ME31A:
Illuminating the Twilight Zone: Understanding Mesopelagic Communities, Processes, and Ecosystem Services Before Potential Large-Scale Resource Extraction I


Session ID#: 37335

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, Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, Dania Beach, FL, United States and Kevin M Boswell, Florida International University, Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States
Moderators:  Kevin M Boswell, Florida International University, Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States, Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, 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, 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:

Marine Biogeochemistry Under The Influence of (Mesopelagic) Fish and Fisheries: An Ecosystem Modeling Study (323187)
Deniz Disa, ETH Zurich, Environmental Systems Science, Zürich, Switzerland, Ekin Akoglu, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey and Baris Salihoglu, Middle East Technical University, Institute of Marine Sciences, Mersin, Turkey
Mesopelagic fish distributions and behaviors in the Santa Barbara Basin as observed from midwater and bentho-pelagic ROV dives (313394)
Amanda Nicole Netburn, PhD, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Silver Spring, United States and Nicole Raineault, Ocean Exploration Trust, Narragansett, United States
On the community information needed prior to mesopelagic fisheries: a low-latitude, high-diversity case study (Gulf of Mexico) (320863)
April B Cook, Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Dania Beach, FL, United States and Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, Dania Beach, FL, United States
Evidence of dramatic and persistent declines in meso- and bathypelagic fish abundances in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (313715)
Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, Dania Beach, FL, United States, Dr. Rosanna Milligan, Ph.D., Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, United States, April B Cook, Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Dania Beach, FL, United States, Jon Moore, Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, FL, United States and Kevin M Boswell, Florida International University, Biological Sciences, North Miami, FL, United States
A 9-Year Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Bioaccumulation in the Gulf of Mexico Mesopelagic Ecosystem (320433)
Dr. Isabel C Romero, PhD, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, United States, Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, Dania Beach, FL, United States, Ester Quintana-Rizzo, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, FL, United States, Steve W Ross, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, Center for Marine Science, Wilmington, NC, United States, Heather Judkins, University of South Florida, Integrative Biology, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, Joseph J Torres, Univ South Florida, St Petersburg, FL, United States and David J Hollander, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, FL, United States
How do warm-core eddies structure the deep-pelagic fish fauna of the Gulf of Mexico? (311894)
Dr. Rosanna Milligan, Ph.D., Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, United States and Tracey Sutton, Nova Southeastern University, Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center, Dania Beach, FL, United States

See more of: Marine Ecosystems