The Impact of Geological Feature Shape on the Abundance and Diversity of
Deep Sea Corals
Abstract
The role of seamount gross geomorphology (shape) as an abiotic control
governing the abundance and diversity of deep-sea corals has not been
previously considered, but has the potential to provide
easily-accessible and transformative insight into deep water coral
community dynamics. This study aims to investigate the influence of
geological shape (e.g. atolls, islands, banks, guyots, conical, ridges)
on deep-sea coral genera and habitats in the Pacific Ocean to determine
whether seamount shape is an important predictor of deep water
biological communities. Multivariate analyses were used to test whether
the gross geomorphology (shape) of seamounts influences the abundance
and diversity of deep water coral genera. Seamounts across the entire
Pacific basin were categorized using a standard classification scheme to
determine their shape category. Across the 50 most abundant deep water
coral genera in the data set, all 50 showed a statically significant
preference for at least one geomorphology. Additionally, the abundance
of the different seamount shapes was not evenly distributed across the
Pacific basin. Gross geomorphology influences the abundance and
diversity of deep-sea corals across the central Pacific, which provides
insight into deep water coral community structure and resulting
conservation implications.