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In situ video observations of benthic megafauna and fishes from the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea off Egypt

In situ video observations of benthic megafauna and fishes from the deep eastern Mediterranean... Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video observations were used to document benthic fauna at a hydrocarbon drilling location, at 2 720 m depth, in the poorly studied deep water off northern Egypt. The decapod Chaceon mediterraneus was the most common organism at the site and the only benthic megafaunal invertebrate observed. Three species of fish, Coryphaenoides mediterraneus, Cataetyx laticeps and Bathypterois mediterraneus, were also encountered. These findings confirmed these three species as the deepest-distributed benthic fish in the eastern Mediterranean, and confirmed that the deep Mediterranean, in particular the eastern basin, is one of the world's poorest deep-sea ecosystems in terms of diversity. The behaviour exhibited by the species observed was consistent with their natatory capacity, deduced from their feeding intensity (gut fullness) and diet (mainly suprabenthic prey were consumed), and conservative life strategies adapted to an extremely low energy environment. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of Marine Science Taylor & Francis

In situ video observations of benthic megafauna and fishes from the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea off Egypt

Gates, AR; Jones, DOB; Cartes, JE
African Journal of Marine Science , Volume 34 (2): 8 – Aug 1, 2012
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In situ video observations of benthic megafauna and fishes from the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea off Egypt

Abstract

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video observations were used to document benthic fauna at a hydrocarbon drilling location, at 2 720 m depth, in the poorly studied deep water off northern Egypt. The decapod Chaceon mediterraneus was the most common organism at the site and the only benthic megafaunal invertebrate observed. Three species of fish, Coryphaenoides mediterraneus, Cataetyx laticeps and Bathypterois mediterraneus, were also encountered. These findings confirmed these three species...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright NISC (Pty) Ltd
ISSN
1814-2338
eISSN
1814-232X
DOI
10.2989/1814232X.2012.675121
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video observations were used to document benthic fauna at a hydrocarbon drilling location, at 2 720 m depth, in the poorly studied deep water off northern Egypt. The decapod Chaceon mediterraneus was the most common organism at the site and the only benthic megafaunal invertebrate observed. Three species of fish, Coryphaenoides mediterraneus, Cataetyx laticeps and Bathypterois mediterraneus, were also encountered. These findings confirmed these three species as the deepest-distributed benthic fish in the eastern Mediterranean, and confirmed that the deep Mediterranean, in particular the eastern basin, is one of the world's poorest deep-sea ecosystems in terms of diversity. The behaviour exhibited by the species observed was consistent with their natatory capacity, deduced from their feeding intensity (gut fullness) and diet (mainly suprabenthic prey were consumed), and conservative life strategies adapted to an extremely low energy environment.

Journal

African Journal of Marine Science – Taylor & Francis

Published: Aug 1, 2012

Keywords: Bathypterois mediterraneus; Cataetyx laticeps; Chaceon mediterraneus; Coryphaenoides mediterraneus; deep sea; Levantine Sea; remotely operated vehicle; species diversity

References

  • Nile damming as a plausible cause of extinction and drop in abundance of deep-sea shrimp in the western Mediterranean over broad spatial scales
  • The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats
  • Deep-sea biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea: the known, the unknown, and the unknowable
  • Artificial reef properties of North Sea oil and gas production platforms
  • The western Mediterranean deep water: a proxy for climate change
  • First documented record of a living solemyid bivalve in a pockmark of the Nile deep-sea fan (eastern Mediterranean Sea)
  • A comparative ecological analysis of temperate and tropical demersal fish faunas in the western North Atlantic