“Hidden” biodiversity: a new amphipod genus dominates epifauna in association with a mesophotic black coral forest

Abstract

Black corals are important components of mesophotic and deep-water marine habitats. Their presence at great depths (e.g., 50 to 200 m) makes accessibility difficult, limiting our understanding of the associated biodiversity. Amphipods dominate vagile epifauna in marine habitats around the world, fulfilling important ecosystem functions. However, there are no studies on amphipods exclusively associated with black corals, including relationships between their ecological patterns (e.g., abundances) and the size of coral colonies. We investigated the epifaunal composition and abundance associated with black coral colonies of Antipathella wollastoni in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. In total, 1,736 epifaunal individuals were identified, of which 1,706 (98.27%) were amphipods, belonging to 6 taxa. We identified and described a new amphipod genus and species within the Stenothoidae family, Wollastenothoe minuta gen. nov., sp. nov., which outnumbered the amphipod assemblage (86.15%) and provided a complete taxonomic key of Stenothoidae family including this new finding. For the first time, the association between an amphipod species and a black coral was described, including a strong correlation between coral colony size and amphipod abundances. This study demonstrates that epifauna associated with mesophotic black corals remains largely undescribed.