New discoveries!

I signed off in 2010 by sharing the very welcome discovery of a nesting pair of Harpy eagles in the mountains of believe. Not to be outdone, 2011 has kicked off with reports of some exciting discoveries of its own:

Firstly, a previously unknown area of healthy, pristine coral reef has been discovered in deep waters (at least as far as reefs are concerned, i.e., 100-500 feet) off the southwest corner of Puerto Rico. Often, reefs in deeper waters are more low-relief and generally less topographically complex than those in shallow waters. That means they often support lower diversity and abundance than shallow reefs.

But it does not mean they are less ecologically important. Deepwater reefs can be home to very different species than shallow reefs, so they harbor unique biodiversity. For those species held in common between deep and shallow reefs, the deeper habitat can serve as a refuge to buffer the population against natural or anthropogenic impacts, such as storms and fishing, which typically have more severe impacts in shallower water. Also, low-relief deepwater reef habitat can serve to link larger and more complex shallow habitat areas as a sort of underwater highway, or at least as a series of stepping stones across open and unsheltered bottom (for a stimulating discussion of this function, see this fine volume).

Of course, the couple of photos provided in the article on the discovery of these reefs linked above suggest that these might be more complex and higher relief reefs than one might expect in deep water. Sure, 100-500 feet is really not that deep in comparison with some truly deepwater corals (i.e., 400-2000 meters, not feet!), so we might be looking at something more akin to shallow reefs than deep.

In any case, there are many exciting scientific questions waiting to be addressed concerning the species composition and ecological function of these reefs, both in their own right and in relation to other nearby shallower reefs. Perhaps more importantly, hopefully we will implement quick and aggressive conservation measures for these reefs to get ahead of the curve and ensure that we do not lose their lessons and value before they can be understood…

A second discovery is that of a new and very unique species of freshwater crayfish in the streams of Tennessee. It’s also a very large crayfish, and interestingly has oddly “bearded” antennae. Reports of this discovery note that, while finding new species in remote jungles of Borneo or in the depths of the ocean is neither uncommon nor entirely unexpected, finding new species in very accessible streams of a highly populated and developed nation like the U.S. is unusual. I agree – that’s pretty cool. Like the newly discovered Puerto Rican reefs, this species lives in deeper parts of streams, and also seems to be in fairly low abundance, which together perhaps explain why it has escaped out attention. And, like those new reefs, hopefully we will act quickly to understand and protect this newly discovered beast…

Finally, a personal new discovery, albeit one long known to science: I’ve been working my way through the BBC’s excellent “Life” series (the follow-up to its celebrated “Planet Earth”). In the “Fish” episode, I was introduced to the – and I still cannot believe this name – Sarcastic Fringehead, which lives in water off the U.S. Pacific coast. In many ways, this fish seems to be a Pacific version of one of my favorite Atlantic species, the oyster toadfish. Both live in patches of structured habitat amidst areas of open sand, and both are ambush predators and aggressively territorial.

But where the fringehead – and it pains me to say this – perhaps proves the superior species is its amazing territorial contests, which cannot be adequately described and really need to be seen. Of course, toadfish exhibit some impressive vocalizations, and I’m not sure whether fringeheads do or not, so maybe the determining factor is whether one has more of an audio or visual inclination? Or, maybe both species should just be appreciated for their undeniable coolness and not ranked?

In any case, 2011 has presented some fascinating discoveries so far, and hopefully will continue to provide many more!