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Deep-sea benthic megafaunal habitat suitability modelling: A global-scale maximum entropy model for xenophyophores

Deep-sea benthic megafaunal habitat suitability modelling: A global-scale maximum entropy model for xenophyophores
Deep-sea benthic megafaunal habitat suitability modelling: A global-scale maximum entropy model for xenophyophores
Xenophyophores are a group of exclusively deep-sea agglutinating rhizarian protozoans, at least some of which are foraminifera. They are an important constituent of the deep-sea megafauna that are sometimes found in sufficient abundance to act as a significant source of habitat structure for meiofaunal and macrofaunal organisms. This study utilised maximum entropy modelling (Maxent) and a high-resolution environmental database to explore the environmental factors controlling the presence of Xenophyophorea and two frequently sampled xenophyophore species that are taxonomically stable: Syringammina fragilissima and Stannophyllum zonarium. These factors were also used to predict the global distribution of each taxon. Areas of high habitat suitability for xenophyophores were highlighted throughout the world's oceans, including in a large number of areas yet to be suitably sampled, but the Northeast and Southeast Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, the Red Sea and deep-water regions of the Malay Archipelago represented particular hotspots. The two species investigated showed more specific habitat requirements when compared to the model encompassing all xenophyophore records, perhaps in part due to the smaller number and relatively more clustered nature of the presence records available for modelling at present. The environmental variables depth, oxygen parameters, nitrate concentration, carbon-chemistry parameters and temperature were of greatest importance in determining xenophyophore distributions, but, somewhat surprisingly, hydrodynamic parameters were consistently shown to have low importance, possibly due to the paucity of well-resolved global hydrodynamic datasets. The results of this study (and others of a similar type) have the potential to guide further sample collection, environmental policy, and spatial planning of marine protected areas and industrial activities that impact the seafloor, particularly those that overlap with aggregations of these conspicuously large single-celled eukaryotes.
Maxent, species distribution modelling, Xenophyophorea, Syringammina fragilissima, Stannophyllum zonarium
0967-0637
31-44
Ashford, Oliver S.
3708c8fb-49cb-490c-b534-b00fd9c57b3b
Davies, Andrew J.
c1db7914-e0e2-48f3-a6af-48e525920fd2
Jones, Daniel O.B.
44fc07b3-5fb7-4bf5-9cec-78c78022613a
Ashford, Oliver S.
3708c8fb-49cb-490c-b534-b00fd9c57b3b
Davies, Andrew J.
c1db7914-e0e2-48f3-a6af-48e525920fd2
Jones, Daniel O.B.
44fc07b3-5fb7-4bf5-9cec-78c78022613a

Ashford, Oliver S., Davies, Andrew J. and Jones, Daniel O.B. (2014) Deep-sea benthic megafaunal habitat suitability modelling: A global-scale maximum entropy model for xenophyophores. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 94, 31-44. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2014.07.012).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Xenophyophores are a group of exclusively deep-sea agglutinating rhizarian protozoans, at least some of which are foraminifera. They are an important constituent of the deep-sea megafauna that are sometimes found in sufficient abundance to act as a significant source of habitat structure for meiofaunal and macrofaunal organisms. This study utilised maximum entropy modelling (Maxent) and a high-resolution environmental database to explore the environmental factors controlling the presence of Xenophyophorea and two frequently sampled xenophyophore species that are taxonomically stable: Syringammina fragilissima and Stannophyllum zonarium. These factors were also used to predict the global distribution of each taxon. Areas of high habitat suitability for xenophyophores were highlighted throughout the world's oceans, including in a large number of areas yet to be suitably sampled, but the Northeast and Southeast Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, the Red Sea and deep-water regions of the Malay Archipelago represented particular hotspots. The two species investigated showed more specific habitat requirements when compared to the model encompassing all xenophyophore records, perhaps in part due to the smaller number and relatively more clustered nature of the presence records available for modelling at present. The environmental variables depth, oxygen parameters, nitrate concentration, carbon-chemistry parameters and temperature were of greatest importance in determining xenophyophore distributions, but, somewhat surprisingly, hydrodynamic parameters were consistently shown to have low importance, possibly due to the paucity of well-resolved global hydrodynamic datasets. The results of this study (and others of a similar type) have the potential to guide further sample collection, environmental policy, and spatial planning of marine protected areas and industrial activities that impact the seafloor, particularly those that overlap with aggregations of these conspicuously large single-celled eukaryotes.

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Ashford et al postprint.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: August 2014
Published date: December 2014
Keywords: Maxent, species distribution modelling, Xenophyophorea, Syringammina fragilissima, Stannophyllum zonarium
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 367900
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/367900
ISSN: 0967-0637
PURE UUID: fa7dd114-b278-4eef-8a80-f1035b924e21

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Date deposited: 11 Aug 2014 08:34
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 17:38

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Contributors

Author: Oliver S. Ashford
Author: Andrew J. Davies
Author: Daniel O.B. Jones

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