[Coral-List] New Springer book on Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems

[Kimberly Puglise - NOAA Federal]

Springer has released a new book on Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs) as
part of the Coral Reefs of the World Series. The book provides the first
comprehensive synthesis of the state of knowledge about MCEs worldwide in
52 chapters involving over 218 authors.

The book summarizes what is known about MCEs geographically and by major
taxa. MCEs are characterized by light-dependent corals and associated
communities typically found at depths ranging from 30-40 m. and extending
to over 150 m. in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. They are populated
with organisms typically associated with shallow coral reefs, such as
macroalgae, corals, sponges, and fishes, as well as specialist species
unique to mesophotic depths. During the past decade, there has been an
increasing scientific and management interest in MCEs expressed by the
exponential increase in the number of publications studying this unique
environment. Despite their close proximity to well-studied shallow reefs,
and the growing evidence of their importance, our scientific knowledge of
MCEs is still in its early stages. The topics covered in the book include:
regional variation in MCEs; similarities and differences between mesophotic
and shallow reef taxa, biotic and abiotic conditions, biodiversity,
ecology, geomorphology, and geology; potential connectivity between MCEs
and shallow reefs; MCE disturbances, conservation, and management
challenges; and technologies, key research questions/knowledge gaps,
priorities, and future directions in MCE research.

Citation: Loya, Y, Puglise KA, Bridge TCL (eds) (2019) Mesophotic coral
ecosystems. Springer, New York, 1003 pp
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0

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Kimberly Puglise

National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
NOAA's National Ocean Service
1305 East-West Highway, N/SCI
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(240) 533-0190
(301) 713-4044 (Fax)