Sonia Romero-Romero2, Cassie A. Ka'apu-Lyons3, Kristen Gloeckler1, Hilary G Close4, Claudia R Benitez-Nelson5 and Brian N Popp3, (1)University of Hawaii, Oceanography, Honolulu, HI, United States, (2)University of Oviedo, Dpto. de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Oviedo, Spain, (3)University of Hawaii, Geology & Geophysics, Honolulu, HI, United States, (4)University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States, (5)University of South Carolina, School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment, Columbia, SC, United States
Diversification Patterns in Myctophiform Fishes Crossing Major Marine Extinction Events (320691)
John Denton, United States; American Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, New York, NY, United States
DEEPEND: A Tool for Classification of Mesoscale Watermass Structure for Pelagic Community Analyses (317428)
Matthew Johnston1, Rosanna Milligan1, Cole G Easson1, Sergio deRada2, Bradley Penta2 and Tracey Sutton3, (1)Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, United States, (2)Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS, United States, (3)Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Dania Beach, FL, United States

See more of: Marine Ecosystems