An underwater imagery identification guide for shallow, mesophotic and deep-sea benthos in Maldives
Citation
Stefanoudis P (2024). An underwater imagery identification guide for shallow, mesophotic and deep-sea benthos in Maldives. Biodiversity Data Journal. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.12.e120128 accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-14.Description
During the 2022 Nekton Maldives Mission, we deployed a variety of platforms (snorkelling, remotely-operated vehicles and manned submersibles) to conduct video surveys of the biodiversity and composition of shallow (< 30 m), mesophotic (30-150 m) and deep-sea (> 150 m) benthos found in the Maldives’ central and southern atolls. In total, ~ 80 hrs of stereo-video footage were collected during the benthic transect surveys, which were subsequently processed using annotation software in order to evaluate benthic biodiversity and community composition. Here, we present a photographic guide for the visual, in situ identification of reef benthos encountered, including corals, sponges and other invertebrates that inhabit Maldives’ nearshore habitats. We hope that this identification guide will aid future imagery-based surveys or observations of organisms during fieldwork.A total of 283 morphotypes were identified, including those belonging to Octocorallia (61), Scleractinia (57), Porifera (38), Asteroidea (22), Antipatharia (15), Decapoda (13), Hydrozoa (12), Holothuroidea (10), Actiniaria (9), Echinoidea (8), Annelida (6), Chlorophyta (5), Gastropoda (4), Bivalvia (4), Ascidiacea (3), Crinoidea (3), Bryozoa (2), Cyanobacteria (2), Zoantharia (2), Cephalopoda (1), Ceriantharia (1), Corallimorpharia (1), Ctenophora (1), Ophiuroidea (1), Rhodophyta (1) and to an unknown category (1). Out of these, we identified 40 to species level, 120 to genus, 47 to family, 14 to order and suborder, 58 to class and subclass, two to phylum and one was of unknown phylum. This represents the first attempt to catalogue the mesophotic and deep-sea benthic megafaunal diversity in the Maldives using underwater imagery.Taxonomic Coverages
Geographic Coverages
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Paris Stefanoudisoriginator
position: Dr
Nekton Foundation
Oxford
GB
email: paris@nektonmission.org
Paris Stefanoudis
metadata author
position: Dr
Nekton Foundation
Oxford
GB
email: paris@nektonmission.org
Paris Stefanoudis
administrative point of contact
position: Dr
Nekton Foundation
Oxford
GB
email: paris@nektonmission.org