Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems

Chapter 5.

Ecosystem services provided by mesophotic coral ecosystems

Daniel Holstein , University of the Virgin Islands, USA Tyler B. Smith , University of the Virgin Islands, USA Richard S. Appeldoorn , University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, USA

5.1. Introduction

Ecosystem services are benefits provided to human societies by ecosystems — services such as regulating climate and weather, maintaining biodiversity and providing food and essential habitat (Costanza et al. 1997). As extensions of many shallow coral reef ecosystems, MCEs provide many of the well-documented ecosystem services associated with shallow coral reefs, as well as some services that may be unique to MCEs (Figure 5.1).

These ecosystem services include: • habitat for economically- and ecologically-important species, • a potential recovery source for shallow populations, • employment infishing, and toa lesser extent, recreationand tourism, • new medicines and other natural products, and • protection from coastal erosion and storms — submerged mesophotic reef banks that are close to land may possibly dampen long period swells and tsunamis.

E m p l o y m e n t E c o s y s t e m s e r v i c e s o f m e s o p h o t i c c o r a l e c o s y s t e m s N o n u s e v a l u e s F i s h i n g I n t r i n s i c E x i s t e n c e T o u r i s m B e q u e s t R e c r e a t i o n

R e c o v e r y s o u r c e f o r

s h a l l o w p o p u l a t i o n s

E s s e n t i a l h a b i t a t

C U L T U R A L

H a b i t a t

S U P P O R T I N G

B i o l o g i c a l

r a w m a t e r i a l

P r e c i o u s c o r a l s

G e n e t i c r e s o u r c e s

P R O V I S I O N I N G

N e w p r o d u c t s

F o o d

P h a r m a c e u t i c a l s N u t r i t i o n a l s u p p l e m e n t s

F i s h

S h e l l s h

Figure 5.1. Summary of ecosystem services provided by MCEs.

MESOPHOTIC CORAL ECOSYSTEMS – A LIFEBOAT FOR CORAL REEFS? 63