Emma G. Jones

The fate of cetacean carcasses in the deep sea: observations on consumption rates and succession of scavenging species in the abyssal north-east Atlantic Ocean

The fate of cetacean carcasses in the deep sea was investigated using autonomous deep–sea lander vehicles incorporating time–lapse camera systems, fish and amphipod traps. Three lander deployments placed cetacean carcasses at depths of 4000 to 4800 m in the north–east Atlantic for periods of 36 h, 152 h and 276 h before being recovered. The photographic sequences revealed that carcasses were rapidly consumed by fish and invertebrate scavengers with removal rates ranging from 0.05 to 0.4 kg h-1. In the longest experiment the carcass was skeletonized within five days. In each deployment, approximately an hour after emplacement, the grenadier Coryphaenoides (Nematonurus) armatus and large numbers of lysianassid amphipods had arrived at the food–fall. The initially high numbers of grenadiers declined once the majority of the bait had been consumed and a variety of other fish and invertebrates were then observed, some taking up residence at the site. None of the fish species appeared to consume the carcass directly, but preyed upon amphipods instead. Funnel traps recovered with the carcass indicated a succession in the species composition of amphipods, with the specialist necrophages such as Paralicella spp. being replaced by more generalist feeders of the Orchomene species complex.

The absence of sharks from abyssal regions of the world's oceans

The oceanic abyss (depths greater than 3000 m), one of the largest environments on the planet, is characterized by absence of solar light, high pressures and remoteness from surface food supply necessitating special molecular, physiological, behavioural and ecological adaptations of organisms that live there. Sampling by trawl, baited hooks and cameras we show that the Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays and chimaeras) are absent from, or very rare in this region. Analysis of a global data set shows a trend of rapid disappearance of chondrichthyan species with depth when compared with bony fishes. Sharks, apparently well adapted to life at high pressures are conspicuous on slopes down to 2000 m including scavenging at food falls such as dead whales. We propose that they are excluded from the abyss by high-energy demand, including an oil-rich liver for buoyancy, which cannot be sustained in extreme oligotrophic conditions. Sharks are apparently confined to ca 30% of the total ocean and distribution of many species is fragmented around sea mounts, ocean ridges and ocean margins. All populations are therefore within reach of human fisheries, and there is no hidden reserve of chondrichthyan biomass or biodiversity in the deep sea. Sharks may be more vulnerable to over-exploitation than previously thought.

Reproductive biology and feeding habits of the prickly dogfish Oxynotus bruniensis

The reproductive biology and diet of prickly dogfish Oxynotus bruniensis, a deep-sea elasmobranch, endemic to the outer continental and insular shelves of southern Australia and New Zealand, and caught as by-catch in demersal fisheries, are described from specimens caught in New Zealand waters. A total of 53 specimens were obtained from research surveys and commercial fisheries, including juveniles and adults ranging in size from 33·5 to 75·6 cm total length (LT ). Estimated size-at-maturity was 54·7 cm LT in males and 64·0 cm LT in females. Three gravid females (65·0, 67·5 and 71·2 cm LT ) were observed, all with eight embryos. Size-at-birth was estimated to be 25-27 cm LT . Vitellogenesis was not concurrent with embryo development. Analysis of diet from stomach contents, including DNA identification of prey using the mitochondrial genes cox1 and nadh2, revealed that O. bruniensis preys exclusively on the egg capsules of holocephalans, potentially making it the only known elasmobranch with a diet reliant solely upon other chondrichthyans. Based on spatial overlap with deep-sea fisheries, a highly specialized diet, and reproductive characteristics representative of a low productivity fish, the commercial fisheries by-catch of O. bruniensis may put this species at relatively high risk of overfishing.

Some observations on the biology of two rarely seen deep‐sea chimaerids, Chimaera carophila and Hydrolagus homonycteris

Chimaera carophila (n = 45) and Hydrolagus homonycteris (n = 11), two deep-sea chimaerids rarely caught in the waters off New Zealand, were collected from research trawl catches and commercial fishery catches around New Zealand at depths between 400 and 1300 m, between 2014 and 2016. Additional preserved specimens of both species (n = 58) from museum collections were analysed for size, sex and maturity. External assessment of male claspers and a combination of internal assessments of female gonad mass and oviducal gland width, were used to determine maturity. For both species, length at first maturity was 0·70-0·82 of their maximum observed chimaera length (LC ), with females maturing at a larger size. Length at maturity for C. carophila (LC range: 28·7-103·9 cm) was estimated at 72·5 cm LC for males (n = 163) and 82·5 LC for females (n = 58). In H. homonycteris, length at maturity (length range: 78·6-99·8 cm LC ) was estimated at 79·1 cm LC for males (n = 51) and 80·1 cm LC for females (n = 17). Ovarian fecundity was up to 31 for C. carophila and sperm storage was confirmed in the oviducal gland of this species. Both species preyed on benthic invertebrates. Some C. carophila and H. homonycteris inhabit depths beyond most current fisheries, but both species appear to be relatively rare and have reproductive parameters characteristic of low productivity, which may make these species vulnerable to population decline if mortality was to increase in the future.

Aggregations and associations in deep-sea chondrichthyans

Aggregations and associations in deep-sea chondrichthyans Brittany Finucci*, Matt R. Dunn, and Emma G. Jones School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 301 Evans Bay Parade, Greta Point, Wellington 6021, New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 41 Market Place, Auckland Central 1010, New Zealand *Corresponding author: tel: þ64-022-074-2041; e-mail: brit.finucci@gmail.com.