TEMPORAL VARIABILITY IN BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE DIVERSITY IN A COLD-WATER CORAL MOUND LOCATED IN THE ALBORAN SEA (MEDITERRANEAN SEA)

Cold-water coral (CWC) reefs are a high biodiversity ecosystem. Over time, these corals form CWC mounds tens of meters tall. Fragments of dead coral and sediment build up on these mounds, supporting various biological niches for benthic organisms. The tops of these mounds are preferable for corals due to the high availability of resources, resulting in lower reef biodiversity as the corals outcompete other organisms. Biodiversity increases down the mound slopes as competition decreases. This project looks at one of three sediment cores taken in 2009 from the Brittlestar Ridge 1, a CWC mound in the Mediterranean Sea that grew from ~13,000 - 2,000 years ago. This core (GeoB 13730-1) was collected from the top flank of the mound and was previously sampled at 10 cm intervals to extract fossil organisms. This project aims to identify and quantify the primary invertebrate fossils in the core. We organized the fossils into four taxonomic groups (brachiopods, bryozoans, echinoderms, and barnacles) and by the depth at which they were found. 

We then identified and counted species by looking through scientific papers, field guides, and online databases. We have found five species of brachiopods, three species of bryozoan, and seven species of echinoderms. Some peaks in specimen abundances occur when CWC growth is negligible, potentially reflecting an increase in reef diversity due to reduced competition with CWCs. Future work includes quantifying the barnacles, crabs, sponges, and tube worms and identifying the remaining brachiopods, bryozoans, and echinoderms. 

For more information:  hkhearsey@eckerd.edu, zimueller@eckerd.edu, sashipley@eckerd.edu, korpantyca@eckerd.edu