Marine animal forests, although among the most diverse ecosystems worldwide, remain obscure in terms of their diversity and functioning. Their spatial extent, diversity and function within the larger marine ecosystems remain poorly known; mainly due to a lack of traditional taxonomic expertise and the challenges associated with non-destructive sampling submarine habitats beyond the reach of SCUBA divers. In South Africa, information on marine benthic invertebrate biodiversity and taxonomy has been limited and fragmented, with more than 80% of samples collected shallower than 100 m. In the last decade, systematic surveys employing modern marine sampling equipment such as ROVs, jump cameras and towed cameras accelerated the discovery of marine animal forests within the South African Exclusive Economic Zone. Extensive marine animal forests have been found in both the Benguela and the Agulhas current systems, which dominate South African waters. The general distribution and diversity of benthic suspension feeders (e.g. sponges, scleractinian corals, octocorals, ascidians and bryozoans) is comparatively well established and has been used in marine spatial planning and the establishment of a network of offshore Marine Protected Areas. The proclamation of these Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along with the identification and mapping of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems and Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Areas along with potential threats (e.g. trawling, invasive species, mining, climate change and petroleum and gas exploration) forms part of South Africa’s strategy to manage its waters and preserve these illusive marine ecosystems.

Depth range
3- 4850 m

Mesophotic “mentions”
6 x (total of 14113 words)

Classification
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range

Fields
Biodiversity

Focusgroups
Overall benthic (groups)

Locations
South Africa

Platforms
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
Drop / Towed Video