Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Benthic Biodiversity by Baited Camera Observations on the Cosmonaut Sea Shelf of East Antarctica

Jianfeng Mou
ORCID logo ,
Xuebao He
,
Kun Liu
,
Yaqin Huang
,
Shuyi Zhang
,
Yongcan Zu
,
Yanan Liu
,
Shunan Cao
,
Musheng Lan
,
Xing Miao
,
Heshan Lin
* ,
Wenhua Liu
*
Version 1 : Received: 22 March 2024 / Approved: 22 March 2024 / Online: 25 March 2024 (07:36:39 CET)

How to cite: Mou, J.; He, X.; Liu, K.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, S.; Zu, Y.; Liu, Y.; Cao, S.; Lan, M.; Miao, X.; Lin, H.; Liu, W. Benthic Biodiversity by Baited Camera Observations on the Cosmonaut Sea Shelf of East Antarctica. Preprints 2024, 2024031384. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1384.v1 Mou, J.; He, X.; Liu, K.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, S.; Zu, Y.; Liu, Y.; Cao, S.; Lan, M.; Miao, X.; Lin, H.; Liu, W. Benthic Biodiversity by Baited Camera Observations on the Cosmonaut Sea Shelf of East Antarctica. Preprints 2024, 2024031384. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.1384.v1

Abstract

A free-fall baited camera lander was launched for the first time on the Cosmonaut Sea shelf of East Antarctica at the depth of 694 m during the 38th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) in 2022. We identified 31 unique taxa (23 of invertebrates and 8 of fishes) belonging to 8 phyla from 2403 pictures and 40 videos. The Antarctic jonasfish (Notolepis coatsi) was the most frequently observed fish taxa. Ten species of vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) taxa were observed, accounting for 32% of all species. The maximum number (MaxN) of Natatolana meridionalis individuals per image frame was ten, and they were attracted to the bait. The macrobenthic community type was sessile suspension feeders with associated fauna (SSFA), which was shaped by the muddy substrata with scattered rocks. Rocks served as the best habitats for sessile fauna. The study reveals the megafauna community and their habitat by image survey in the Cosmonaut Sea for the first time. It helped us obtain Antarctic biodiversity baselines and monitoring data for future’s ecosystem health assessment and better protection.

Keywords

Lander; Cosmonaut Sea; megafauna; Antarctica; Image survey

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Biology and Biotechnology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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