Mejía-Quintero and Chasqui 2020

Octocorals and antipatharians in the mesophotic rocky reefs of Colombian Pacific (Eastern Tropical Pacific)

Mejía-Quintero K, Chasqui L

scientific article Front Mar Sci Open Access
Abstract

Octocorals and antipatharians (black corals) are usually among the main biotic groups in tropical rocky reefs. With a high diversity (111 species), abundance, and endemism, octocoral communities are a dominant seascape feature in the rocky reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), hosting a particular invertebrate fauna and rich fish communities (Cortés et al., 2017; Sánchez, 2017). In the Colombian Pacific, studies of octocorals in rocky substrates are scarce and are restricted to shallow waters (<30 m). Only 14 species have been found so far (Cortés et al., 2017), but there could be more than 22 species according to unpublished reports.

Keywords
Metadata (pending validation)
Depth Range
10–60 m
Mesophotic Mentions
28 × (total of 2344 words)
Classification
  • Presents original data
  • Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
  • Focused on 'mesophotic coral ecosystem'
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