Benthic Biodiversity by Baited Camera Observations on the Cosmonaut Sea Shelf of East Antarctica
Jianfeng Mou,
Xuebao He,
Kun Liu,
Yaqin Huang,
Shuyi Zhang,
Yongcan Zu,
Yanan Liu,
Shunan Cao,
Musheng Lan,
Xing Miao,
Heshan Lin,
Wenhua Liu
Affiliations
Jianfeng Mou
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Xuebao He
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Kun Liu
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Yaqin Huang
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Shuyi Zhang
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Yongcan Zu
Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao 266061, China
Yanan Liu
Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China
Shunan Cao
Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200120, China
Musheng Lan
Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200120, China
Xing Miao
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Heshan Lin
Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Wenhua Liu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
A free-fall baited camera lander was launched for the first time on the Cosmonaut Sea shelf of East Antarctica at a depth of 694 m during the 38th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) in 2022. We identified 31 unique taxa (23 were invertebrates and eight were fish) belonging to eight 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 were 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 ecosystem health assessment and better protection.
