Deep-sea whale fall fauna from the Atlantic resembles that of the Pacific Ocean

Autor(es)

Sumida, Paulo Y. G. ^[1] ; Alfaro-Lucas, Joan M. ^[1] ; Shimabukuro, Mauricio ^[1] ; Kitazato, Hiroshi ^[2] ; Perez, Jose A. A. ^[3] ; Soares-Gomes, Abilio ^[4] ; Toyofuku, Takashi ^[2] ; Lima, Andre O. S. ^[3] ; Ara, Koichi ^[5] ; Fujiwara, Yoshihiro ^[2]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog, Praca Oceanog 191, BR-05508120 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Japan Agcy Marine Earth Sci & Technol JAMSTEC, 2-15 Natsushima Cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 2370061 - Japan

^[3] Univ Vale Itajai, Ctr Ciencias Tecnol Terra & Mar CTTMAR, Rua Uruguai 458, POB 360, BR-88302202 Itajai, SC - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Fluminense, Dept Ecol Marinha, POB 100-644, BR-24001970 Niteroi, RJ - Brazil

^[5] Nihon Univ, Coll Bioresource Sci, Kameino 1866, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 2520880 - Japan

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 6, FEB 24 2016.
• Citações Web of Science: 21

Resumo

Whale carcasses create remarkable habitats in the deep-sea by producing concentrated sources of organic matter for a food-deprived biota as well as places of evolutionary novelty and biodiversity. Although many of the faunal patterns on whale falls have already been described, the biogeography of these communities is still poorly known especially from basins other than the NE Pacific Ocean. The present work describes the community composition of the deepest natural whale carcass described to date found at 4204 m depth on Southwest Atlantic Ocean with manned submersible Shinkai 6500. This is the first record of a natural whale fall in the deep Atlantic Ocean. The skeleton belonged to an Antarctic Minke whale composed of only nine caudal vertebrae, whose degradation state suggests it was on the bottom for 5-10 years. The fauna consisted mainly of galatheid crabs, a new species of the snail Rubyspira and polychaete worms, including a new Osedax species. Most of the 41 species found in the carcass are new to science, with several genera shared with NE Pacific whale falls and vent and seep ecosystems. This similarity suggests the whale-fall fauna is widespread and has dispersed in a stepping stone fashion, deeply influencing its evolutionary history. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 11/50185-1 - Biodiversidade e conectividade de comunidades bênticas em substratos orgânicos (ossos de baleia e parcelas de madeira) no Atlântico Sudoeste Profundo - BioSuOr
• Beneficiário: Paulo Yukio Gomes Sumida
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático