A high-latitude, mesophotic Cycloseris field at 85 m depth off Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Authors

Bert W. Hoeksema
Javier Sellanes
Erin E. Easton, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2019

Abstract

Published records of mesophotic zooxanthellate corals from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) are rare and so far based only on dredged specimens and observations during scuba dives (Wells 1972, Glynn et al. 2003, 2007). During recent remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys off Rapa Nui (March 2016), a large and dense aggregation of zooxanthellate Cycloseris corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) with a density of approximately 500 ind m−2 was discovered (27°08΄55˝S, 109°26΄46˝W) on black sand in a depth range of approximately 79–85 m (Panels A, B). A few corals were overturned, exposing their white (azooxanthellate) undersides and sutures along which self-fragmentation took place (Panel C, arrows). The Cycloseris field was video-recorded on 17 March, 2016, with a high-resolution camera, equipped with two red parallel laser beams for size calibration (see Online Supplementary Video). More than 95% of the corals showed autotomy and regeneration, similar to fields dominated by Cycloseris distorta (Michelin, 1842) in the Galápagos Islands (Feingold 1996, Hickman 2008, Glynn et al. 2018) and by Cycloseris fragilis (Alcock, 1893) in the Persian Gulf (Hoeksema et al. 2018).

Comments

© 2011 Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science of the University of Miami.

Recommended Citation

Hoeksema, B.M., Sellanes, J., Easton, E.E. 2019. A high-latitude, mesophotic Cycloseris field at 85 m depth off Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Bulletin of Marine Science. 95(1), 101–102. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2018.0053

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Bulletin of Marine Science

DOI

10.5343/bms.2018.0053