Shallow seamounts are “oases” and activity hubs for pelagic predators in a large-scale marine reserve
by Sam B. Weber, Andrew J. Richardson, Christopher D. H. Thompson, Judith Brown, Fabio Campanella, Brendan J. Godley, Nigel E. Hussey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Paul Rose, Nicola Weber, Matthew J. Witt, Annette C. Broderick Seamounts have been likened to “oases” of life in the comparative deserts of the open ocean, often harbouring high densities of threatened and exploited pelagic top predators. However, few such aggregations have been studied in any detail and the mechanisms that sustain them are poorly understood. Here, we present the findings of an integrated study of 3 previously unexplored seamounts in the tropical Atlantic, which aimed to investigate their significance as predator “hotspots” and inform their inclusion in one of world’s largest marine reserves. Baited underwater video and visual census transects revealed enhanced diversity and biomass of pelagic top predators, including elevated abundances of 7 species of sharks, predatory fish, and seabirds, within 5 km of 2 shallow seamounts (
by Sam B. Weber, Andrew J. Richardson, Christopher D. H. Thompson, Judith Brown, Fabio Campanella, Brendan J. Godley, Nigel E. Hussey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Paul Rose, Nicola Weber, Matthew J. Witt, Annette C. Broderick Seamounts have been likened to “oases” of life in the comparative deserts of the open ocean, often harbouring high densities of threatened and exploited pelagic top predators. However, few such aggregations have been studied in any detail and the mechanisms that sustain them are poorly understood. Here, we present the findings of an integrated study of 3 previously unexplored seamounts in the tropical Atlantic, which aimed to investigate their significance as predator “hotspots” and inform their inclusion in one of world’s largest marine reserves. Baited underwater video and visual census transects revealed enhanced diversity and biomass of pelagic top predators, including elevated abundances of 7 species of sharks, predatory fish, and seabirds, within 5 km of 2 shallow seamounts (
