Time-series analysis of six whale-fall communities in Monterey Canyon, California, USA

Dead whale carcasses that sink to the deep seafloor introduce a massive pulse of energy capable of hosting dynamic communities of organisms in an otherwise food-limited environment Through long-term observations of one natural and five Implanted whale carcasses in Monterey Canyon CA this study suggests that (1) depth and related physical conditions play a crucial role in species composition (2) the majority of species in these communities are background deep-sea taxa and (3) carcass degradation occurs sub-decadally Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) equipped with studio quality video cameras were used to survey whales during 08 to seven year periods depending on the carcass All organisms were identified to the lowest possible taxon Community differences among whale-falls seemed to be most strongly related to depth and water temperature The communities changed significantly from initial establishment shortly after a carcass arrival at the seafloor through multiple years of steady degradation The majority of species found at the whale-falls were background taxa commonly seen in Monterey Bay While populations of species characterized as bone specialists seep restricted and of unknown habitat affinities were also observed sometimes in great abundance they contributed minimally to overall species richness All whale carcasses shallow and deep exhibited sub-decadal degradation and a time-series of mosaic images at the deepest whale site illustrates the rapidity at which the carcasses degrade (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved