Peeping through the deep: Insights to the reproductive strategies of cold water gorgonians in the Azores Archipelago

INTRODUCTION:The mean age at delivery has increased over the latest half of a century. Women of advanced maternal age have increased obstetrical risks and increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities and some other specified diagnoses in the offspring. The aim of this study was to assess the association between maternal age and overall child morbidity according to main diagnosis groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS:We conducted a national cohort study including 352 027 live firstborn singleton children. The children were born between Jan 1994 and Dec 2009 and followed to Dec 2012. Children were divided into groups according to maternal age: 15-24, 25-29, 30-34, and 35+ years. Poisson regression analyses calculated adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) of child morbidities according to main diagnoses groups A-Q of the International Classification of Disease 10 with adjustment for year of birth, body mass index, smoking, and mother's level of education. RESULTS:Average follow-up time was 11 years. Compared to children born to women 25-29 years, firstborn children to mothers aged 35+ had higher child morbidity in 8 of 19 main diagnosis groups and firstborn children to mothers 15-24 years had higher child morbidity in 12 of 19 main diagnosis groups. Thus, for a majority of diseases a U-shaped correlation was found, with lowest rates in women 25-29 years. CONCLUSION:Firstborn children to both older and younger mothers have higher overall morbidity as compared to children born by mothers 25-29 years

Benthic O-2 uptake by coral gardens at the Condor seamount (Azores)

Using the non-invasive aquatic eddy covariance technique, we provide the first oxygen (O-2) uptake rates from within coral gardens at the Condor seamount (Azores). To explore some of the key drivers of the benthic O-2 demand, we obtained benthic images, quantified local hydrodynamics, and estimated phototrophic biomass and deposition dynamics with a long-term moored sediment trap. The coral gardens were dominated by the octocorals Viminella flagellum and Dentomuricea aff. meteor. Daily rates of O-2 uptake within 3 targeted coral garden sites (203 to 206 m depth) ranged from 10.0 t 0.88 to 18.8 +/- 2.0 mmol m(-2) d(-1) (mean +/- SE) and were up to 10 times higher than 2 local sandy reference sites within the seamount summit area. The overall mean O-2 uptake rate for the garden (13.4 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) was twice the global mean for sedimentary habitats at comparable depths. Combined with parallel ex situ incubations, the results suggest that the octocorals might contribute just -similar to 5% of the observed O-2 uptake rates. Deposition of particulate organic matter (POM) assessed by the sediment trap accounted for less than 10% of the O-2 demand of the coral garden, implying a substantial POM supply circumventing the deployed traps. Our results expand the database for carbon turnover rates in cold-water coral habitats by including the first estimates from these largely understudied coral gardens.Peer reviewe

Biodiversity and benthic megafaunal communities inhabiting the Formigas Bank (NE Azores)

The Formigas Bank is an offshore seamount located in the easternmost part of the Azores archipelago (northeast Atlantic). It rises from abyssal depths to the surface, including a small set of islets. The bank holds multiple nature conservation designations, including a Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation, an OSPAR Marine Protected Area, a RAMSAR site and a Nature Reserve declared under the Azores network of protected areas. The protection is based on the presence of sublittoral biotopes of high conservation interest, and importance as feeding grounds, spawning and nursery areas for many marine species, including fish, cetaceans and turtles. Although some information exists on the sublittoral communities occurring on the seamount summit (e.g., infralittoral Cystoseira and Laminaria beds, circalittoral hydrarian and sponge gardens, rich pelagic fauna), virtually no information was available on the deep-sea communities inhabiting the seamount flanks. Therefore, during the MEDWAVES cruise, the flanks of the Formigas bank have been surveyed using multibeam sonar, an ROV and oceanographic profiles, with the objective to characterise deep-sea biodiversity and megafaunal communities as well as the environment where they occur. This communication will present results from the video annotations of the ten dives made on the seamount slopes between ~500m and ~1,500 m depth. Diverse communities of sedentary suspension-feeding organisms were observed, with more than 20 cold-water coral species (mainly octocorals) being recorded, as well as many different sponge morphotypes. Dense coral garden habitats and sponge grounds were identified on several occasions, confirming the presence of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) and of ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSAs). Differences in the abundance and composition of these habitats between the northern and southern dive transects are interpreted as reflecting substrate and geomorphological differences, as well as the potential influence of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). The new knowledge on deep-sea megafaunal communities reinforces the importance of this seamount as an area of high conservation interest

Vulnerable marine ecosystems and biological features of Gazul mud volcano (Gulf of Cádiz): A contribution towards a potential "Gulf of Cádiz" EBSA

The Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) represents an area of socioeconomic and scientific importance for oceanographic, geological and biological processes. An interesting feature of the GoC is the presence of a large amount of mud volcanoes (MVs) and diapirs that display different seepage, seabed types, oceanographic settings and biological communities. Detailed exploration of some MVs is still needed for detecting Vulnerable Marine ecosystems (VMEs) that seem to be rare in other areas of the GoC, improving the current knowledge on its biodiversity and ecological attributes. During different expeditions (MEDWAVES-ATLAS, INDEMARES-CHICA 0610 & 0412 and ISUNEPCA 0616) carried out in different years, biological samples and videos were obtained in Gazul MV (Spanish Margin of the GoC). The study of those samples and videos has revealed the presence of several ecologically important VMEs (e.g. 3 species of reef framework-forming corals, coral gardens including solitary scleractinians, gorgonians and antipatharians, as well as deep-sea sponge aggregations and chemosynthesis-related structures) and a large number of species occurring in this MV, including new records for the European margin, threatened species and non-previously described species. The combination of different environmental and anthropogenic factors allowed the present-day persistence of these VMEs in the GoC. Some of Gazul MV biological and ecological attributes fit several criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity for EBSA description (e.g. 1,3,4,6) that, together with those of other areas of the GoC, may contribute to the future potential nomination of an EBSA in this area of the NE Atlantic

Cruise Summary Report - MEDWAVES survey. MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS (MEDWAVES)

The MEDWAVES (MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS) cruise targeted areas under the potential influence of the MOW within the Mediterranean and Atlantic realms. These include seamounts where Cold-water corals (CWCs) have been reported but that are still poorly known, and which may act as essential “stepping stones” connecting fauna of seamounts in the Mediterranean with those of the continental shelf of Portugal, the Azores and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. During MEDWAVES sampling has been conducted in two of the case studies of ATLAS: Case study 7 (Gulf of Cádiz-Strait of Gibraltar-Alboran Sea) and Case study 8 (Azores). The initially targeted areas in the Atlantic were: the Gazul Mud volcano, in the Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) area, included in the case study 7, and the Atlantic seamounts Ormonde (Portuguese shelf) and Formigas (by Azores), both part of the case study 8. In the Mediterranean the targeted areas were The Guadiaro submarine canyon and the Seco de los Olivos (also known as Chella Bank) seamount. Unfortunately it was not possible to sample in Guadiaro due to time constraints originated by adverse meteorological conditions which obligate us to reduce the time at sea focusing only in 4 of the 5 initially planned areas. MEDWAVES was structured in two legs; the first leg took place from the 21st September (departure from Cádiz harbour in Spain) to the 13th October 2016 (arrival in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal took place the 8th of October due to the meteorological conditions that obligated to conclude the first leg earlier as planned). during the Leg 1 sampling was carried out in Gazul, Ormonde and Formigas. The second leg started the 14th October (departure from Ponta Delgada) and finished the 26th October (arrival in Málaga harbour, Spain). MEDWAVES had a total of 30 effective sampling days, being 6 days not operative due to the adverse meteorological conditions experienced during the first leg which forced us to stay in Ponta Delgada from the 08th to the 13th October. During MEDWAVES the daily routine followed a similar scheme, depending of course on the weather and sea conditions. The main activity during the day, starting early in the morning (around 08:00 AM, once the night activities were finished), was the ROV deployment. Generally a single ROV dive of around 8 hours was performed, however in several occasions two dives were carried out in the same day (see General station list, Appendix II). After the ROV (and sometimes between two dives) the Box Corer and/or Van Veen Grab and/or Multicore was deployed. After these activities, during the night CTD-Rosette deployments and MB was conducted. Accordingly to this schema the scientific personnel worked in the day or in the night watch. A total of 215 sampling stations have been covered in MEDWAVES, using the following sampling gears: Multibeam echosounder, CTD-Rosette, LADCP, Box Corer, Van Veen Grab, Multicorer and a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Table 1 sumamrised the number of sampling stations conducted with each gear in each sampling zone. Additionally MB surveys have been conducted during the transits between area

Feeding biology of a habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago

Benthic suspension feeders have developed a variety of feeding strategies and food availability has often proven to be a key factor explaining their occurrence and distribution. The feeding biology of coral species has been the target of an increasing number of studies, however most of them focus on Scleractinia and Octocorallia, while information for Antipatharia is very scarce. The present study focused on Antipathella wollastoni, a common habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago, forming dense black coral forests between 20 and 150 m. The objective of the study was to investigate the food preferences of the target species upon availability of different isotopically enriched food substrates and determine its ability to capture zooplankton prey under different flow speeds. The species was able to utilize different food sources including live phytoplankton, live zooplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM), indicating the ability to exploit seasonally available food sources. However, ingestion of zooplankton enhanced carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) incorporation in coral tissue and metabolic activity, highlighting the importance of zooplankton prey for vital physiological processes such as growth and reproduction. Maximum zooplankton capture rates occurred under 4 cm−1, however the species displayed high capacity to capture zooplankton prey over different flow rates highlighting the ability of A. wollastoni to exploit high quantities of shortly available prey

Feeding biology of a habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago

Benthic suspension feeders have developed a variety of feeding strategies and food availability has often proven to be a key factor explaining their occurrence and distribution. The feeding biology of coral species has been the target of an increasing number of studies, however most of them focus on Scleractinia and Octocorallia, while information for Antipatharia is very scarce. The present study focused on Antipathella wollastoni, a common habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago, forming dense black coral forests between 20 and 150 m. The objective of the study was to investigate the food preferences of the target species upon availability of different isotopically enriched food substrates and determine its ability to capture zooplankton prey under different flow speeds. The species was able to utilize different food sources including live phytoplankton, live zooplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM), indicating the ability to exploit seasonally available food sources. However, ingestion of zooplankton enhanced carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) incorporation in coral tissue and metabolic activity, highlighting the importance of zooplankton prey for vital physiological processes such as growth and reproduction. Maximum zooplankton capture rates occurred under 4 cm−1, however the species displayed high capacity to capture zooplankton prey over different flow rates highlighting the ability of A. wollastoni to exploit high quantities of shortly available prey

First description of polyp bailout in cold-water octocorals

Cnidarians, characterized by high levels of plasticity, exhibit remarkable mechanisms to withstand or escape unfavourable conditions including reverse development which describes processes of transformation of adult stages into early developmental stages with higher mobility. Polyp bailout is a stress-escape response common among scleractinian species, consisting of massive detachment of live polyps and subsequent death of the mother colony. Here, we describe two cases of polyp bailout in the cold-water octocoral species Acanthogorgia armata and Acanella arbuscula. During maintenance in aquaria, specimens of both species presented coenosarc withdrawal and loss of sclerites, followed by detachment of intact polyps. This is a strong indication of reverse development which can be a very important strategy under stress conditions and has not been reported before in cold-water octocorals

Feeding biology of habitat forming cold-water corals: preferences and assimilation efficiencies of selected food sources

Coral gardens are considered to be hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, due to the important structural and biogeochemical role of cold-water coral (CWC) species. Despite the importance of CWCs as habitat forming and mediating species in bentho-pelagic coupling processes, our understanding on their biology and ecophysiology is still very limited. Moreover, despite an increase in studies on deep reef-forming species, information on cold-water octocoral and antipatharian species is still very scarce. The present study aims at determining aspects of the feeding biology of two common indicators of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) in the Azores Archipelago: the gorgonian Dentomuricea aff. meteor and the antipatharian Antipathella wollastoni. By using controlled experiments in aquaria, we aim at determining the feeding preferences and assimilation efficiencies of the target species upon availability of live phytoplankton, live zooplankton and dissolved organic matter. Study methods will include measurements of capture rates, incorporation of stable isotopes and analysis of fatty acids. The study will provide new insights to the feeding biology and organic carbon requirements of the target species while the produced data will contribute to the development of innovative spatial models predicting distribution and habitat suitability of cold-water coral