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| Titel |
Environmental forcing of the Campeche cold-water coral province, southern Gulf of Mexico |
| VerfasserIn |
D. Hebbeln, C. Wienberg, P. Wintersteller, A. Freiwald  , M. Becker, L. Beuck, C. Dullo , G. P. Eberli, S. Glogowski, L. Matos, N. Forster, H. Reyes-Bonilla, M. Taviani |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1726-4170
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Biogeosciences ; 11, no. 7 ; Nr. 11, no. 7 (2014-04-07), S.1799-1815 |
| Datensatznummer |
250117342
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/bg-11-1799-2014.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| With an extension of > 40 km2 the recently discovered
Campeche cold-water coral province located at the northeastern rim of the
Campeche Bank in the southern Gulf of Mexico belongs to the largest coherent
cold-water coral areas discovered so far. The Campeche province consists of
numerous 20–40 m-high elongated coral mounds that are developed in
intermediate water depths of 500 to 600 m. The mounds are colonized by a
vivid cold-water coral ecosystem that covers the upper flanks and summits.
The rich coral community is dominated by the framework-building Scleractinia
Enallopsammia profunda and Lophelia pertusa, while the associated benthic megafauna shows a rather scarce
occurrence. The recent environmental setting is characterized by a high
surface water production caused by a local upwelling center and a dynamic
bottom-water regime comprising vigorous bottom currents, obvious temporal
variability, and strong density contrasts, which all together provide
optimal conditions for the growth of cold-water corals. This setting –
potentially supported by the diel vertical migration of zooplankton in the
Campeche area – controls the delivering of food particles to the corals. The
Campeche cold-water coral province is, thus, an excellent example
highlighting the importance of the oceanographic setting in securing the
food supply for the development of large and vivid cold-water coral
ecosystems. |
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