Lophelia reefs (Desmophyllum pertusum (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the oxygen minimum zone of the Mauritania/Senegal region – Distribution and health status

Abstract

The occurrence of cold-water coral (CWC) reefs off Northwest Africa that has a broad oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) is poorly studied. A 400 km long almost continuous coral mound chain off Mauritania that was investigated by earlier expeditions revealed mainly dead corals. In 2021, the EAF-Nansen Programme conducted a survey at the border between Mauritania and Senegal with the main objective to map CWCs. Acoustic mapping with multibeam echosounder was used to target mounds at 450–650 m depth and 14 video lines were conducted using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The occurrence and health status of CWC reefs along video transects were annotated using the software “CampodLogger”, oceanographic variables were measured using a CTD sonde, and terrain and backscatter analysis were conducted.

Here we present the environment and health status of 13 Lophelia reefs established in the study area, six of them were large and healthy reefs with areas having 15–50% cover of live colonies. Oxygen concentrations were measured to be as low as 1 ml L⁻¹ and temperature ranged from 8.8 to 11.6° C. We compare reef health with the environmental variables: temp, salinity, oxygen, and particle load. A GIS based model was developed to predict the occurrence of live reefs in the study area based on the observed average range of a set of terrain descriptors measured where live Lophelia reefs occurred.

Our findings of healthy Lophelia reefs are unexpected and further north in the OMZ reefs have been described as dormant. There is an urgent need for visual seafloor mapping to aid the development of spatial management plans in these understudied waters.