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This page last updated:
November 02, 2006

Environmental Studies Program Direction: Accelerated Deepwater Activities

Deepwater: Biology

The deep Gulf of Mexico has been the site of an impressive amount of research, but it is work which has an unfortunate distinction. On the whole, deep Gulf work, except that associated with oil seeps, has not appeared in the peer-reviewed literature. Those data reflecting the soft bottom communities remain in relatively inaccessible archives or in the taxonomic literature. Therefore, as we anticipate meeting information needs, it is appropriate to begin by maximizing the value of early work, notably that of Pequegnat alone and in association with LGL Ecological Research Associates.

Willis Pequegnat was both pioneering and seminal in the deep Gulf, training many of the participants of this workshop. Although not ecological in a contemporary sense, his foundation for current knowledge of megafauna. His data archives and specimens collected in the 1960’s and 1970’s remain at Texas A&M available for study. In the 1980’s, MMS placed emphasis on quantitative work with box corer samples. The NGMCS (Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope) Study established three transects downslope. The NGMCS should be the main source of quantitative benthic biology. The results of this study suggest that the Gulf has a deep diversity pattern unlike that found in the Atlantic. Unfortunately, this is not a finding reported and debated in open literature. Beyond the 2600-2800 m limit of the NGMCS Study, the structure of the deep Gulf community is virtually unknown.

While it certainly is possible to identify and remedy many specific omissions of Pequegnat’s earlier work and the NGMCS Study, the absence of any well-established ecosystem perspective must be considered the highest priority information need. Meeting this need requires two approaches novel to MMS.

1. First, rate processes identified by appropriate ecosystem function modeling must be taken in addition to traditional faunal counts and inventories. Very little is known about function defined as fluxes. Rowe’s GOMEX Lander is an example of an appropriate sampling tool.
   
   
2. The deep Gulf must be sampled and studied as a whole system, perhaps along a SW to NE axis. Restriction to the US EEZ is artificial and uninformative. This will require collaboration with Mexican researchers such as Dr. Elva Escobar.

For more information, contact Thomas Ahlfeld.