Deep Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico (DEEPEND) Consortium

(Sutton, Director and Principal Investigator; Supported by GoMRI and the NOAA RESTORE Science Program). The DEEPEND Consortium is a 14-year program of sampling, sensing, laboratory analysis, and numerical modeling that builds on the synergy developed during two intensive NOAA-supported programs (2010-2015) led by PIs Sutton and Boswell, respectively. The DEEPEND Consortium is characterizing the oceanic ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico to infer baseline conditions in the water column. This information has established a time-series with which natural and anthropogenic changes in pelagic population levels can be detected.

DEEPEND is investigating deep-pelagic communities (0-1500 m depth) on short-term (sub-generational) and long-term (evolutionary) timescales to appraise extant recovery and future recovery of these communities from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) using a suite of integrated approaches. These approaches include:

  1. a direct assessment of GoM deep-pelagic community structure, with simultaneous investigation of the physical and biological (including microbial) drivers of this structure, in order to document biodiversity and 'natural' variability;
  2. a time-series, 'hindcast', comparison of biophysical data from 2015-2017 (DEEPEND sampling) to 2010-2011 DWHOS data;
  3. an examination of differences in genetic diversity among key species; and
  4. an assessment of the extant and potential future consequences of the DWHOS on the shallow and deep-pelagic biota.

Fishes are analyzed in Sutton's Oceanic Ecology lab at NSU's Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center. The ecological research in Sutton's lab investigates community ecology, trophic ecology, taxonomy/systemics, abundance/distribution, nearshore/offshore connectivity, depth zone connectivity, and pelagic/benthic connectivity.

We collaborate with researchers at Nova Southeastern University, the University of South Florida, Florida International University, Texas A&M University at Galveston, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Atlantic University, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the National Systematics Laboratory, the San Antonio Zoo and Whale Times.

 

 

Animals as Living Bioreactors: The role of animal gut microbiomes in shaping oceanic carbon cycling and export (Schmidt Sciences Ocean Biodiversity Virtual Institute; 2024-2029)

This project aims to improve mechanistic understanding of the controls on carbon flux in the ocean by examining how the interconnected metabolisms and gut microbiomes of midwater animals influence the biological carbon pump. 

 Midwater animal guts may be underappreciated hotspots for microbial organic matter transformations and keystone biomolecule production on a scale of global significance, yet our knowledge of the pathways, processes, and rates of organic matter cycling within the guts of animals is in its infancy. No studies to date have comprehensively examined organic matter transformations occurring within the guts of either Diel Vertical Migration (DVM) or non-DVM midwater animals. To address this challenge, the Bioreactors team will unite the study of microbial and animal processes by examining how animal metabolisms and gut microbiomes control the fate of carbon through a combination of observational, experimental, and theoretical approaches. By integrating these findings into predictive models and fostering collaborative relationships with scientists in Madagascar and Brazil, the project aims to enhance global capacity to study oceanic carbon cycling. This collaboration is designed to bridge disciplines that historically have not worked together to conduct scientific research. Field work is planned for the South American sector of the South Atlantic in 2026 and the African sector of the South Atlantic in 2027.

The Bioreactors Team is led by Anitra Ingalls (University of Washington), with Co-PIs Anela Choy (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), Hilary Close (University of Miami), Colleen Durkin (MBARI), Peter Girguis (Harvard), Naomi Levine (University of South

Exploring Pelagic Biodiversity of the Gulf of Alaska and the Impact of Its Seamounts (NOAA Ocean Exploration; 2023-2025)

This project is investigating the pelagic diversity in the Gulf of Alaska. Using a novel, multipronged exploration program, we are inventorying the small animals (zooplankton and micronekton), like fishes, crustaceans, gelatinous animals, and squid, in the water column, finding or observing many species that are new to science as well as some that were not known in the region. These discoveries occurred across the full taxonomic spectrum of zooplankton, from tiny crustaceans to large jellyfish. The northern Gulf of Alaska is a region of high productivity and supports some of the nation’s largest commercial fisheries. But, ocean warming and deoxygenation are raising concerns about the future of the region’s poorly understood deep waters and the fish and invertebrates that live there. While the final outcomes of our 2024 expedition are still a way off, they are expected to improve our understanding of the ecology and biodiversity of the northern Gulf of Alaska, the connections between its shelf and ocean habitats, and its response to changing conditions. It will also help us better manage the important resources provided by the region. 

Tracey Sutton, Russ Hopcroft, and Dhugal Lindsay (left to right) use microscopes to analyze collected samples during the Exploring Pelagic Biodiversity of the Gulf of Alaska and the Impact of Its Seamounts expedition. Image courtesy of Exploring Pelagic Biodiversity of the Gulf of Alaska and the Impact of Its Seamounts 

DEEP SEARCH (Deep-Sea Research on Coral/Canyons/Cold-seep Habitats) Research Consortium

As deep-sea communities along our continental margins become discovered and explored we can begin to ask questions about the processes that contribute to the rich diversity of life found in these ecosystems. The DEEP SEARCH program has been established to conduct research on these processes. One such process involves the ecological connection between organisms living on or near the seafloor (the benthos) and organisms within the water column (the pelagos). Studies of seamount and continental slope ecology have found that the intersection of pelagic animals and deep-reef assemblages provides important trophic subsidies that support enhanced biodiversity and biomass. In addition to the provision of food, the pelagic habitat also provides critical habitat for early life-history stages of near-bottom organisms. In short, the development and maintenance of outer continental shelf ecosystems are undoubtedly related to water column processes. Dr. Sutton’s part of DEEP SEARCH is to investigate the biodiversity, abundance, and distribution of pelagic animals relative to deep coral, canyon and cold seep communities along the US Atlantic continental slope.

PROJECT WEBSITES:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/17deepsearch/welcome.html
http://www.nopp.org/projects/deep-search/
https://www.boem.gov/AT-17-06/

Global Biogeographic Classification of the Deep-Pelagic Ocean (Sutton, Dr. Malcolm Clark, NIWA New Zealand, and Dr, Daniel Dunn, Duke Univ., co-PIs; Supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program through a grant to the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke University, and in conjunction with INDEEP). Recent global biogeographies are the backbone of efforts toward meeting objectives for representative protection of the world’s biomes (e.g., Aichi Target 11), but they concentrate on the upper water or the seafloor. With a group of experts in distributional patterns of pelagic fauna or regions, we recently constructed a classification of the world’s deep-pelagic biomes (Sutton et al.  2017. A global biogeographic classification of the mesopelagic zone. Deep Sea Research I 126: 85-102.).

Trophic and Community Structure of the Pelagic Mid-North Atlantic (Sutton, PI, with support from the National Science Foundation, Sloan Foundation, and other agencies). A multi-institutional collaboration using an array of traditional (microscopical), biochemical (stable isotope) and molecular (genetic fingerprinting) techniques to characterize and model the food web linkages and energy flow between multiple trophic levels in the deep Gulf of Mexico, with emphasis on fishes as predators and prey. 

Taxonomic and Systematic Revision of Various Deep-Sea Fish Taxa (Sutton and colleagues, with support from NOAA and other agencies). The ultra-deep (>1000 m) pelagic sampling conducted during several Census of Marine Life projects and expeditions in the Gulf of Mexico have provided material for detailed morphological and genetic systematic studies, along with a host of new species descriptions.

Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) (Dr. Lisa Levin, SIO, Director; T. Sutton Steering Committee Member). DOSI comprises an international and interdisciplinary group of natural scientists, social scientists, and representatives of civil society and industry.  The inaugural activity of DOSI took place 15-17 April 2013 at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City with support from INDEEP, the Kaplan Foundation, and UNAM (participants: A Ascencio, J Ardron, M Baker, B Currie, J Dean, E Escobar, A Figueroa, K Gjerde, P Holthus, T Koslow, A Lara-Lopez, L Levin, M Lodge, K Mengerink, L Menot, C Neumann, L Pendleton, F Pfirter, E Ramirez-Llodra, D Squires, A Sweetman, A Tawake, P Tyler, V Sierra, T Sutton, C Van Dover, H Yamamoto, U Witte).

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